AGA History

With a goal to develop a permanent collection of art for Edmontonians, the Edmonton Art Club, the Edmonton Art Association and the Local Council of Women come together to help create the Edmonton Museum of Arts – under the leadership of Maud Bowman. The Museum is stationed within the Edmonton Public Library’s first location at 100^th Avenue and 100^th Street.

Dr. Robert Hedley is appointed the museum’s second director, prioritizing the expansion of the Gallery’s Art Education program and interest in the visual arts. 1943 also marks the creation of the Women’s Society of the Edmonton Museum of Arts, a core volunteer group that oversees many of the museum’s activities - interpretive programming, membership engagement, fundraising initiatives and commercial enterprise.

The Museum finds its next home in the renovated former residence of the Secord family, a building transferred to the city after the death of Annie Secord in 1951. At Secord House, the museum finally has space to display its collection, conduct art classes and rent space.

The Edmonton Art Gallery (renamed from the Edmonton Museum of Arts in 1956) finds its permanent home in the Arthur Blow Condell Memorial Building, purpose-built with appropriate environmental controls to take on more ambitious travelling exhibitions. This building is made possible by a large donation bequeathed by Mrs. Abigail Edith Condell, in the name of her late son, and local architecture firm Bittorf-Wensley.

The Ernest E. Poole Foundation donates 90 artworks to the EAG’s growing collection of historical Canadian art, including artworks by the Group of Seven, Tom Thomson, Emily Carr, Cornelius Krieghoff, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Fredrick Arthur Verner and Laura Muntz Lyall among others. The Poole donation remains the most significant contribution to the Gallery’s collection to date.

The Edmonton Art Gallery co-hosts its first Alberta Biennial in partnership with the Glenbow Museum, a showcase of contemporary art by Alberta artists across the province. Presented at both locations and curated by Bruce Grenville (EAG) and Catharine Mastin (Glenbow), the exhibition enhances the dialogue amongst various regions, communities and urban centres.

Randall Stout, a Los Angeles-based architect, wins an international architecture competition and is selected to design the updated gallery building. The announcement of the winning architect is paired with the unveiling of the Edmonton Art Gallery’s new name, The Art Gallery of Alberta, to reflect the Gallery’s growing ambitions to become a cultural hub and guardian of Alberta’s artistic and cultural heritage.

The Art Gallery of Alberta transports their operations temporarily to Enterprise Square for holding as construction begins on the new building.

Construction concludes on the new Art Gallery of Alberta building, with around 10,000 guests attending the grand opening. A stark contrast to the former building, Stout’s design took inspiration from the natural surroundings of the gallery, letting the curves of the North Saskatchewan and aurora borealis inform the flowing, organic design of the architecture.

Marking 100 years of exhibitions, classes and community, the AGA is now known for award-winning exhibitions and innovative programming - continuing its tradition of being a keystone institution in the city and province.