View List of 2013 Acquisitions

2012/2013 ACQUISITIONS

From July 2012 to June 2013, the Vancouver Art Gallery acquired 276 artworks through purchase and donation, bringing the total number of works in the collection to 10,546.

Contemporary art continues to be a strong focus of our acquisitions activity, with significant purchases of work by emerging artists, including paintings by Rebecca Brewer, Heather Passmore and Etienne Zack; sculptures by Sonny Assu, Corin Sworn and Brendan Tang; as well as ink-jet prints by Raymond Boisjoly that were recently presented in Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture. These acquisitions were generously funded by proceeds from the Audain Emerging Artists Acquisition Fund and supported by the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisitions Assistance Program. The Audain Emerging Artists Acquisition Fund was also used to purchase Allochthonous Window by Gareth Moore, a large-scale installation that was commissioned specifically for the artist's solo exhibition at the Gallery. Relying on the Vancouver Art Gallery Acquisition Fund, as well as generous matching support from the Canada Council Acquisitions Assistance program, the Gallery was able to acquire works by local artists including a black and white photograph by Christos Dikeakos, a photographic installation by Marian Penner Bancroft and an installation made from found objects by Laiwan. The Gallery's growing collection of photography was supplemented with the purchase of two photographs by French artist Patrick Faigenbaum, on the heels of his solo presentation at the Gallery-his first ever in Canada.

Many other contemporary works entered the collection by way of donation, including two early vacuum-form plastic works by Iain Baxter from Peter Stanley and Lynne Pomfret, two abstract paintings by Pierre Coupey from Patti Kernaghan, two early kinetic sculptures by Max Dean from the Dean Family, a ceramic sculpture by Gathie Falk from Evelyn Springer, a photograph by Karin Geiger and a collage by Paul de Guzman from Coleen and Howard Nemtin, a large-scale installation by Robert Linsley from Ivonne Ip, a painting by Damian Moppett related to his recent outdoor installation at Offsite from a private collection, an artist book by Robert Morris from Bill Jeffries, a painting executed on a found mattress by Heather Passmore from Nora Kelly, a painting by Holger Kalberg from Doris and Ed Daughney, ten drawings by The Royal Art Lodge from Monty Cooper, a suite of drawings by Ed Pien from Gareth Sirotnik, a large-scale tapestry by Joanna Staniszkis from Audrey and Gerald Clarke, two installations by David Tomas from an anonymous donor and a large-scale photomontage canvas by Ian Wallace from Donald Vukson Canadian Collections. Long-standing donors Ann and Marshall Webb gifted an early video work and a set of prints by American artist Diana Thater, as well as a single-channel video by Los Angeles-based artist Euan Macdonald.

The Gallery's renowned collection of photography and photo-based work continues to expand. An extraordinary gift of 111 silver gelatin prints by Charles Gagnon was received from Michiko Yajima Gagnon. Major Art Donors Claudia Beck and Andrew Gruft gifted contemporary works by Robert Arndt, Greg Girard, Rodney Graham, Geoffrey James, Evan Lee, Ryan Sluggett and Althea Thauberger; historical photographs by Chansonetta Stanley Emmons, Erich Salomon and Aaron Siskind; and an iconic image by Robert Frank, Parade—Hoboken, New Jersey. Local collectors David Allison and Chris Nicholson realized a Promised Gift of a photograph by Reece Terris. Toronto-based collectors, Ann and Harry Malcolmson donated a large-scale photograph by Vancouver-based artist Stephen Waddell.

The Gallery's holdings of historical Canadian painting were greatly enhanced with the very generous gift of thirty-five watercolours by Charles John Collings from Uno and Dianne Langmann as well as one oil on canvas by Collings from Uno Langmann Limited. From a truly generous anonymous donor the Gallery received works by William Brymner, Maurice Cullen, John Hammond, Jock Macdonald, Thomas Mower Martin, Laura Muntz Lyall, Henri Perré, William Raphael, Otto Reinhold Jacobi, Marc Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté, Zacharie Vincent and Horatio Walker that supplemented the Gallery's holdings of historical Canadian painting. A painting by Arthur Lismer was donated by Turrall A. Moore, in memory of his parents, Charles A. and Jean C. Moore. Promised Gifts of historical First Nations works were realized by Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa. Christopher Wall and Susie Crang donated an expressive oil painting by Maxwell Bates, and Elizabeth and Robert Bowes gifted four watercolours by George Campbell Tinning.

The Gallery is especially grateful to artists who made donations of their own work, including Sonny Assu, Raymond Boisjoly, Pierre Coupey, Patrick Faigenbaum, Máximo González, Laiwan, Robert Linsley, Myfanwy MacLeod, Alex Morrison, Marian Penner Bancroft, Elspeth Pratt, Takao Tanabe, Ian Wallace, Lawrence Weiner, Yang Fudong and Robert Youds. Promised Gifts to the Gallery's permanent collection include a silver gelatin photograph by Mark Ruwedel from Mark McCain and Caro Macdonald/Eye and I, as well as a painting by Gordon Smith promised by the artist.

We extend our great appreciation to all of our donors whose continued generosity is so crucial to the growth of the Gallery's permanent collection. Thank you!