Past Exhibitions

Ian Dejardin, Executive Director of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, is delving deep into the gallery’s vaults to make a very personal selection of works of art for his first curated show since taking the reins of the gallery. Dejardin promises many classic favourites, but also some that have been rarely seen, and some that might surprise even an audience familiar with Canadian art. This exhibition will showcase the beauty, diversity, and artistry of the art of Canada.

This exhibition will document an artistic career that spanned the first half of the 20th century, bringing together more than ninety works in oil and watercolour, never-before-exhibited photographs and drawings by the artist, and memorabilia collected by Milne during his time in Europe as an official war artist.

This exhibition will focus on Stephen Andrews’ works responding to images of war and prisoners of war, exploring the way in which we experience such imagery through the media. Andrews’ works, which are largely pencil crayon on paper, subtly interpret the omissions and misinterpretations of war imagery, with many images culled from unofficial soldiers’ blogs and other online platforms.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the gallery’s founders, Robert and Signe McMichael, celebrated Christmas with a welcoming spirit, inviting neighbours into their home to enjoy their collection of Canadian art. With its log-and-stone architecture construction and panoramic views of the snow-covered forest, the McMichaels’ home was truly a place of special Christmas cheer; so-much-so that Signe McMichael was once quoted in an article, “This house was made for Christmas.”

Carl Beam: Time Traveller features a selection of works on paper by Ojibwe artist Carl Beam (1943-2005) drawn from the McMichael's permanent collection. Beam's combined-use of family photographs, images from archival sources and news media suggests the interplay of past and present in his complex experience of twentieth century life, placing the condition of Indigenous peoples within a global context.