(Toronto) The Art Gallery of Ontario has received one of the largest private gifts of art in its history, including many from international luminaries and a selection of highly influential Canadians.
The gift from the estate of businessman Philip Lind includes 37 works by 24 artists.
“This is an important collection, especially in terms of quality,” said the museum’s CEO, Stephan Jost. “It is the good work of a good artist.”
The collection includes works by Philip Guston, a leading abstract painter who returned to figurative work, Ai Weiwei, a Chinese dissident artist whose work is exhibited internationally, and British sculptor Anthony Gormley.
But Mr. Jost is particularly excited about a selection of works by the so-called “Vancouver school” of photographers — artists such as Jeff Wall, Stan Douglas and Rodney Graham.
“If you look back over the last 30 years, there is a Canadian art movement that has become important on a global scale,” he said.
These Vancouver artists, described as photoconceptualists, moved away from small-format black-and-white images to large photographs of staged tableaux that addressed art history, media and the role of the artist in shaping our view of reality, Jost said. The gift significantly increases the museum’s stake in the school, Jost said.
“We’re not strong in that area. We have two Jeff Walls. We’ll have five more,” he said.
Mr. Jost said Mr. Lind, who was intimately involved in the growth of Rogers Communications, was an innovative businessman who translated his interest in creative thinking into the arts.
“He was always open to seeing things from a different perspective,” he said.
Mr. Lind’s gift will be on display at the museum from November through fall 2025. A catalog for the exhibition is currently in production.