Arctic Experience McNaught Gallery facts for kids
The Arctic Experience McNaught Gallery is a special art gallery in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It shows amazing Inuit art and beautiful Canadian landscape paintings.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
How the Gallery Started
The story of the gallery began with Marvin and Lorraine Cohen. They were from Hamilton. In the 1970s, they moved to Baffin Island (now called Qikiqtaaluk Region). Marvin worked as a teacher there.
The Cohens lived with the Inuit people for five years. They learned a lot about their culture and art. When they came back to Hamilton in the 1980s, they wanted to share this art.
In 1983, they opened the Arctic Experience Gallery on Houston Street. Here, they showed and valued Inuit sculptures. They also held art shows for Inuit artists.
McNaught Joins the Gallery
Joan McNaught grew up in Deep River, Ontario. She later moved to Toronto and Burlington. She studied at McMaster University in Hamilton.
Joan became very active in Hamilton's art world. She worked with art magazines and directed another art gallery.
In 1993, the Cohens moved their gallery to James Street South. They teamed up with Joan McNaught. Joan added many Canadian paintings and prints to the gallery's collection. This is why the gallery is now called the Arctic Experience McNaught Gallery.
Special Art Finds
In 2015, Joan McNaught helped look at a very large art collection. Some sketches in this collection were thought to be by J. E. H. MacDonald. He was a famous artist from the Group of Seven.
In 2016, the gallery got 132 pieces of Inuit art. These artworks were made in the 1950s and 1960s. They were created by Inuit patients who were staying at the Hamilton Mountain Sanitorium.
What You Can See
Amazing Sculptures
The Cohens still travel to Cape Dorset. This is a community in the Arctic. They bring back new sculptures from talented Inuit artists. Some of these artists include Pauta Saila, Kelly Qimirpik, Pudlalik Shaa, and Tukiki Manomie.
Beautiful Paintings
The McNaught Gallery also shows paintings by Canadian artists. These artists often paint landscapes and nature scenes. Many of them are from the Hamilton area.
Some local painters featured include Brian Darcy, James Gummerson, Heather Pate, and Gisele Comtois. The gallery also has older prints from artists like George Thompson and Frank Panabaker.
