Art Gallery of HamiltonArt Gallery of Hamilton - Permanent Collection, Temporary Exhibits and Visitor Information
Permanent collection The Art Gallery of Hamilton in Hamilton Ontario collects art in three major areas: Canadian Historical, European Historical and Contemporary Art. If this is your first visit to the gallery, head up to the second floor, where you’ll find works from the permanent collection. The gallery owns approximately 9,000 works of art, but even with over 35,000 square feet of exhibition space spread over two floors, space is limited, so only a small percentage of that is on display at any time. Here are some of the pieces you might find on your visit: Canadian Historical The Canadian collection of this Hamilton gallery includes works by such well-known Canadian artists as Emily Carr, Alex Colville, Cornelius Kreighoff, the Group of Seven, Tom Thomson and Maurice Cullen, among others.
The Blair Bruce Memorial Collection hangs on a wall facing the staircase between floors 1 and 2. These were the first works to be donated to the gallery, back before it even existed. They formed the foundation for a permanent Hamilton art gallery in 1914. Bruce was a Hamilton-born artist who studied and worked in Europe for much of his career. European Historical A well-loved piece in this collection is James Tissot’s gorgeous "Croquet". The gallery's European holdings were recently enriched with a large donation called the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Collection of Nineteenth-Century European Art, which includes 200 works. Contemporary My favourite piece, at the back of the second floor, framed by a giant window, is Kim Adams’ Bruegel-Bosch Bus, a sculpture-installation composed of a 1960s Volkswagen bus, figurines, and mixed media. Sure to intrigue adults and kids alike. Temporary exhibits One of the strongest aspects of the Art Gallery of Hamilton is the number of exciting temporary exhibits they mount. They plan three seasons of exhibitions per year and each season there is at least one major exhibit accompanied by two or three smaller exhibits. Of the recent temporary exhibits some of my favourites have included: Labour in Art, Antoine Plamondon, Folk Art in Canada, Canadian Folk Art from the Collection of Susan A. Murray, textile artist Anna Torma, Hamilton's Industrial Architecture, and William Kurelek’s The Polish Canadians. Recently the gallery started showing works borrowed from the private collections from local Hamiltonians. This saves money AND lets visitors see works that are not available ANYWHERE else, because they’re in private hands. Contemporary works are featured in several exhibitions a year. Many of the installations are by local artists. You'll often find local work in the Jean and Ross Fischer Gallery, as well. This is a smaller space just up the stairs from the reception desk. Note: this part of the gallery is sometimes closed for special events so call ahead if you're going for that particular exhibit. Visitor Information The Art Gallery of Hamilton is the cultural heart of Hamilton Ontario. It's located at 123 King Street West, in the centre of the city, one block west of the main downtown intersection of King and James. Its "backyard" (with a sculpture garden) faces Hamilton City Hall on Main Street. The AGH is active in hosting temporary exhibits, public discussions, tours, film series, concerts and other special events such as GritLit, the city’s annual literary festival. Art workshops for children are available. There's a small cafe on-site. For current hours and admission, see http://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com In the Neighbourhood: Other Interesting Places to Visit in Downtown Hamilton Ontario Hamilton Place – A concert hall. Presentations include opera, classical concerts and other special presentations. Copps Coliseum – A large concert hall for big-name bands, ice capades, etc. Downtown Arts Centre – Hosts theatrical performance such as musicals by Hamilton Theatre Inc. and one-time special events. Convention Centre – Exhibitions Jackson Square – Downtown shopping mall with restaurants and a fast food court. Sheraton hotel – Has a fine dining restaurant on the upper floor with windows overlooking King Street and a handy café on the main floor serving sweets and coffee. James Street North – Restaurants, bars, small art galleries, a used book store, an historic church Christ’s Church Cathedral that hosts Makers' Markets in the summer, a shopfront museum called History+Heritage, the Hamilton Armouries and, further north, the former train station (now the LIUNA Station, an events centre). Site of monthly James North Art Crawl, second Friday of every month. Farmers Market – An indoor market with local and imported produce, meat, candy and bakeries. Gore Park – Downtown park. Site of summer-time concerts, Christmas-time manger and kiddy train. Downtown Restaurants – Black Forest Inn, My Thai, Capri, Denningers. return from Art Gallery of Hamilton to Hamilton Museums
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