The McMichael proudly presents Morrice in Venice, an exhibition celebrating James Wilson Morrice’s evocative depictions of one of Europe’s most enchanting cities. Inspired by the pioneering research of Sandra Paikowsky, this exhibition showcases a stunning selection of Morrice’s canvases, pochades, and sketches, revealing his unique vision of Venice.
In June 2025, Toronto-based conceptual artist Iris Häussler undertook an artist residency in the historic Tom Thomson Shack at the McMichael. Häussler is known for her immersive installations, often created in non‑traditional museum spaces, that revolve around fictitious personae and their artistic legacies.
This selection of works from our permanent collection aims to convey something of its current breadth, taking particular pleasure in placing apparently disparate works in creative conversation with one another. Featuring works by Kananginak Pootoogook, Rebecca Belmore, Edward Burtynsky, Franklin Carmichael, Emily Carr, Kim Dorland, Sorel Etrog, Paterson Ewen, Lawren Harris, Prudence Heward, Gershon Iskowitz, A.Y. Jackson, Cornelius Krieghoff, Jean Paul Lemieux, Arthur Lismer, An Te Liu, Zachari Logan, Helen McNicoll, David Ruben Piqtoukun, David Milne, Michael Snow, Tom Thomson and others.
Tales of Empire presents bodies of work by Douglas that examine various colonization efforts globally, over time—an enduring theme that shapes much of his work. Curated by McMichael Executive Director and Chief Curator Sarah Milroy, the exhibition brings together five major photographic series that reflect Douglas’s incisive investigations into history, memory, and the impress of empire on both landscapes and lives.
The Tree Planters is a striking photographic series by award-winning Canadian photographer Rita Leistner. Through large-scale, painterly portraits captured in real-time, Leistner documents the gruelling and heroic labour of professional tree planters in British Columbia. Her work explores themes of human endurance, environmental stewardship, and Canada’s evolving relationship with its forests.
In the late 19th century, Quebec artists embraced Impressionism, blending European modernism with Canadian landscapes and city scenes. This exhibition highlights masterworks from Montreal to Charlevoix, enriched with archival photography and artifacts that reveal the heart of Quebec’s cultural identity.
Since the 1990 transfer of 90,000 works on paper from the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, new generations of Kinngait artists have emerged onto the contemporary art scene, capturing visions of their community into the new millennium.
This solo exhibition highlights a recent body of work by the leading Toronto-based conceptual artist Derek Sullivan. The works on display were inspired by Sullivan’s twelve-month site-study of Shift, a landart work by the American sculptor Richard Serra long-hidden in a field in King, Ontario.
The recent digitization of the Kinngait Drawings Archive—90,000 works strong and held by the McMichael for more than three decades—has allowed unprecedented curatorial access to the origins of this now world-renowned graphic tradition.
In June 2024, Toronto-based artist Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka (b. 1988) undertook an artist residency in the historic Tom Thomson Shack at the McMichael. The resulting project, Final Gasp of the Nervous System, responds to the natural environment and evokes personal and collective resilience in response to mental health struggles and the looming climate crisis.
John Scott: Firestorm presents the work of the late Canadian artist John Scott (1950–2022), gathering paintings, drawings, and sculptures made by Scott from the 1980s through the 2010s.
Among the great treasures of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection is a group of 54 jewel-like miniatures by the artist Clarence Gagnon.
