History
Robert (1921–2003) and Signe (1921–2007) were married in 1949 and worked together at Robert McMichael Studios, their wedding photography business in Toronto. During the 1950s, Robert also established a successful New York-based company called Travel Pak Limited which he eventually sold so that he could devote his full attention to the gallery.
In 1954, they built a four-room log house using salvaged pioneer hand-hewn logs and fieldstone on their ten acres of wooded land in Kleinburg. The following year, they purchased Montreal River, a small oil sketch by Lawren Harris and subsequently, Pine Island by Tom Thomson. Even though the young couple had to sacrifice and pay for these paintings in installments, in the words of Robert McMichael, “they were hooked”.
Their dream of creating a permanent art centre which celebrated Canadian art took shape long before the formal establishment of a public gallery. Their vision included Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, and Aboriginal art. Their private collection grew through astute purchases, and also through donations from other private collectors and the artists themselves who believed in what the McMichaels were trying to achieve.
By the early 1960s, the McMichaels’ personal collection had grown to the point where thousands of people a year, including local school groups, were asking to see the art collection in their home. In 1964, Robert and Signe McMichael wrote to the Honourable John Robarts, Premier of Ontario, to express their desire to donate their art collection and property to the Province of Ontario, for the benefit of all Canadians. On November 18, 1965, the formal agreement was signed which gifted 194 works of art, the buildings and land to the Province. On July 8, 1966, the McMichael Conservation Collection of Art was officially opened.
After becoming a public institution, the collection continued to grow through the ongoing support and donations from Signe and Robert McMichael, as well as many other private collectors. The McMichaels continued to live at the gallery as unpaid curators-in-residence until their retirement in 1981.
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection grew out of the dream of two people and has become a national treasure honouring Canada’s cultural heritage.
Read more about this topic: Mc Michael Canadian Art Collection
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