Gardiner Museum facts for kids
Gardiner Museum from Queen's Park Crescent
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| Established | 6 March 1984 |
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| Location | 111 Queens Park Crescent, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Type | Ceramics museum |
| Founder | George and Helen Gardiner |
| Architect | Keith Wagland, KPMB Architects (2004–06 expansion) |
| Public transit access |
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The Gardiner Museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a special place where you can explore amazing art made from clay! It's officially called the George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art. This museum is located right in downtown Toronto, on the campus of the University of Toronto.
The museum building is about 4,300 square meters (46,276 square feet). It was designed by Keith Wagland. Later, KPMB Architects helped make it even bigger and better. The museum was started by George and Helen Gardiner. It first opened its doors to the public on March 6, 1984.
For a few years, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) helped manage the Gardiner Museum. But in 1996, with more support, the Gardiner Museum became an independent place again. It closed for a big renovation from 2004 to 2006 to add more space and improve its look.
Today, the museum has a huge collection of over 4,000 ceramic pieces. These include two main types of clay art: earthenware and porcelain. Besides showing its own collection, the museum also hosts cool exhibitions of modern ceramic art.
Contents
Museum History
In the early 1980s, George and Helen Gardiner wanted to show their amazing collection of clay art. They first thought about displaying it at the Royal Ontario Museum. But when that didn't work out, they decided to open their very own museum!
The Gardiner Museum building was finished in 1983. It officially opened to visitors on March 6, 1984. To help run the museum, a group of volunteers from the Royal Ontario Museum started helping out in 1983. They even had their first official meeting shortly after the museum opened.
The museum began offering tours of its exhibits in the spring of 1985. For a while, the Royal Ontario Museum helped manage the Gardiner Museum. But thanks to more financial help from the Gardiner family and government programs, the museum became fully independent on January 1, 1997. After that, a new group of trustees took charge of running the museum.
In 2000, George Gardiner asked Bruce Kuwabara, an architect, to design a ceramics exhibition. Everyone loved it so much that Kuwabara was then asked to redesign and expand the entire museum building! In January 2004, the museum closed for a big renovation. They added a third floor and updated the first two floors. Even while closed, the museum kept offering educational programs in other places. The museum reopened in June 2006, though the full project wasn't finished until 2008.
To attract more visitors, the museum started an art intervention program in 2012. In 2013, a cool striped-head sculpture by Jun Kaneko was placed permanently outside the museum. Another public art piece, Cracked Wheat by Shary Boyle, was added to the museum's courtyard in 2018.
Building Design
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The Gardiner Museum building is about 4,300 square meters (46,276 square feet). It's located on Queen's Park Crescent, within the campus of Victoria University. The closest subway stop is Museum station.
The building was finished in 1983 and cost about C$6 million. It originally had two floors and was about 2,969 square meters (31,958 square feet). It was designed by Keith Wagland in a neoclassical modernist style. The building was placed at the back of the property. This way, it didn't block the view of the Lillian Massey Building next to it. For many years, the museum had a simple pink granite outside.
From January 2004 to June 2006, the museum closed for a C$25 million renovation and expansion. Bruce Kuwabara led the design for this big project. The outside of the building was changed, too. It was covered with Indiana limestone and black granite, with tall, sharp windows. This new look helped the museum blend in with the nearby Lillian Massey building.
The renovation also added a third floor, making the building much larger. This new floor included a restaurant, an outdoor terrace, and a big exhibition gallery. Inside, the lobby was redesigned with a long wooden reception desk. The museum's three galleries, learning areas, and gift shop were also updated. The new design focused on making the display cases and the art inside them stand out. Even the display cases themselves were redesigned!
In 2017, the museum's gift shop and lobby were redesigned again. They even added a ceramic studio where artists can work right in the museum.
Amazing Collections
The Gardiner Museum's main goal is to collect, care for, lend, and show ceramic art. As of 2019, the museum's permanent collection has over 4,000 objects! These pieces are either shown in the museum or kept safe in special storage rooms.
The museum divides its collection into two main types of ceramics: earthenware and porcelain. The earthenware collection mostly includes pieces from the ancient Americas, Italian maiolica, and English delftware. The porcelain collection mainly features porcelains from Europe. The museum also has a special collection of ceramics made for export to Canada. You can also find modern and contemporary ceramic pieces from the 1950s to today. While it's mainly a ceramics museum, it also has some non-ceramic items that relate to its clay art.
The museum's collection started with the private art pieces of George and Helen Gardiner. They began collecting in the mid-1970s. Their first pieces were ancient pottery from the Americas and Meissen porcelain. Over time, their collection grew to include many different types of clay art from around the world.
Earthenware Art
The museum's earthenware collection includes pieces from 47 different cultures in the ancient Americas. These works are very old, dating from 3500 BCE to 1550 CE. Most of them come from the American Southwest, Central America, Mesoamerica, and South America.
The museum also has European earthenware from the 14th to 18th centuries. This includes pieces like creamwares, French faïences, English delftware, Italian maiolicas, and English slipwares.
Porcelain Art
Porcelains from Meissen were some of the first pieces George and Helen Gardiner collected. The museum's European porcelain collection features beautiful items from the 18th and 19th centuries. These include pieces from Austrian, English, French, German, Italian, and Swiss porcelain makers. You can also see special decorated pieces and commedia dell’arte figurines. The museum also has 19th-century European porcelains, including pieces from Mintons, known for its bone china.
Besides European porcelains, the museum also has a variety of porcelains from China and Japan. This includes many beautiful Chinese blue and white porcelains.
Research Library
The museum has a special place called the Gail Brooker Ceramic Research Library. This library is part of the University of Toronto Library System. It was started in 1988 when George R. Gardiner donated many books, engravings, and journals about ceramics. Since then, its collection has grown to include 2,500 books.
The library is open to everyone, but you can't take books out. It's a place for research, so visitors can only use the items inside the library.
Programs and Activities
The Gardiner Museum hosts and organizes many travelling exhibitions, which means they share their art with other places. Besides showing ceramic art, the museum also offers fun educational programs. For example, you can drop in for a two-hour pottery class throughout the year and try making your own clay art!
See also
- List of art museums
- List of museums in Toronto
