NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA

The architecture and the richness of the collections are breathtaking. Architect Moshe Safdie has designed a superb museum that allows daylight to filter through and provides restful areas. Visitors can enjoy the peace of the cloister, the atrium and the various gardens, or the silence of the Rideau Chapel garden, a fine example of Canadian religious decorative art. Not to be missed, however, are the museum's surroundings, home to a variety of artworks and installations, including Louise Bourgeois's giant spider "Maman", the various gardens designed by Cornelia Hahn Oberlander (the Winter Garden, the Taiga Garden, etc.), Jim Hart's Aboriginal sculpture "Les Trois sentinelles", and Michel de Broin's "Majestic" installation.

Inaugurated in May 1988, the National Gallery of Canada houses over 75,000 works of art in 12,400 m² of exhibition space, grouped into six distinct areas, each with its own architectural style: Canadian art; European, American and Asian art; Aboriginal ways and decolonization; contemporary art (including videos); drawings and prints; and photography. It also makes a foray into Canadian artistic history, commemorating the work of the Group of Seven, Alfred Pellan, Jean-Paul Lemieux and Paul-Émile Borduas. The room featuring works by the Group of Seven (7 painters considered to be the founders of Canadian painting, highlighting Canada's wild landscapes) and the one dedicated to Emily Carr are both absolutely captivating. The Native Art Gallery and the collections of American and European works are equally remarkable. From Rembrandt and Monet to Emily Carr and Riopelle. Find out more about the various workshops offered each day as part of the activities program. And don't forget the excellent bookshop and works by some of Canada's finest art and documentary photographers.

In June 2017, the museum opened a new gallery of Canadian works, featuring Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal art. In early 2018, it also laid out its Fred and Elizabeth Fountain garden, located in the Canadian and Aboriginal art galleries. Landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander was responsible for creating "a contemplative space evoking the iconic landscapes of the Canadian Shield".