Vancouver Art Gallery Announces Major Gifts of Art

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Eugène Atget, "Place du Tertre, Montmartre, Paris," c. 1922 (printed c. 1950s), silver gelatin print, (collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of Claudia Beck and Andrew Gruft)

The Vancouver Art Gallery has been given new works for its collection, including 36 pieces by 26 artists donated by photography collectors Claudia Beck and Andrew Gruft.

Over several decades, the two internationally recognized Vancouver collectors have donated 552 works to the gallery, including this most recent gift.

Their donation includes vintage prints by 19th century practitioners, including Henri Béchard, Samuel Bourne, Adolph de Meyer, James McDonald, August Sander and Auguste Salzmann. There are also works by photographers working in the early 20th century, such as Annie Brigman, Lewis Wickes Hines, Helen Levitt and Aaron Siskind.

Prints by influential figures like Eugène Atget, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Larry Clark, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Albert Renger-Patzsch and Alfred Steiglitz — are also included.

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Charles Edenshaw, "Bracelet," late 19th C., gold, (collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift from Donald Ellis in honour of Daina Augaitis, photo by John Taylor)

Meanwhile, Donald Ellis has donated five significant silver and gold pieces by renowned Haida artist Charles Edenshaw (Da.a.xiigang), including two finely crafted bracelets and three carved spoons.

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Zhijie Qiu, "Tattoo II," 1994, chromogenic print, (collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Adelaar Family)

The gallery has also received 15 works by six international Asian artists, including Qiu Zhijie, Zhou Tiehai and Koki Tanaka, who participated in exhibitions in Vancouver in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This donation was made by Jack and Maryon Adelaar.

The gallery also received multiple works by contemporary artists Gareth Moore and Johannes Wohnseifer, whose practices are informed by the histories of conceptual art. These additions came from Ann and Marshall Webb.

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Gareth Moore, "How many people have cut their feet on broken glass in the Yucatan peninsula since 1969," 2003, c-print mounted on aluminum

image courtesy Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver)

From July 2018 to June 2019, the gallery acquired 196 works through purchases and donations, bringing the total works in its collection to 12,167. 

Source: Vancouver Art Gallery