dian artists represented include Louise Abbott,
Raymonde April, and Michel Campeau. In addi-
tion to Canadian photographers, the collection
includes works by Brassaı ̈, Dorothea Lange, Ead-
weard Muybridge, and Germaine Krull. The
museum has held many exhibitions dedicated to
the medium of photography, including Herbert
List, Romantic Wanderer.
http://www.mbam.qc.ca
National Gallery of Canada/Muse ́e des beaux-
arts de Canada
Beginning in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada
(NGC) has collected over 50,000 works including
Canadian, European, American, Contemporary,
Modern, Inuit, and photographic art. The main
focus of the NGC is to develop, maintain, and
make known throughout Canada a collection of
international art, both historic and contemporary,
with a special reference to Canadian art.
The photography collection, although the young-
est of NGC’s collections, is the largest with over
20,000 photographs. Established in 1967 by James
Borcoman, it comprises one of the top major inter-
national photographic collections covering the entire
history of the medium, from 1839 to the present.
Many different types of photographs are represented
in the collection, such as daguerreotypes, ambro-
types, gelatin silver, and platinum prints, and many
examples of color as well as new modern photo-
graphic techniques. Rather than just single important
images, the collection represents several in-depth
bodies of work to give the viewer a greater under-
standing of the artist’s work. Many famous and
socially significant artists are represented in the col-
lection, including Julia Margaret Cameron, Euge`ne
Atget, Walker Evans, August Sander, Diane Arbus,
andEdwardWeston,tonameafew.Inadditionto
the historic artists, the collection also represents
many contemporary photographers, such as Roger
Mertin, David Heath, Lynne Cohen, and Gary
Schneider. Many important exhibitions are organized
from the NGC’s photographic permanent collection,
including the 2004 exhibitionFaces, Places, Traces,
showcasing 97 photographs, newly acquired by the
NGC. The most notable images of the newest acqui-
sition were several vintage prints by Paul Strand.
http://www.national.gallery.ca
Vancouver Art Gallery
Founded in 1931, at the end of the twentieth cen-
tury the Vancouver Art Gallery’s permanent collec-
tion boasted over 8,000 works of art including
paintings, sculpture, mixed media, and photogra-
phy. With an emphasis on British Columbia artists,
the Vancouver Art Gallery also holds the largest
public group of paintings by the renowned moder-
nist Emily Carr and represents a comprehensive
resource for visual arts in the region.
Since the 1980s, the gallery has been building a
strong collection of photo-based art, which now
includes almost 800 works. Vancouver is renown-
ed for its contemporary photography, specifically
the ‘‘Vancouver School,’’ a group of photogra-
phers working in photoconceptualism. The Van-
couver Art Gallery’s permanent collection
includes many of these ‘‘Vancouver School’’
works, such as those by Stan Douglas, Rodney
Graham, Jeff Wall, and Ken Lum, among others.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is also home to the
archive of renowned Pictorialist John Vander-
pant.InadditiontoVancouver-basedartists,the
permanent collection holds the works of such
important photographers as Andreas Gursky,
Cindy Sherman, Thomas Struth, and many
others. The main focus of the photography collec-
tion is to build a dialogue on photography and the
conceptual and material possibilities that sur-
round the medium. In 2003, the Vancouver Art
Gallery held an exhibition titledThe Big Picture:
Recent Acquisitions from the Collection of Alison &
Alan Schwartzshowcasing the gallery’s $3.5 mil-
lion acquisition of photographic works from 20
different artists, including Matthew Barney, Tho-
mas Ruff, and many other European, British, and
North American artists.
http://www.vanartgallery.bc.caWinnipeg Art Gallery
Since its founding in 1912, the Winnipeg Art Gal-
lery (WAG) has held up its mandate to develop and
maintain the visual arts in Manitoba and Canada,
and to involve the public in the arts. Since its
inception, the WAG has collected over 22,500
works, ranging from the fifth century to the pre-
sent. The collection encompasses historical, dec-
orative, Inuit, contemporary, and photographic
arts, with an emphasis on Canadian artists, speci-
fically those from Manitoba.
The photography collection within the WAG con-
centrates on the twentieth century, with a strong
emphasis on Canadian photographers. Consisting of
over 1,100 photographs, the genres represented range
from social and documentary, landscape and portrai-
ture, as well as contemporary photo-based works.MUSEUMS: CANADA