Support the Art of Canada
Make a charitable donation to the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation.
The McMichael is founded on the very idea of giving. Robert and Signe McMichael donated their home, land, and art collection to the Province of Ontario in 1965, and the gallery has since relied on generous donations, sponsorship and gifts from both the private and public sectors.
Become part of the McMichael family — as a member, as a corporate partner, as a volunteer or docent, or by making a charitable donation through the Foundation to support the gallery’s permanent collection, special exhibitions, and exciting range of programs for adults and children.
Four Easy Ways to Donate
All donations of $25 or more are tax receiptable in Canada. Charitable Registration Number: 897703765 RR 0001
Other Ways to Show Your Support
Patrons Circle
Our Patrons Circle is a group of donors who are deeply committed to the Art of Canada. Spend time with other art enthusiasts at a variety of private events designed to engage, educate and inspire. Your generous support ensures excellence in exhibitions and programming at the McMichael.
For more information, please contact:
Roz Heintzman
Associate Director, Special Projects
416-937-9375
Women’s Art Council
The Women’s Art Council provides a forum for women philanthropists with a passion for Canadian art to share their time and talents in support of the exhibitions, programming and capital development of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection — and to bring the McMichael to greater prominence regionally. Additionally, the Council has a specific role to promote and encourage the work of Canadian female artists.
For more information, please contact:
Roz Heintzman
Associate Director, Special Projects
416-937-9375
Indigenous Art Curatorial Fund
By contributing to the Indigenous Art Curatorial Fund you will be helping the McMichael to support curatorial and research initiatives that are important to the preservation and conservation of work by Canada’s Indigenous artists.
To inquire about how to make your contribution, please contact:
Andrew Finn
Executive Director
905-893-1121 ext 2215
Gift of Art
The McMichael greatly appreciates the generosity of donors who wish to make gifts of Canadian art to the collection. The gallery urges any donor considering a gift of art to consult with his or her tax adviser before proposing such a gift.
The McMichael regularly receives offers of donations which, as an Agency of the Government of Ontario, are evaluated according to our rigorous Acquisitions Policy. This policy is guided by professional museum standards set out by the Canadian Museums Association and is approved by the McMichael’s board and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. A range of criteria are used to evaluate each proposed item including:
- Suitability and appropriateness for the collection (ie. does it fill an identified gap in the collection?)
- Condition, Storage and Maintenance Requirements
- Provenance
We are enormously grateful to all those who consider donating works of art to the McMichael, but we must emphasize that many donations, however generous, regrettably cannot be accepted. This in no way reflects the quality of the works on offer and we appreciate your understanding.
To inquire about a proposed gift of art please contact the Head of Collections, Janine Butler, below. Please allow two weeks for acknowledgement of your offer. A full evaluation may take longer depending on the size and complexity of the proposed gift.
Janine Butler
Head of Collections / Registrar
905.893.1121 ext 2252 jbutler@mcmichael.com

Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin (1871-1972) was a significant donor to the McMichael. He was a pioneer in the Canadian automobile industry and founder of General Motors of Canada, as well as a noted philanthropist and patron of the arts. His support of the visual arts was likely encouraged by the fact that his daughter, Isabel McLaughlin, was an artist.
Through his friendship with A.Y. Jackson, Colonel McLaughlin acquired an exceptional collection of Group of Seven masterpieces in 1940. These paintings hung in his Oshawa home, Parkwood Estate, until 1969 when Robert McMichael convinced him that the McMichael gallery would be a fitting permanent home for his collection of Group of Seven paintings as well as the Maria Chapdelaine series by Clarence Gagnon.
Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts Fund
The Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts (TFVA) is a not-for-profit organization of 240 members established in 1998. It supports the visual arts in the GTA financially through annual awards and educates its members through regular lectures and museum, gallery, studio and collector tours and events.
The McMichael is very grateful to the TFVA for the establishment of a Fund for symposia, speaker series, and other public events that support the engagement of the public in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in the appreciation and understanding of Canadian art. The Fund assists the McMichael to bring new perspectives from scholars, art experts, and others across North America. It has, for example, supported Modernism in Manhattan: David Milne’s New York 1903-1916, by Jessica Todd Smith, the Susan Gray Detweiler Curator of American Art and Manager of the Center for American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It has also supported bringing journalist Ruth Teichroeb to participate in a conversation with artist Robert Houle about the devastating impact of the residential school system.
For more information on the Fund or how to contribute, please contact:
Christine Sadler
Director of Development
905.893.1121 ext 2215 csadler@mcmichael.com