National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada | |
Interactive fullscreen map | |
| Established | 1880 |
|---|---|
| Location |
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| Coordinates | 45°25′46″N 75°41′54″W / 45.42944°N 75.69833°W |
| Type | Art museum |
| Collection size | 93,625 |
| Visitors | 385,576 (FY2017–18) |
| Director | Jean-François Bélisle |
| Architect | Moshe Safdie (1983) |
| Public transit access | Rideau 9 Rideau/Hurdman |
| Website | www |
The National Gallery of Canada (French: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up 46,621 square metres (501,820 sq ft), with 12,400 square metres (133,000 sq ft) of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the largest art museums in North America by exhibition space.
The institution was established in 1880 at the Second Supreme Court of Canada building, and moved to the Victoria Memorial Museum building in 1911. In 1913, the Government of Canada passed the National Gallery Act, formally outlining the institution's mandate as a national art museum. The Gallery was moved to the Lorne Building in 1960.
In 1988, the Gallery was relocated to a new complex designed by Israeli architect Moshe Safdie. The glass and granite building is on Sussex Drive, with a notable view of Canada's Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill.
The Gallery's permanent collection includes more than 93,000 works by European, American, Asian, Canadian, and Indigenous artists. In addition to exhibiting works from its permanent collection, the Gallery also organizes and hosts a number of travelling exhibitions.