Canadian art and stories – through a distinctly Canadian art experience.
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection offers its visitors a unique and truly Canadian experience. From the art within its walls to the surrounding landscape, the McMichael is the perfect gallery for an introduction to Canada’s art, its peoples, their cultures and their history.
Renowned for its devotion to collecting and exhibiting only Canadian art, the McMichael permanent collection consists of almost 6,000 artworks by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven, their contemporaries, and First Nations, Inuit and other artists who have made a contribution to Canada’s artistic heritage.
The gallery welcomes on average 120,000 visitors annually.
100% Canadian Content
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is the only major public art gallery devoted solely to the collecting and exhibiting of Canadian art. The gallery offers visitors the unique opportunity to enjoy Canadian landscape paintings in the woodland setting that inspired them.
Built of fieldstone and hand-hewn logs, the McMichael houses thirteen exhibition galleries and is situated amid 100 acres of serene conservation land. Floor-to-ceiling windows enable visitors to enjoy marvellous views of the densely wooded Humber River Valley.
Through a network of outdoor paths and hiking trails, visitors can discover outdoor sculptures and wander the McMichael Cemetery where six Group of Seven members and gallery co-founder Robert McMichael have been laid to rest.
See. Do. Discover.
The McMichael displays a wide range of exhibitions each year, and offers a stimulating array of programs and events for people of all ages. They include curators’ lectures, tours, music performances, kids’ camps, workshops, school programs and hands-on art activities.
Experience Canada in a day at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
A Word from Our Executive Director
What an incredible fall we had at the McMichael! I was enormously gratified by the tremendous response to the Robert Bateman exhibition. Attendance for the exhibition exceeded 48,000 visitors, each engaging with the work of this fine Canadian artist. I am very proud that the McMichael was the only Canadian venue for this internationally travelling exhibition. That Robert Bateman had his early start as an artist in Toronto only makes the success more satisfying as we closed the circle, bringing the artist home again.
Also during the fall, and in keeping with our celebration of living Canadian artists, we were honoured by visits from Kenojuak Ashevak and David Ruben Piqtoukun, both of whom have work in our permanent collection. In addition to celebrating Kenojuak's birthday, the visits marked the publication of Stones, Bones and Stitches, written by the McMichael's own Shelley Falconer and Shawna White, and produced by our colleagues at Tundra Press. The occasion acknowledged the important place of Inuit art in our collection, and also celebrated the enormous contribution that both artists have made in building our national culture.
The exhibition, Stones, Bones and Stitches was complemented by a three-day celebration of Inuit art, and I would like to extend sincere appreciation to the McMichael Volunteer Committee for its generous support of this project. In addition, I want to commend the volunteers for their organization of an extremely successful 17th Autumn Art Sale, which achieved a record $115,000 in sales. The proceeds from this fundraising initiative support the McMichael’s education and programming activities
Miller Brittain: When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears, our major exhibition during the fall season, introduces central Canada to the work of Maritime artist Miller Brittain. If you have not yet had an opportunity to view the wonderful drawings and paintings created by this talented artist be sure to visit the McMichael before the exhibition closes on February 10, 2008.
In the coming months we will be building on the momentum of the fall, and I encourage you to participate in the exhibitions and programs that are outlined in this edition of Sketches. We begin the year with Drawing Conclusions: The Group of Seven and Their Legacy and The Iconography of the Imagination: The Art of James Reaney, two unique exhibitions providing an opportunity to view works that are rarely exhibited.
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation in establishing the Barbara Tyler Fund for Curatorial Excellence. The Fund was created in memory of Barbara A. Tyler, Executive Director and CEO of the McMichael from 1986 to 2000. The financial support provided through this fund will help ensure that we will be able to continue developing compelling exhibitions and publications. To-date more than $73,000 has been donated by those who wish to remember Barbara and provide financial support for distinctively Canadian exhibitions and publications.
Donations to the Barbara Tyler Fund for Curatorial Excellence will be gratefully accepted by the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation, 10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, Ontario, L0J 1C0.
I wish all of you a very pleasant, healthy, and prosperous New Year, and look forward to seeing you at the McMichael. Visit regularly and often to enjoy the benefits of your membership as we broaden our offerings and reach in the coming year to live up to our motto: 100% Canadian.
Tom Smart
Executive Director and CEO
Image Credit: Tom Sandler
