Art Gallery of Ontario
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Founded in 1900 and now one of the most prominent art museums in North America, the wide-ranging Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has close to 40,000 works. The outstanding pieces of Canadian art, in particular paintings by the Group of Seven, are a national treasure, and make up more than half the AGO’s collection. Along with superb Henry Moore bronzes and other works, the gallery exhibits significant masterpieces of European art, from paintings by Tintoretto and Frans Hals to Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso. A major renovation, scheduled to be completed in 2007, is designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, who grew up in Toronto.
General admission to the gallery is free every Wednesday, 6–8:30pm; a fee may be charged for entrance to some exhibits Nearby underground pay parking is available at Village by the Grange, on McCaul Street south of Dundas Street
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1. The Grange
This Georgian mansion was the AGO’s first home. Restored to the period 1834–40, it gives a taste of what life was like for Toronto’s privileged class in the mid-19th century, as does the weekly performance of Scandal in The Grange .
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2. Henry Moore
The world’s largest public collection of works by British artist Henry Moore (1898–1986) encompasses bronze sculptures, plaster and bronze maquettes, drawings, and prints. His monumental Large Two Forms broods outdoors, its surface worn smooth by admirers’ countless rubbings.
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3. Group of Seven
Iconic scenes of the northern Ontario landscape epitomize this deeply influential group of painters who strove, in the 1920s, to create a national artistic identity. The collection features signature work by A. Y. Jackson, Lawren Harris, and Tom Thomson, who died before the group officially banded together.
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4. French Impressionists
Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir are just some of the 19th-century artists whose masterpieces grace this estimable collection.
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5. 20th-Century Canadian
Major works by Betty Goodwin, Joanne Tod, and Elizabeth Magor demonstrate the strength and diversity of contemporary Canadian artists. Conceptual art is represented by Michael Snow, Jeff Wall, and Paterson Ewen, who painted on plywood gouged with an electric router.
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6. Contemporary
Abstract Expressionist, Pop, Minimal, and Conceptual examples illustrate the evolution of late- 20th-century art in North America and Europe.
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7. Thomson Collection
The largest philanthropic cultural gift in Canadian history, these 2,000 works add remarkable depth to the AGO’s collection, with emphasis on Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, 19th-century painters Cornelius Krieghoff and Paul Kane, and the work of 20th-century radical abstract expressionists Paul-Émile Borduas and Jean-Paul Riopelle.
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8. Prints and Drawings
Ranging from the 15th to 21st centuries, this is the most comprehensive collection in the country, with over 14,000 sheets. Important Italian, Dutch, German, French, and British pieces are found here – Adam and Eve (1504) by German etcher Albrecht Dürer being a highlight. Works by Canadian artists also have a strong presence.
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9. Photography
This broad collection showcases historic calotypes by Linnaeus Tripe and work by 20th-century modernist Josef Sudeck. Modern Canadian pieces round out the exhibit.
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10. Inuit Art
Focusing on art produced after World War II, this huge collection of sculptures, prints, drawings, and wall hangings – crafted from indigenous materials – is one of the finest anywhere.
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