Body
Unbound:Works from the Collection
March
30 to July 10, 2005
The
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre celebrated its 25th
year with major
works from the Art Centre and University of Guelph collections in an exhibition
of historical and contemporary Canadian master works. The exhibition Body
Unbound: Works from the Collection acknowledged the breadth of the
collection, an assemblage of extraordinary works by artists who have made
significant contributions to art-making in Canada.
Wednesday 30 March 5:00 - 6:30 pm
Jazz Quartet
Exclusively Exclusive
Kristoria Catering Co.
Since
our opening in 1980, the
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre’s collection has grown through acquisitions made with funds raised by the Art Centre Volunteers, the generosity of numerous donors, and the sponsorship of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance Program.
The
University’s collection (on permanent loan to the Art Centre) was established in the 1880s through the collecting
activities of the three founding colleges - the Ontario Agricultural College, the
Ontario Veterinary College and the Macdonald Institute - whose faculty, staff
and students began an initiative to collect and enjoy art works by local
artists. In 1926, the OAC purchased a painting by Tom Thomson called The
Drive (c. 1916), which is one of the most celebrated works in the collection
today, and a campaign to build a
University collection of Canadian art was born.
It is a rich tradition that continues today.
Together,
the
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre and University of Guelph art collections
include more than 6,000 works and represent a 300-year survey of Canadian art.
The exhibition Body Unbound: Works from the Collection featured a
selection of significant works by prominent historical and contemporary Canadian
artists.
On Tuesday, April 5 at noon, the Art Centre presented a Gallery Talk with Exhibition Coordinator Dawn Owen on the exhibition Body Unbound: Works from the Collection.
Images:
Top: Details of selected works featured in the Art
Centre's 25th
anniversary exhibition Body Unbound: Works from the Collection, including
masterworks by Lawren Stewart Harris, Gordon Couling, Colette Whiten, and Tom
Thomson.
Second from top: Lawren
Harris, Morning Light, Lake Superior, c 1927. Gift of Frieda Helen
Fraser, in memory of her friend Dr. Edith Bickerton Williams, OVC '41, 1988,
University of Guelph Collection.
Mid-text: Tom Thomson, The Drive, c 1916. Ontario
Agricultural College purchase with funds raised by students, faculty and staff,
1926, University of Guelph Collection.
Bottom: Colette Whiten, Take Back the Night, 1992, (cloth,
embroidery thread, steel, halogen light) Puchased with funds raised by the
Art Centre Volunteers and with financial support from The Canada Council for the
Arts, 1997, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre Collection.