“Instead of renaming and rebranding the Museum of Civilization, which is going to cost $25-million, they could easily be re-investing that money into the former American Embassy, which already had money invested in it, to become the portrait gallery,” said Mr. Dewar in an interview with The Hill Times. “They messed up on this file, unfortunately what they’re doing is they’re just leaving that building sitting there and it’s costing taxpayers money just to have the upkeep.”
Built in the 1930s by renowned American architect Cass Gilbert in the Beaux-Arts style, 100 Wellington St., the former U.S. Embassy building, has sat empty since being emptied in the 1990s following the construction of the current, larger U.S. embassy at 490 Sussex Dr.
In 2001, then Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien’s government passed a motion to turn the space into the Portrait Gallery of Canada.
But when Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) Conservative government came to minority power in 2006 plans for the gallery were scrapped, even though approximately $11-million and a number of years of work had already been put into re-fitting the space.
Since then, a variety of plans for the space have been floated—including turning the space into an upscale welcome centre for Mr. Harper to meet with foreign leaders—but as of Nov. 20, Public Works said the government was still “exploring options for the future use of the building.”
On Oct. 16, Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore (Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, B.C.) announced that the Canadian Museum of Civilization would be rebranded into the Canadian Museum of History at a one-time cost of $25-million, with work expected to finish by 2017.
“Canadians deserve a national museum of history that tells our stories and presents our country’s treasures to the world,” said Mr. Moore in his announcement.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization’s rebranding was announced as the first “in a series of measures on the road to Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017,” in the news release.
But Mr. Dewar said he sees it differently.
“It’s quite sad because here we have an opportunity to leverage the culture and the arts that we have right under our nose, and that’s all the artifacts that are in the warehouses for the portrait gallery, and we have a building that was half renovated and it’s sitting right at the face of Parliament,” said Mr. Dewar, whose riding encompasses Parliament Hill and the Parliamentary Precinct.
“I look at it almost every day with a sad sigh,” Mr. Dewar said. “It would appear that [the government has] decided to just scrub the vista from their collective memory and pretend the building doesn’t exist, and therefore the whole idea that had been around before is gone.”
While a final list of works for the Portrait Gallery was never finalized or confirmed, early plans for the gallery included displaying approximately 500 pieces of work from the Library and Archive Canada’s massive collection, “as well as approximately 75 loans from other institutions,” said Marc Comeau, a communications manager at Library and Archives Canada, in an email response to The Hill Times.
“Library and Archives Canada’s portrait collection includes more than 20,000 paintings, drawings and prints, four million photographs, several thousand caricatures, and 10,000 medals and philatelic items,” said Mr. Comeau. “The works span 500 years of history and feature historical figures as well as ordinary Canadians, and include works by both Canadian and international artists.”
The portraits in Library and Archives Canada’s collection have been either donated or purchased, and when not in use, the “vast majority” of the collection is stored at Library and Archives’ preservation centre in Gatineau, Que.
As indicated in Library and Archives’ 2011-12 departmental performance report, a total of more than $16-million was spent by the department last year on preservation. This includes everything in its collection.
All four of the Library and Archives Canada exhibitions currently on display across the country include pieces that were among the 500 flagged for the proposed Portrait Gallery, said Mr. Comeau.
“Of the 500 works listed in preliminary plans for 100 Wellington, approximately 100 have been part of travelling exhibitions across the country. Another 15 have been loaned to other institutions for exhibition and approximately 60 have also been exhibited as reproductions as part of our Portraits in the Street or Portraits on the Ice exhibitions,” said Mr. Comeau in an email.
“By using the walls of others, LAC has been able to make accessible iconic works such as the Four Indian Kings. These famous portraits of four 18th-century First Peoples’ diplomats have toured extensively at home and abroad in the last five years,” including London, England, and Washington, D.C.
As previously reported by The Hill Times, since April 2011, the federal government has also spent almost $8-million promoting the bicentennial year anniversary of the War of 1812. In all, as announced by Mr. Moore on Oct. 11, 2011, a total of $28-million will be spent on promoting the War of 1812 over the next four years, approximately $11.5-million of which will go solely towards commemorations and re-enactments.
Meanwhile, Mr. Moore’s spokesperson said the museum is currently holding consultations across Canada concerning the content of the future Canadian Museum of History.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: Laura Ryckewaert
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