The Great Gallery
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National Gallery of Canada

North America · Canada

National Gallery of Canada

📍 Ottawa, Canada · Founded 1880

Canada's national art museum, in a glass-towered building overlooking the Ottawa River, holds the country's finest collection of Canadian art, including Tom Thomson's Jack Pine and many works by the Group of Seven, as well as European and Indigenous art. A giant spider sculpture called Maman stands outside.

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History of the museum

The Marquess of Lorne, Canada's Governor General, started the National Gallery in 1880 as part of the founding of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. The collection moved many times in its first century. Its present building, by the architect Moshe Safdie, opened in 1988. In 1913 the government gave the gallery its own law, and its great purchases of the 1910s and 1920s were of early Canadian painters such as Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven.

Top pieces

In our gallery from here (28)

The Death of General Wolfe The Death of General WolfeBenjamin West · 1770 Hay Harvest at Éragny Hay Harvest at ÉragnyCamille Pissarro · 1901 Forest ForestPaul Cézanne · 1902 The Jack Pine The Jack PineTom Thomson · 1916 Northern River Northern RiverTom Thomson · 1915 Spring Ice Spring IceTom Thomson · 1916 Freeman Schermerhorn Clench Freeman Schermerhorn ClenchPaul Kane · 1835 Eliza Clarke Cory Clench Eliza Clarke Cory ClenchPaul Kane · 1835 Julie Papineau (née Bruneau) and her Daughter Ezilda Julie Papineau (née Bruneau) and her Daughter EzildaAntoine Plamondon · 1836 Assiniboine Hunting Buffalo Assiniboine Hunting BuffaloPaul Kane · 1851 Chinook Indians in Front of Mount Hood Chinook Indians in Front of Mount HoodPaul Kane · 1853 Behind Bonsecours Market, Montreal Behind Bonsecours Market, MontrealWilliam Raphael · 1866 Buffalo in Combat Buffalo in CombatFrederick Arthur Verner · 1870 Ojibwa Camp, Northern Shore of Lake Huron Ojibwa Camp, Northern Shore of Lake HuronFrederick Arthur Verner · 1873 Beacon Light, Saint John Harbour Beacon Light, Saint John HarbourHenry Sandham · 1879 Down in the Laurentides Down in the LaurentidesHomer Watson · 1882 Mother Love Mother LovePaul Peel · 1888 A Ravine Farm A Ravine FarmHomer Watson · 1889 Japanese Dolls and Fan Japanese Dolls and FanPaul Peel · 1889 Bedtime BedtimePaul Peel · 1890 Nut Gatherers in the Forest Nut Gatherers in the ForestHomer Watson · 1900 Autumn in France Autumn in FranceEmily Carr · 1911 Blanche Baume Blanche BaumeJames Wilson Morrice · 1911 Billboards BillboardsDavid Milne · 1912 Canadian Wildflowers Canadian WildflowersTom Thomson · 1915 Autumn's Garland Autumn's GarlandTom Thomson · 1915 Burnt Land Burnt LandTom Thomson · 1915 Blue Lake: Sketch for "In the Northland" Blue Lake: Sketch for "In the Northland"Tom Thomson · 1915

Other museums nearby

Canadian War MuseumOttawaMontreal Museum of Fine ArtsMontrealArt Gallery of OntarioTorontoMcMichael Canadian Art CollectionKleinburgMusée national des beaux-arts du QuébecQuebec CitySolomon R. Guggenheim MuseumNew York City