Out of the Vault

The move into the new building is coming soon! We are busy making final preparations for the relocation of the administration and the permanent collection.  It is fitting that we take a look back at how our permanent collection came to be and to shed some light into the vault.
 
The first works purchased for what became the gallery's collection were acquired by the  Sarnia Women's Conservation Art Association and Norman Gurd, a prominent member of the Sarnia Library Board, before the formal existence of the gallery. The first three paintings purchased in March 1920 were:  H.S. Palmer's Sawing Logs (1919), J.W. Beatty's Winter Scene (Near Toronto) (1918), and A.Y. Jackson's Spring in Lower Canada (Maples, Early Spring) (1915).  These works were acquired for a total of $700.00!

A.Y. Jackson, Spring in Lower Canada , 1915. 

The oldest work in the collection is a watercolour painting on paper by Daniel Fowler (R.C.A., O.S.A.). This painting is as old as Confederation itself, being completed in 1867. It is an untitled work, but features a fairly traditional rendering of a freshly hunted bird on its back. This work was purchased by Gallery Lambton in 1986.

Daniel Fowler, Untitled, 1867. 

One of the inaugural exhibitions of the Judith & Norman ALIX Art Gallery will be Core Sample, an intimate exhibition that celebrates the importance that private donations of art have on the development and on-going relevance of our permanent collection.