Winnipeg Art Gallery facts for kids
Winnipeg Art Gallery
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| Established | 16 December 1912 |
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| Location | 300 Memorial Boulevard, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Type | Art museum |
| Visitors | 160,000 (2007) |
| Architect | Gustavo da Roza (main building) Michael Maltzan (Qaumajuq) |
The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is a cool art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It has a huge collection of over 24,000 artworks. These pieces come from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum is also home to the world's largest collection of Inuit art. Besides showing its own art, the WAG also hosts many special art shows that travel to different places. The museum has two main parts: a large main building and the nearby Qaumajuq building.
The museum we know today officially started in 1963. But its story goes back to 1912. That's when the Winnipeg Museum of Fine Arts first opened to the public. It was part of the Winnipeg Development and Industrial Bureau. In 1913, an art school called the Winnipeg School of Arts also opened. Both the museum and school worked together until 1923. Then, they became their own group called the Winnipeg Gallery and School of Arts.
Later, in 1926, the Winnipeg Art Gallery Association was created. This group helped run the museum part. In 1950, the Winnipeg Gallery and School of Art closed down. But its art collection was given to the Winnipeg Art Gallery Association. This group kept showing the art.
In 1963, the Winnipeg Art Gallery Association officially became the Winnipeg Art Gallery. This was made possible by the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. The museum moved to its current spot in September 1971. A special building was built just for it, designed by Gustavo da Roza. In 2021, the museum opened the Qaumajuq building. This new building, designed by Michael Maltzan, was built to hold the museum's amazing Inuit art collection.
Contents
A Look Back: The Gallery's Story
How It All Started
Winnipeg's first real art gallery opened in the old Manitoba Hotel around 1895. A special area in the hotel was set aside for art. Cora Moore helped start this gallery. She also helped create an artists' group for men. The very first art show happened in February 1895. It showed art from Manitoba, Toronto, Montreal, New York, London, and Paris. Sadly, the art gallery closed when the Manitoba Hotel burned down in 1899.
People wanted another art museum. So, in 1902, the Manitoba Society of Artists formed. They pushed for a new art and culture center for the province. By 1908, another group, the Western Art Association, also wanted an art museum. They wanted it to show art from Manitoba and all of Canada.
The First Gallery and Art School
In April 1912, a new part of the Board of Trade building was finished. It had a special space for an art museum. This museum was called the Winnipeg Museum of Fine Arts. It officially opened on December 16, 1912. Important people like the Mayor of Winnipeg Richard Deans Waugh and the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba Douglas Cameron were there. The first show had 275 artworks from the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Because the art museum was so popular, the Winnipeg School of Arts opened in the same building in June 1913. The art school and museum were separate parts of the same organization. In April 1923, they became independent. They were officially named the Winnipeg Gallery and School of Art.
However, by the mid-1920s, the museum faced money problems. It had to stop most of its museum activities in 1926. The museum's art collection was kept safe by the School of Art. In August 1926, the Winnipeg Art Gallery Association was formed to help the museum. The gallery reopened in April 1932. It moved to the western part of the Civic Auditorium building. This building is now the Manitoba Archives. The School of Art moved several times before joining the University of Manitoba in 1950. The art collection was then loaned to the Winnipeg Art Gallery Association. They continued to show the art at the Civic Auditorium.
The Winnipeg Art Gallery Today (1963–present)
On May 6, 1963, the Winnipeg Art Gallery Association officially became the Winnipeg Art Gallery. In 1965, there were talks about moving the gallery. But the museum didn't want to move to the Manitoba Centennial Centre. They felt politicians were causing problems between different art groups.
In 1967, the museum bought a triangular piece of land. It was across from the Civic Auditorium. They held a contest for architects to design a new building. Work on the new museum building began in 1969.
The gallery moved to its current home in 1971. The building was designed by Canadian architect Gustavo Da Roza. The new building had more space for art shows. It also allowed the museum to store and care for its art in the same building. Building the museum cost about C$4.5 million. Money came from the government, private donations, and public fundraising. Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon officially opened the building on September 25, 1971.
In 1995, the museum grew even more. It bought the old Medical Mall building next door. This building was used for the museum's art studio programs.
In 2012, the museum and the National Gallery of Canada made a deal. For three years, the Winnipeg Art Gallery would show art from the National Gallery's collection. In 2015, the Government of Nunavut also made a deal. They loaned their collection of 8,000 artworks to the Winnipeg Art Gallery for five years. This collection started in 1999. It was first kept in the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife.
In June 2016, the museum opened a shop called WAG@The Forks. It was at The Forks. This shop was created to sell and promote Inuit art. It was a partnership between the Government of Nunavut and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. In September 2016, the museum also opened WAG@ThePark at the Assiniboine Park Pavilion. Here, the museum helps put on art shows. Most of the art comes from the Conservancy's collection. But some Inuit artworks from the museum's own collection are also shown there.
In 2018, a lost painting by Alfred Munnings was found in the Winnipeg Art Gallery's collection. The painting shows Brigadier General R.W. Paterson's horse, Peggy, from the First World War. It was lost after a 1919 art show. The painting was identified when the British National Army Museum asked for help finding it. The Winnipeg Art Gallery said the painting was given to them in 1984 by Paterson's children.
The old Medical Mall building was torn down in 2017. This made space for a new building for Inuit art, called Qaumajuq. Construction started in May 2018. The groundbreaking ceremony included Inuit traditions like lighting a qulliq (oil lamp), drum dancing, and throat singing. Qaumajuq cost about C$65 million to build. Money came from governments and private donations. It was the first museum building in the world just for Inuit art when it opened.
Qaumajuq opened to the public on March 25, 2021.
The Museum Buildings
The land where the Winnipeg Art Gallery stands was bought in 1967. The museum's main building opened there in September 1971. In 1995, the museum added the old Medical Mall building. In 2017, the Medical Mall was removed to build Qaumajuq. Qaumajuq is a building focused on Inuit art. The main building and Qaumajuq are connected by a skyway (a bridge between buildings).
The Main Building
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The main building of the Winnipeg Art Gallery opened in September 1971. It was designed by Gustavo da Roza in a modernist style. This style often uses simple shapes and clean lines.
The outside of the building looks like an iceberg. It has a low shape and almost no windows. The walls are angled to reflect sunlight. The building uses strong, geometric shapes. A part that sticks out forms the entrance. Most of the building is made from reinforced concrete and covered in Tyndall stone. This stone is from Manitoba. It was chosen to show the "northern prairie environment." Tyndall stone is also used inside for walls and floors.
The inside of the gallery was designed to protect the artworks. It has special systems to keep the temperature and humidity just right. Because of the building's angled shape, almost every room is a different shape. The building has about 2,400 square metres (26,000 sq ft) of space for showing art. Most of the main art galleries are on the third floor. This floor also has a skylight from the rooftop garden. Smaller exhibit spaces, the museum's library, and offices are on the mezzanine level.
The ground floor has a gift shop, an art rental store, and a lab for art care. It also has the main lobby and a 320-seat auditorium. The museum's restaurant and access to the rooftop garden are on the fourth floor. Art storage is in the basement. The whole building has about 11,000 square metres (120,000 sq ft) of indoor space.
Qaumajuq: The Inuit Art Centre
The museum property also has Qaumajuq. This four-story building is about 3,700-square-metre (40,000 sq ft). It is located south of the main building. Michael Maltzan designed the building in 2012. Construction started in May 2018, after the old Medical Mall was torn down. The building opened in March 2021.
Qaumajuq's design was made to fit with the main building. It also shows where most of the art inside comes from. The outside of the building is covered in glass and light-colored stone. Concrete and steel were also used. The building has 22 skylights that are about 9.1 metres (30 ft) above the floor. These skylights are designed to glow like a "lantern" from the outside.
The inside of Qaumajuq uses curved shapes. This is meant to show the "openness" of Northern Canada. The building's 460-square-metre (5,000 sq ft) main area has a cool, curvy steel frame. This frame holds a three-story visible storage area for Inuit artworks not on display. This storage area is near the entrance. There's also a lecture room, a café, and a reading room nearby. The second floor has a 90-seat theater, a library, and a learning area. Most of the art exhibit space is on the third floor, with about 790 square metres (8,500 sq ft) of space. Five indoor and two outdoor art studios are on the top floor. The upper roof can also be used for shows and performances.
Qaumajuq's first art show was called INUA. This word means "life force" or "spirit" in some Arctic languages. INUA also stands for "Inuit Nunangat Ungammuaktut Atautikkut" (Inuit Moving Forward Together). The main curator for this show was Heather Igloliorte. The team of curators was all Inuit. They wanted to honor ancestors and families. They also wanted to connect people today to their past and future.
Amazing Art Collections
As of March 2015, the Winnipeg Art Gallery has over 24,000 artworks in its permanent collection. These pieces are from Canadian and international artists. About 70 percent of this art was given to the museum by people who owned it. Summer Afternoon, the Prairie by Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald was the first artwork the museum bought for its collection.
The collection is divided into different areas: Canadian art, decorative arts, Inuit art, international art, photography, and works on paper. Photography became a special part of the collection in the 1980s. It has 1,400 photos, mostly from Canadian artists in the late 1900s. The works on paper collection has about 6,000 items. These include historical and modern pieces by artists from around the world, but mostly from Canada.
Canadian Art
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The museum's Canadian art collection includes works from Canadian artists from the 1820s to today. It has 200 works by Canadian artists from before 1910. Some of these artists are Maurice Cullen, Mary Riter Hamilton, Paul Kane, and Homer Watson.
The collection also has a lot of Canadian modern art (from 1910 to 1979). This includes works by artists from the Winnipeg Gallery and School of Art, Painters Eleven, and the Regina Five. The museum's modern Canadian art collection also has several works from the Group of Seven. It has over 1,000 works from Group of Seven member Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald. Other modern Canadian artists in the collection include Emily Carr, William Kurelek, and David Milne.
The museum also has contemporary art from Canadian artists. This includes paintings, prints, collages, drawings, sculptures, and videos. Some contemporary artists in the collection are Eleanor Bond, Aganetha Dyck, and Wanda Koop.
Decorative Art
As of March 2015, the museum's decorative art collection has over 4,000 pieces. These include ceramic, glass, metal, and textile works from the 1600s to today. This collection started in the 1950s when Melanie Bolton-Hill gave the museum many decorative works. The collection has 1,500 ceramic pieces from British artists from the 1700s and 1800s. It also has almost 1,000 Art Nouveau and Art Deco glass objects from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Plus, there are 500 silver pieces from British and Canadian silversmiths.
International Art
The museum's international art collection has paintings from American and European artists from the 1800s and 1900s. It includes the Gort Collection. This collection has 19 panel paintings and 5 tapestries from Northern Renaissance artists from the 1400s and 1500s. The Gort Collection was given to the museum in 1973. Before that, it had been on loan to the museum since 1954. The international art collection also has works by famous artists like Marc Chagall, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, and Henry Moore.
Inuit Art
The Winnipeg Art Gallery has the world's largest collection of Inuit art. As of March 2019, it has over 13,000 artworks! Inuit carvings make up almost two-thirds of this collection. There are 7,500 carvings made from antler, bone, ivory, and stone. There are also dozens of hand-sewn wall hangings. Other works include 3,000 prints and drawings by Inuit artists.
The museum started getting Inuit art in the 1950s. But its first big collection came in 1960. That's when George Swinton gave 130 sculptures to the museum. The collection grew even more in 1971. The Jerry Twomey Collection, with 4,000 Inuit works, was donated. In 1989, a government group called Indian and Northern Affairs Canada gave 1,400 prints and drawings from Inuit artists to the museum.
Since 1972, the museum has had a full-time curator just for its Inuit art collection. Most of the Inuit art was stored in the basement of the main building. But the museum planned to move these pieces to Qaumajuq's visible storage and exhibit areas. Qaumajuq opened to the public in 2021.
Library and Archives
The museum also has a library and archives. These are looked after by its curatorial department. The library is called the Clara Lander Library. It has books and records that help with the museum's educational goals. The archives have documents about how the museum is run, its art, and its education programs. You can visit the Clara Lander Library for free. But you need to ask the museum in writing to see its materials.
Selected Works
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Wolfgang Katzheimer, The Mocking of Christ, around 1500.
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Lucas Cranach the Elder, Portrait of John I of Saxony, 1533.
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Pieter Jansz van Asch, Pastoral, around 1640.
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Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Large Trees Overlooking a River Bank, 1855.
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Homer Watson, Near the Close of a Stormy Day, 1884.
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John Everett Millais, Afternoon Tea (The Gossips), 1889.
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Maurice Cullen, Wharf Beaupré - L. Canada, 1898.
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William Brymner, Portrait of a Young Girl, 1904.
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See also
In Spanish: Galería de arte Winnipeg para niños
- List of art museums
- List of museums in Manitoba
