The original Art Gallery building.
| BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS |
VAG B.C. Artists' Exhibitions
VAG B.C. Artists' Medal Awards
The Art League donated to the Gallery the art collection that they had been accumulating in expectation of the Gallery's opening, and this formed the nucleus of the Gallery's permanent collection. The tale of the acquisition of paintings for the Founder's Collection was told in the first exhibition catalogue of the Gallery, dated October 5, 1931.
The Gallery hosted its first major exhibition in 1932 with the All Canadian Exhibition, a juried show of work by artists from across Canada.
The Graduates' Association of the art school started a newsletter called The Smock Pocket, a mimeographed collection of information about graduates and their doings. The Spring 1936 edition was the second issue of the newsletter, and noted that "The Annual Exhibition of the Vancouver School of Art" will take place this year from May 29th. until June 7th, in the North Room of the Vancouver Art Gallery. The Opening Ceremony takes place at 2:30 P.M. on the 29th, at which time the presentation of diplomas to this year's graduating class will also be made."
In 1935 Arthur Lismer, one of the members of the Group
of Seven, was traveling through Western Canada on a lecture tour with more than one purpose,
and he noted in a confidential report to the National Gallery his
comments about the Vancouver Art Gallery:
"In Vancouver the Art Gallery classes under the direction of Mr.
Charles H. Scott, principal of the Vancouver School of Art and
Design, are a lively and stimulating expression of child art study. They are well
organized with a competent and interested staff. The course is a little more formal
in the application than the Toronto Art Gallery's effort and the range of activity
more restricted, but it does not suffer on this account. It is merely that the
activity must grow out of the personal expression of the children themselves and by
experience of studying their needs plus the experience of their guides and teachers
the progress and new forms of application of the free study plan will develop."
In 1983 the Gallery made a major move and expansion into the old Vancouver Courthouse on Georgia Street, renovated for them by famed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson as part of the Robson Square downtown core redevelopment project. The Gallery took the opportunity to produce a major retrospective of their history (and Vancouver's) in "Vancouver: Art and Artists 1931 - 1983" (see below).
CITY & PROVINCIAL DIRECTORIES 1932-33 (refer to DIR)
WORK IN PROGRESS: An Incomplete History of the Vancouver Art Gallery 1931 - 2023
Essays by Anthony Kiendl, Eva Respini
ISBN 978-1-927656-63-1, published by Vancouver Art Gallery 2023
160 pages, paperback, illustrated throughout in colour and black & white
A collection of photographs and artworks depicting the gallery's history by decade.
"
Coincident with the first anniversary celebration of Vancouver's Civic
Art Gallery, West Georgia Street, was the formal opening Wednesday night of the first
British Columbia Artists' Exhibition.
The ceremony was performed by H.A. Stone, Chairman of the
Founder's Committee.
"As art in the province develops there is every hope this exhibition will be looked
forward to by all of us," said Mr. Stone, "and that artists in particular will regard
it as an opportunity to bring their work before the public for exhibition and sale."
W.G. Murrin, president of the Art Gallery Association, declared that at the conclusion
of the Gallery's first year he could state it had been "in a practical sense successful
beyond our anticipations, one result has been most certainly achieved - Vancouver has
become more art conscious.""
From "B.C. Artists Reveal Talent at Show"
unknown newspaper, October 1932