Colin B. Mackay Gallery of New Brunswick Art
Sponsored by the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation Inc. This exhibition, based on the Museum’s permanent collection, includes works by painters and sculptors who have made significant contributions to our artistic heritage, whether through their work’s quality or their influence.
For the first time, the New Brunswick Museum has the opportunity to dedicate a permanent gallery to the province’s art history.
The permanent collection of New Brunswick fine art contains approximately 400 works dating from the early 1800s to the present. Two-thirds of the works date from the twentieth century and the collection’s subject areas divide evenly between landscape and portraiture, with additional representations of still life, abstraction and genre. Donations and bequests account for the majority of the collection which also had been augmented by purchases directly from artists or their dealers.
The New Brunswick Museum continues to collect works in an attempt to survey the province’s art historical developments as well as its current trends. Documenting the technical mastery and distinctive character embodied by the work of provincial artists assures a better understanding of its evolution and importance. After all, these paintings and sculptures tangibly evoke the spirit that forms New Brunswick.