Ottawa · Since 1880 · Canadian, indigenous and international art

The National Gallery of Canada preserves more than ninety thousand works in Ottawa, with a central attention to Canadian arts and Indigenous creations.

Founded in 1880 in connection with the first exhibition of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, the National Gallery of Canada is one of the oldest national cultural institutions in the country. The diploma works offered by the members of the Academy form its first core. Gradually, the museum developed reference Canadian and indigenous collections, while bringing together European, American, Asian, contemporary art, photography, prints and drawings. Its current building, designed by Moshe Safdie with landscaper Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, officially opened on May 21, 1988. The glass, granite, interior gardens and chapel of Rideau Street integrated into the galleries build a monument that dialogues with Parliament and the Ottawa River. The selected works cover several modernities: Monet frames the Aiguille d'Étretat through the Porte d'Aval, Klimt combines pregnancy and worry, Matisse organizes an odalisque through color and Rembrandt represents himself with the signs of artistic status. The "National Gallery of Canada" selection notably compares L'Aiguille seen through the Porte d'Aval - Monet et Hope - Gustav Klimt. Its reading favors atmosphere.

In Ottawa, the national collection connects the stories of the territory, indigenous arts and major international trends without reducing Canadian identity to a single story.