National Gallery Tourist Destination
The nationalgallery is
a must. As Canada’s premier art gallery,
it has an enormous collection of North American and European works in various media,
all housed in an impressive building in the centre of town, at 380 Sussex
Drove. It’s just 15 minutes walk from the Parliament
Buildings.
Opened in 1988, the striking glass and pink granite gallery
overlooking the Ottawa River was designed by Moshe Safdie, who also created
Montreal’s Habitat (a unique apartment complex) and Quebec City’s Musee de la Civilization.
He also renovated City Hall.
The
mummeries galleries some arched and
effectively colored, display both classic and contemporary pieces, with the
emphasis generally on Canadian artists.
The USA and European collections do, however, contain examples from nearly all
the heavy weights. The gallery of
painting also presents changing exhibits and special shows.
National gallery history: The excellent
chronological display of painting
gallery and sculpture not only gives a history
of Canadian art but also, in a real sense, provides an outline of the
development of the country itself, beginning with the depictions of Native Indian life at the time the
Europeans arrived.
