The Vancouver Art Gallery, located in
Vancouver,
British Columbia, is
Canada's fourth largest, and the largest this side of
Toronto. It was founded in
1931, in what was formerly a courthouse.
The mission statement of the Vancouver Art Gallery states that it "is a place where people meet to experience inspiration, meaning and pleasure through visual art". This is a fairly recent change from the old message, which stated that it "focuses on the acquisition, public exhibition and interpretation of works of art, principally by contemporary artists".
There are four floors of exhibition space, two of which feature works from the permanent collection (of which there are 7000 - with a net worth about 100 million dollars), with the remaining two generally devoted to contempory art works. The gallery also has a section devoted to art rental, and two gift shops. There are offices, conference rooms, and a library. In the lobby, there is a flight of stairs to a café - a section designed by Arthur Erickson (with food rather on the expensive side).*
The Vancouver Art Gallery has the world's largest collection of Emily Carr's works, which feature prominently in the permanent collection, and indeed the entire top floor remains devoted to her work.
Mailing Address:
Vancouver Art Gallery
750 Hornby Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada
V6Z 2H7