Beaverbrook Art Gallery
Encyclopedia
The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is a small art gallery
on the southwest bank of the Saint John River at the edge of the central business district of Fredericton
, New Brunswick
, Canada
. It is New Brunswick's provincial art gallery, and maintains a collection of considerable quality despite its size.
The gallery was established and built in 1958 by British
-Canadian
press baron Lord Beaverbrook as a gift to his native province where he spent his childhood. Beaverbrook directed his charitable foundations (the Canadian Beaverbrook Foundation and the UK Beaverbrook Foundation) to fill the gallery with the best paintings and artwork from his private collection, including famous works by world-renowned artists such as Gainsborough
, Turner
, Krieghoff
, Dalí
, Constable
and Reynolds
. These paintings are part of the gallery's Beaverbrook charter collection and include Dalí's Santiago el Grande and Turner's The Fountain of Indolence.
In addition to Krieghoff, the gallery also hosts an extensive collection of 19th and 20th century Canadian artists such as the Group of Seven
, Carr
, Milne
and Riopelle
. The gallery's current collecting priority is 20th century New Brunswick artists.
to raise money for the Canadian and UK Beaverbrook Foundations. The Beaverbrook Art Gallery maintains that it received permanent custody of the charter collection, citing the wishes of Lord Beaverbrook himself at the time of the gallery's creation.
The dispute proceeded to arbitration, and a ruling was dispensed on March 26, 2007. Of the 133 disputed paintings, 85 were ruled as being gifts from the original Lord Beaverbrook, while 48 paintings were to be returned to the custody of the Beaverbrook United Kingdom Foundation, currently headed by Sir Maxwell Aitken III
, grandson of the original Lord Beaverbrook. Aitken is reported to be appealing the decision.
Over 78 other paintings are disputed by the Canadian foundation in a second legal case against the gallery. It has yet to be heard in New Brunswick, as it had been put on hold awaiting the decision involving the British branch. The Canadian foundation is directed by one of Aitken's grandsons, Timothy.
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
on the southwest bank of the Saint John River at the edge of the central business district of Fredericton
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is New Brunswick's provincial art gallery, and maintains a collection of considerable quality despite its size.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
-Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
press baron Lord Beaverbrook as a gift to his native province where he spent his childhood. Beaverbrook directed his charitable foundations (the Canadian Beaverbrook Foundation and the UK Beaverbrook Foundation) to fill the gallery with the best paintings and artwork from his private collection, including famous works by world-renowned artists such as Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
, Turner
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
, Krieghoff
Cornelius Krieghoff
Cornelius David Krieghoff is probably the most popular Canadian painter of the 19th century. Krieghoff is most famous for his paintings of Canadian landscapes and Canadian life outdoors, which were sought-after in his own time as they are today. He is particularly famous for his winter scenes,...
, Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
, Constable
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
and Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
. These paintings are part of the gallery's Beaverbrook charter collection and include Dalí's Santiago el Grande and Turner's The Fountain of Indolence.
In addition to Krieghoff, the gallery also hosts an extensive collection of 19th and 20th century Canadian artists such as the Group of Seven
Group of Seven (artists)
The Group of Seven, sometimes known as the Algonquin school, were a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920-1933, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael , Lawren Harris , A. Y. Jackson , Franz Johnston , Arthur Lismer , J. E. H. MacDonald , and Frederick Varley...
, Carr
Emily Carr
Emily Carr was a Canadian artist and writer heavily inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the first painters in Canada to adopt a post-impressionist painting style, Carr did not receive widespread recognition for her work until later in her life...
, Milne
David Milne
David Milne may refer to:* Sir David Milne , British admiral* David Milne , Canadian artist* David Milne , Australian rugby league player...
and Riopelle
Jean-Paul Riopelle
Jean-Paul Riopelle, was a painter and sculptor from Quebec, Canada.-Biography:Born in Montreal, he studied under Paul-Émile Borduas in the 1940s and was a member of Les Automatistes movement. He was one of the signers of the Refus global manifesto...
. The gallery's current collecting priority is 20th century New Brunswick artists.
Ownership dispute
A dispute arose in 2003 between the gallery and the heirs of Lord Beaverbrook over custody of the Beaverbrook charter collection. The heirs wish to sell some of the most valuable works in the collection through international art auctioneers Sotheby'sSotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
to raise money for the Canadian and UK Beaverbrook Foundations. The Beaverbrook Art Gallery maintains that it received permanent custody of the charter collection, citing the wishes of Lord Beaverbrook himself at the time of the gallery's creation.
The dispute proceeded to arbitration, and a ruling was dispensed on March 26, 2007. Of the 133 disputed paintings, 85 were ruled as being gifts from the original Lord Beaverbrook, while 48 paintings were to be returned to the custody of the Beaverbrook United Kingdom Foundation, currently headed by Sir Maxwell Aitken III
Maxwell Aitken, 3rd Baron Beaverbrook
Maxwell William Humphrey Aitken, 3rd Baron Beaverbrook, is a British peer, baronet and politician.Aitken is the grandson of the 1st Baron Beaverbrook and the only son of Sir Max Aitken, by his third marriage to Violet de Trafford....
, grandson of the original Lord Beaverbrook. Aitken is reported to be appealing the decision.
Over 78 other paintings are disputed by the Canadian foundation in a second legal case against the gallery. It has yet to be heard in New Brunswick, as it had been put on hold awaiting the decision involving the British branch. The Canadian foundation is directed by one of Aitken's grandsons, Timothy.