The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) receives a $22.8-Million Major Gift of 61 Artworks

“Bob Rennie’s extraordinary contribution to the nation supports our mission of making great art accessible to all Canadians, from coast to coast to coast, through partnership and collaboration,” said Paul Genest, Chair of the Board, and Jean-François Bélisle, Director and CEO, of the National Gallery of Canada. “The Rennie Collection, one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the country, has evolved over the years to focus on works tackling issues of identity, social commentary and injustice. We are most grateful to Mr. Rennie for this major donation and for his trust in us to share stewardship of these works on behalf of Canadians. We also want to acknowledge the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, who works tirelessly to cultivate relationships with philanthropic partners who share our passion to bring people together, especially in these divisive times, through shared experiences through art.”

“I started collecting over 50 years ago when I was 17. The core of the collection has been put together by Carey Fouks and myself,” said Bob Rennie. “We have always thought about custodianship, which is about making sure that artists are seen and their voices are heard beyond their life and beyond my life. This is foundational to the collection. The National Gallery of Canada shares our values and our intentions. Values of preservation, conservation and allowing the works to travel to museums and venues, which are not only across Canada but within the broad reach of relationships the Gallery has cultivated across the world. My family is very proud of this moment—a moment to protect artists’ legacies with this gift to our nation.”

Bob Rennie was notably Chair of Tate Modern’s North American Acquisitions Committee, President of Tate Americas and a member of the Executive Committee of the Tate International Council. Rennie also served as Chair of Acquisitions and Trustee at the Art Institute of Chicago. He is currently Chair of the Collectors Committee at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

The donation notably comprises 40 works by Rodney Graham. With a practice spanning 50 years, Graham (1949-2022) was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The works by Graham span nearly four decades, ranging from major installations, lightboxes, paintings and rare early works to multiples produced over many years that enhance insights into his oeuvre.

Three works by Ai Weiwei will complement the three current pieces in our collection by the celebrated Chinese contemporary artist.

Coming to the Gallery is British artist Yinka Shonibare’s full-room installation of 6,600 books celebrating the Americas’ diverse immigrant population, which identifies over 150 Americans of notable achievements in all fields, including some who were either born in Canada or have direct Canadian descendants.

The donation also includes 10 works by Mona Hatoum and pieces by Dan Graham, two artists who have strong connections with Canada.

American Dan Graham had a long and close history with our country having exhibited, lectured and made some of his earliest video works in the 1970s at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and through his long friendships and creative exchanges with Vancouver-based artists such as Rodney Graham, Ian Wallace and Brian Jungen.

Similarly, in the 1980s, internationally acclaimed British-Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum created a series of videos during multiple residencies at the Western Front in Vancouver and exhibited at a number of Canadian institutions through the years.

Reflecting the strong social justice component of the Rennie Collection, monumentally scaled works will bring Meleko Mokgosi, Toby Ziegler, Allora and Calzadilla, Gilbert & George and art collective Tim Rollins and K.O.S. into the Gallery’s collection for the first time.