The Art Gallery of Ontario is an Art Museum that is home to more than 80,000 art pieces that date from the first century. The museum is located in Dundas Street West Toronto, Ontario, Canada and sits on a 480,000 sq.ft. of space. It has the largest collection of Canadian art and various other works including African, European, and Oceanic Art. The pieces range from sculptures, drawings, and architecture to photographs and paintings.

AGO was founded at the start of the 20^th Century (1900) by a group of artists and art lovers who were members of the Ontario Society of Artists. The museum was incorporated and in 1919 was named the Art Gallery of Toronto, but that was later changed to Art Gallery of Ontario 47 years later. It held its first formal exhibition in 1913, but its first galleries were opened for viewing in 1918.

AGO’S TRANSFORMATION THROUGH THE YEARS

The art museum has undergone a journey of transformation with the aim of an expansion to add several galleries have taken place throughout the 20^th century that saw the AGO resting on 413, 000 sq. ft. of space, as of 1993. In 2004, the museum embarked on yet another transformation project by architect Frank Gehry at the cost of $276 million.

The transformation, however, received some significant backlash as many pointed out that the museum would lose its meaning and become the architect’s signature building. Even so, Frank did justice to the museum but giving it a facelift that saw around 47% of new space created for art viewing. The transformation saw the inclusion of gift shops, and a restaurant at the front of the art museum.

THE MUSEUM FEATURES AND ATTRACTIONS

PERMANENT COLLECTION

The Art Gallery of Ontario collection of Canadian art documents works that depict the growth of the country’s heritage through the years. The collection includes pieces done by Cornellius Krieghoff, Tom Thomson, and Emily Carr among other artists. Besides the works done by Canadian artists, AGO also showcases pieces from other parts of the world such as Europe, Asia, and Africa.

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES

AGO is home to one of the principal art libraries in Canada and it, as well as the museum’s archives, are open to the public and with no admission fees. The library and archives are made up of a general collection of works of art, over 165,000 volumes of information on general art and the history of art, information that can also be used for academic research about art. The library also has various newspapers from American, European, and Canadian art journals.Part of the collection also includes rare books from different authors and artists that date back to the 17^th century.

The archive and special collections are made up of various historical documents that date back to when the museum opened. The exceptional collection of works of art include works done by artists such as Jack Bush and other that are finds from artist-run galleries as well as art dealers and collectors.