This Ontario gallery just got one of the largest private art donations in Canadian history

Do you ever think about just how much amazing art is in private hands? Probably not but if you do, you’ll know that there’s a lot and it’s quite rare that the public gets to see that art. This is why it’s super exciting that a Montreal couple has made one of the largest private art donations in Canadian history to The National Gallery of Canada.

The National Gallery of Canada is the new home of a large 16th & 17th-century northern European art collection. That’s all thanks to Montreal physicians and art collectors Jonathan Meakins and Jacqueline McClaran. Over the course of their careers, Meakins and McClaran two have carefully amassed a collection of prints, etchings, woodcuts, and more. The 258 works of art given to the NGC include works by artists like Rembrandt, Brueghel, and Dürer.

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Not only is this donation a gift that will keep on giving for generations of viewers to come but it also means the NGC now has the largest and most comprehensive collection of Flemish and Dutch prints in Canada. Best of all, you can actually visit the works in person at the exhibition The Collectors’ Cosmos: The Meakins-McClaran Print Collection until November 14th.

Let’s see if another Canadian art collector can one-up Jonathan and Jacqueline by giving an even bigger collection this year. in the meantime, you’ll definitely want to pay the show a visit if you happen to live in Ontario. You can read the original story here and grab tickets and show info by clicking below.

The Collectors’ Cosmos: The Meakins-McClaran Print Collection

When: Until November 14th
Where: National Gallery of Canada, 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario
Cost: $20