Library and Archives Canada today corrected inaccurate and misleading information reported by members of the media concerning the status of the Portrait Gallery of Canada.
The status of the Portrait Gallery of Canada has not been changed. It continues to be an essential program of Library and Archives Canada. The portrait collection continues to be accessible to all Canadians.
“Let me assure you that this remarkable collection will continue to be available to Canadians, wherever they live” reconfirmed Dr. Daniel J. Caron, Librarian and Archivist of Canada” the financial and human resources dedicated to making this collection known and accessible will continue as planned – this is unwavering”.
To ensure that the national collection is proudly and prominently on display across the country, a new approach has been adopted, focused on partnerships with museums, galleries and other institutions, combined with innovative uses of new media.
Examples of national programming include the Festival Karsh and Karsh: Image Maker exhibition with Canada Science and Technology Museum, which will begin to travel in early 2010, Portraits on the Ice during Winterlude 2009 and in Quebec City for the 400th Anniversary celebrations, as well as Family Portraits: immigration and identity, a community exhibition created in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Numerous other initiatives will be announced in the future.
The Portrait Gallery of Canada is a program of Library and Archives Canada which has gathered the largest group of national portraits in the country: more than 20,000 paintings, drawings and prints, 4 million photographs, several thousand caricatures, and ten thousand medals and philatelic items. The collection contains works by well-known professional artists as well as images made by ordinary people, and includes portraits by both Canadian and international artists.
The mandate of Library and Archives Canada is to preserve the documentary heritage of Canada for the benefit of present and future generations and to be a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all, thereby contributing to the cultural, social and economic advancement of Canada. Library and Archives Canada also facilitates co-operation among communities involved in the acquisition, preservation and diffusion of knowledge, and serves as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions.
For more information on Library and Archives Canada, please visit: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca
