Portrait Gallery of Canada
The Portrait Gallery of Canada is a federally-registered not-for-profit corporation that currently has no collection or physical presence.
Location
Currently, the Portrait Gallery of Canada exists as an online entity only. However, its volunteer Board of Directors envisions a future when the PGC will partner with the federal government to secure an inspiring physical space in the National Capital Region.Collection
The Portrait Gallery of Canada does not currently have a collection, nor is it affiliated with Library and Archives Canada.The Kingston Prize
The Kingston Prize, which is not affiliated with the Portrait Gallery of Canada, is a "biennial competition open to any Canadian artist who depicts a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in a portrait based on a real life encounter."Co-founded by Kaaren and Julian Brown of Kingston, Ontario, the $20,000 prize money for a new Canadian portrait competition they had conceived in 2005 "was to encourage portrait art in Canada — paintings and drawings of human faces and figures, in a country whose art more often celebrates landscapes."
History
1904: The Dominion Archives begins to collect portraits
Library and Archives Canada, known as The Dominion Archives at the time, was founded in 1872 and tasked with acquiring documents related to Canadian history. In 1904, Arthur George Doughty, the newly-appointed Dominion Archivist, began to include maps, flags, posters, portraits and other visual records to the nation’s growing collection of written material.Today, the LAC’s portrait collection includes over 20,000 paintings, drawings and prints, four million photographs and several thousand caricatures, as well as 10,000 medals and philatelic items. The collection is stored at LAC’s Preservation Centre in Gatineau, Quebec.
1938—1956: A Royal Canadian Academician’s dream
The lifelong dream of Canadian portrait artist John Wycliffe Lowes Forster, R.C.A., was to build a portrait gallery of historic and renowned Canadians. When he died in 1938, his estate bequeathed fifteen of his portraits to form the core of a national portrait collection and $10,000 towards the creation of a national portrait gallery. Although the Corporation of the National Portrait Gallery was registered in 1939, it was never realized. In 1956, members of the board transferred Forster’s donation to the Royal Ontario Museum.1941—1971: Nation-building through portraiture
For 30 years, the National Film Board of Canada’s Still Photography Division was mandated to document Canadian society in order to foster a sense of national cohesion. Official photographers travelled across Canada to document the daily lives of Canadians at home, at work and at play. At the time they were taken, these official portraits were reproduced in countless newspapers, magazines, and publications in Canada and internationally. The collection was later transferred to Library and Archives Canada.2016—2017: Public consultations
In August 2016, the Government of Canada, under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, invited Canadians to provide their input and ideas on the future use of the former U.S. embassy. Over 6,500 Canadians, as well as over 500 international visitors to the nation’s capital, shared their views, which helped inform the government’s decision.Respondents were presented with a list of six possible public uses for the revitalized site at 100 Wellington Street. The three top choices were “Gallery” appealing to 57% of respondents, “Canada House” at 46%, followed by an “Indigenous cultural centre.” From those who supported the idea of a “Gallery,” two in three respondents specifically called for a portrait gallery.
In March 2017, under the patronage of The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice of Canada, prominent art enthusiasts and community leaders joined forces to advocate for the Portrait Gallery of Canada. They commissioned a survey and concluded that the public’s interest in having a national portrait gallery in the former United States embassy remained.
In April 2017, Senator Serge Joyal, Senator Paul McIntyre, Senator Patricia Bovey and Senator Douglas Black sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging him to resurrect the portrait gallery project for the 150th anniversary of Canada. Fifty-five of the 99 sitting senators supported the initiative. "National Archives' portraits should be its base, but the gallery should be much more—vibrant, living, not just of the past but of the present, read the letter, noting the archives has more than 20,000 portrait paintings and photographs."