Art Gallery of Ontario
| Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) | |
| Established | 1900 |
|---|---|
| Location | Toronto, Ontario |
| Director | Matthew Teitelbaum |
| Curator | Dennis Reid |
| Website | Art Gallery of Ontario |
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is an art museum on the eastern edge of Toronto's downtown Chinatown district, on Dundas Street West between McCaul Street and Beverley Street. With 486,000 ft² (45,000 m²) of physical space, the AGO is one of the largest art museums in North America.
Its collection includes more than 68,000 works spanning the 1st century to the present-day. It includes an extensive collection of Canadian art, which depicts the development of Canada's heritage from pre-Confederation to the present. Indeed, works by Canadian artists make up more than half of the AGO's collection. The museum also has an impressive collection of European art, such as major works by Tintoretto, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt van Rijn, Thomas Gainsborough, Anthony van Dyck, Emile Antoine Bourdelle, and Frans Hals (all donated to the AGO by FP Wood), and works by other renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin, Vincent Van Gogh, and Edgar Degas. In addition to these, the AGO also has one of the most significant collections of African art in North America, as well as a contemporary art collection illustrating the evolution of modern artistic movements in Canada, the United States, and Europe, including works by Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, and Jenny Holzer. Finally, the AGO is home to the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre, which houses the largest public collection of works by this British sculptor. Moore's bronze work, Two Large Forms (1966–1969) greets visitors at the museum's entrance.
Contents |
History
The AGO was founded in 1900 by a group of private citizens, as the Art Museum of Toronto. It was renamed the Art Gallery of Toronto in 1919 and then the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1966. The current location of the AGO dates from 1910, when the gallery was willed the land known as "The Grange" upon the death of Goldwin Smith. Digging on the building designed by Pearson and Darling began in 1916, and the galleries opened in 1918. Expansion throughout the 20th century added various galleries, culminating in 1993, which left the AGO with 97,000 square feet of exhibition space.
Transformation AGO
In 2004, the AGO unveiled a $254 million redevelopment plan called Transformation AGO, by architect Frank Gehry. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Barton Myers/KPMB Post-Modernist wing. The AGO's transformation increased the art viewing space by 47%. Notable elements of the new building include a glass and wood sculpture gallery at the north end along Dundas Street; a 4-story, box-like contemporary arts gallery and hosting centre clad in blue titanium facing Grange Park, as well as a new entrance aligned with the historic Walker's Court and The Grange.
During the course of the redevelopment plans, board member and patron Joey Tanenbaum temporarily resigned his position due to concerns over donor recognition, design issues surrounding the new building as well as cost of the project. The rift has since been healed and the project is proceeding apace, with $225 million raised.
Kenneth Thomson was a major benefactor donating much of his collection to the Gallery as well as providing much of the funding for its current renovation. Another major benefactor in the 20's and 30's was Frank Porter Wood.
AGO reopened on November 9, 2008 to members and November 14 to public after the transformation was completed.
Collection X
In keeping with web 2.0 trends, the AGO has initiated a social media website called Collection X, which provides users with a space to share ideas about life and art. Collection X showcases the work of contemporary photographers and visual artists as well public collections. The site has three sections: Collect, Connect, and Create. Collect is the site’s repository of uploaded media where users can explore public collections as well as images, video, and audio contributed by the Collection X community. By clicking on Connect, users can discover the exhibitions others have created, and how they have connected them around common interests, ideas and experiences. In Create, users have the ability to upload their own content, create an exhibition, make a connection, and start a conversation. Anyone can create a profile and join the discussion.
External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frank Gehry at Wiktionary
Frank Gehry at Wikibooks
Frank Gehry at Wikiquote
Frank Gehry at Wikisource
Frank Gehry at Commons
Frank Gehry at WikinewsCoordinates: 43°39′14″N 79°23′34″W / 43.65389, -79.39278
Why are we here?
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
This page is cache of Wikipedia. History