Vancouver Art Gallery

About

The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a 15,300-square-metre-building (165,000 sq ft) adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Francis Rattenbury, the building that the museum occupies was originally opened as a provincial courthouse, before it was re-purposed for museum use in the early 1980s. The building was designated the Former Vancouver Law Courts National Historic Site of Canada in 1980. The museum first opened its doors to the public in 1931, housed within a structure crafted by the architectural firm Sharp and Johnston. In 1950, the museum underwent its initial expansion within this original building. Later, the institution embarked on a transition to the former provincial courthouse premises, with the relocation being completed in 1983. Subsequently, in the late 2000s and 2010s, the museum initiated plans for a further relocation to a new facility situated in Larwill Park. The Gallery's permanent collection serves as a repository of art for the Lower Mainland region, and has approximately 12,000 works by artists from...

In April 1931, the Vancouver Art Gallery Association was established under the provincial Society Act, in order to establish and maintain a museum for the City of Vancouver. The Association opened the art museum to the public at 1145 West Georgia Street on 5 October 1931. The building was designed by architectural firm Sharp and Johnston, and featured four galleries, one of which included a sculpture hall, a lecture hall, and a library. The cost to construct the building was approximately CA$40,000.

Works by British, and other European artists dominated the works exhibited at the museum at the time of its opening. In 1938, the museum was one of the buildings occupied by unemployed protesters during a sitdown strike in the weeks leading up to Bloody Sunday. Paintings were not damaged while the protesters occupied the building.

In 1950, the museum conducted renovations to its building, reshaping the design of the building towards an International Style of architecture; with the removal of the building's Art Deco facade. Renovations were also conducted to accommodate the 157 works bequeathed to the museum by Emily Carr, with the building reopened to the public in 1951. Cost for the renovation was approximately CA$600,000, funded by the City of Vancouver government, and funds raised by Lawren Harris.

In 1983 the museum was relocated to its present location, the former provincial courthouse. The building continues to be owned by the Government of British Columbia, although the museum occupies the building through a 99-year sublease signed with the City of Vancouver government in 1974; who in turn leases the building from the provincial government. Before the re-purposed building was opened to the public, it was renovated by architect Arthur Erickson at a cost of CA$20 million, as a part of his larger three city-block Robson Square redevelopment. The gallery connects to the rest of Robson Square via an underground passage below Robson Street.

In 2015, the museum purchased 10 oil sketches by J. E. H. MacDonald. Shortly after the VAG unveiled the works, questions surrounding their provenance emerged, leading to a nearly nine-year investigation that ultimately revealed the sketches were forgeries.

Planning to relocate the museum began as early as 2004, a result from the gallery's need for more exhibition and storage space for its collections. In November 2007, the museum announced plans to move to seek the approval of Vancouver City Council to build a new building at Larwill Park. In May 2008, the municipal government and the museum announced plans to relocate around the Plaza of Nations. However, Vancouver City Council later reversed its decision in April 2013, opting to approve the original proposed site in Larwill Park. The museum would occupy the building under similar arrangements as the former courthouse, with the museum leasing the property from the City of Vancouver.

The museum issued a request for qualifications for a new building design in September 2013. Herzog & de Meuron 's bid was selected by the museum in April 2014. The development of the Vancouver Art Gallery's new building is the first project for the architectural firm in the country. Perkins and Will 's Vancouver branch was contracted as the project's executive architects.

The building was originally planned to be completed in 2020, and was named the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts after a major donor. However, developments for the project stalled due to a funding dispute between the federal and provincial governments. As of March 2023, the new building's cost is estimated at $400 million. As of March 2023, the museum has raised over $340 million from public and private sources. Over $190 million was raised through private donations, including a $40 million contribution from the Chan Foundation in 2019 and a $100 million donation from the Audain Foundation in 2021. The latter was the largest cash donation to a Canadian public art museum.

Groundbreaking for the new museum building occurred on 15 September 2023, with construction taking place on the site in March 2024. However, it was later paused in August. On December 3, 2024, the gallery announced it had scrapped its proposed building design after projected costs rose from $400 million to $600 million. Herzog & de Meuron were removed from the project.

The Vancouver Art Gallery has organized and hosted a number of temporary, and travelling exhibitions. A select list of exhibitions held at the museum since 2005 include:

- Monet to Dali: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art (2007)

- KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art (2008)

- Vermeer, Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art Masterpieces from The Rijksmuseum (2009)

- Leonardo da Vinci : The Mechanics of Man (2010)

- The Colour of My Dreams: The Surrealist Revolution in Art (2011)

- Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore (2012)

- Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture (2012)

- Grand Hotel: Redesigning Modern Life (2013)

- The Forbidden City: Inside the Court of China’s Emperors (2014)