The Visual Arts Collection at McGill University has its roots in the 1830s with the earliest known work, a portrait of James McGill. Over time, the collection has grown through donations, purchases, and commissions to include works by Canadian and international artists displayed across campus rather than in a dedicated gallery space. Notable donations include the Sidney Dawes collection of Canadian paintings in the 1960s and the Montreal Star collection in 1973, while the Jepson Collection features Japanese and First Nations art. The integration of art into the university's architecture and public spaces symbolizes McGill's institutional identity and enhances its image as an international institution.

1. ART AS INSTITUTIONAL LEGACY:
RESEARCHED BY SARAH SWIDERSKI, B.A. DOUBLE MAJOR IN HISTORY AND ENGLISH CULTURAL STUDIES WITH A DOUBLE MINOR IN ART HISTORY AND EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE
SUPERVISED BY GWENDOLYN OWENS, DIRECTOR OF THE VISUAL ARTS COLLECTION | WITH THANKS TO DAISY CHARLES AND CYNTHIA BERGERON-ZAIDI
Investigating the History of McGill University’s
Visual Arts Collection
1830s
The earliest known work enters the
collection, a portrait of James McGill,
painted by Louis Dulongpré and
donated by Thomas Blackwood
1821: The Creation
of McGill University
Construction begins on the
“Centre Building,” now known
as the Arts Building
1839
Arts Building is first occupied1843
The Visual Arts Committee is
created under the jurisdiction of
Professors Bland (Architecture)
and Judkins (Art History)
1967
A gift of the Charles E. Merrill Trust, in
the amount of $10,000, allows for the
purchase of thirty-eight works, mostly by
Québécois artists
1973
Donation of the Montreal
Star collection
1981
Sir William Dawson
appointed as Principal
1855
Women begin to be admitted to McGill1884
The Redpath Museum is opened1882
Regina Slatkin (BA ‘29)
donation of ten tapestries
1980s
Sidney Dawes offers to donate
Canadian paintings to McGill for use
as a “nucleus for an art gallery”
1962
P.E. Nobbs’ plan for McGill
Campus proposes the creation
of a Museum of Art and
Architecture
1904
Dr. Joanne Jepson (M.D.’59)
donates the Jepson Collection
featuring Japanese and First
Nations art
2013
Dean Bovey’s correspondence
confirms existence of a “Portrait”
Committee at the University,
predecessor to the Visual Arts
Collection
1892
Donation of the “Three Bares,”
properly named Caryatid Fountain,
by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney
1930
ROOTS OF THE
COLLECTION
WHERE DOES IT ALL BEGIN?
The earliest work of art in the collection, a portrait of James
McGill by Louis Dulongpré, was donated to the University
in the 1830s. Portraiture serves a critical function at the
University in recognizing and remembering the valuable
contributions of the many outstanding members of the
McGill community. There is documented evidence as early as
March 5, 1892 of a “Portrait” Committee existing at McGill
University in the correspondence of Dean Bovey, the first
Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science (predecessor to the
Faculty of Engineering). Sidney Dawes’ donation of sixty-
four paintings in the 1960s was the catalyst for the creation
of a formal Visual Arts Committee. While the Collection is
no longer limited to portraiture, the University continues to
commission these essential visual tributes.
VISUAL CULTURE ON
CAMPUS
WHY IS THERE NO ART GALLERY AT MCGILL?
McGill is exceptional amongst Canadian institutions for higher
learning in its approach to the presentation of its collection. The
University’s Visual Arts Collection is one of the few institutions
to house all of its art outside of a dedicated gallery space. McGill
chooses to present its varied collection of artworks throughout the
spaces in which members of the University community perform their
day to day operations, such as the libraries, offices, classrooms and
other public spaces. In this way, the art reaches out to the community,
rather than distancing itself in what can sometimes be considered
the esoteric or exclusionary space of the fine arts gallery. This mode
of display, in turn, presents a new set of challenges to the director
and staff of the VisualArts Collection in regards to security and care
of the collection.
CANADIAN IDENTITY
AND THE VISUAL ARTS
COLLECTION
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF CANADIAN ART AT MCGILL
UNIVERSITY?
Canadian Art was not always a field of study in the Art History
Department at McGill University. W.O. Judkins, professor of
Art History, said on June 27, 1963 that “a Fine Arts Museum
is of only partial value, and if the collections are restricted to
Canadian and/or Contemporary art, the benefits are almost
negligible.” Since then, much has changed at the University.
Canadian art now adorns many of its walls and is taught
within the Department of Art History and Communications.
In 1962, Sidney Dawes, a graduate of McGill (B.Sc.‘10) and
industrialist, offered sixty-four Canadian artworks to McGill
to establish an art gallery at the University. Due to competition
with the McCord Museum for the Old Student Union Building
on Sherbrooke Street to house the collection the gallery
never came to be. The Visual Arts Committee was, instead,
established to manage the University’s artworks. Many great
Canadian artists are now featured in the collection including
artists such as Goodridge Roberts, Gordon Pfeiffer, Marian
Scott, Betty Goodwin, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Jean McEwen and
members of the Group of Seven. The Merrill Trust gift of 1973
was specifically donated for the purchase of Canadian and
Québécois artworks.
SYMBOLIZING
INSTITUTIONAL IDENTITY
HOW DOES ART AND ARCHITECTURE ACTIVELY
CONTRIBUTE TO MCGILL’S LEGACY TODAY?
The Visual Arts Collection permeates campus culture every
day, sometimes in a manner so absolutely natural and accepted
that it goes unrecognized. Graduates on Convocation Day take
photographs in front of the iconic cupola of the Arts Building;
students lounge in James Square amongst its oh-so-familiar statues;
McGillians walk by a Lichtenstein tapestry in Leacock; and in
meeting rooms and faculty spaces former deans and departmental
founders gaze upon the happenings of the present day, encouraging
their legacy be upheld. Even beyond campus in the downtown
core, banners hang celebrating the University with the silhouette
of the James McGill statue, an icon of the institution. The McGill
community encounters art each and every day, interacting with
it and benefitting from an overall enhancement of academic life
through its presence.
Percy Erskine Nobbs, a professor of the School
of Architecture at McGill University, built and
proposed many of the structures on campus. One
plan included a “Museum of Art and Architecture”
in 1904, which he distinguished in his legend as
“ultimately necessary” to the university. It never
came to be.
There is evidence of a museum in the
“Centre Building,” or Arts Building, at
McGill in the nineteenth century that was
located on a plan of the McGill University
Grounds. All plans of the Arts Building
were thought lost prior to this research.
A sartorial image of Caryatid Fountain,
coloquially titled the “Three Bares”
statue, appeared in the Montreal Star on
October 9, 1937. The image comments
on the initial shock caused by the nudity
of the piece by dressing the figures in
boxers of the Union Jack, the Stars and
Stripes and the McGill flag. The piece
was a donation of sculptor Gertrude
Vanderbilt Whitney in celebration of
100 years of peace between Canada
and the United States of America in
1930. Its intended national significance
was overshadowed by its scandalous
reception on campus.
Gordon Pfeiffer (1899-1983)
Canadian
Ripening Grain, St. Urbain, 1937
Oil on Canvas
Now hanging in the Macdonald Engineering Building
A work from the Sidney Dawes donation
Goodridge Roberts (1904-1974)
Canadian
Phlox, Blue Cloth, 1960
Oil on Canvas
Now hanging in Royal Victoria College’s West Lounge
A work from the Sidney Dawes donation
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997)
American
Modern Tapestry, 1976
Wool Tapestry
Now hanging in the Arts Building corridor
A work from the Regina Slatkin donation
Wyatt Eaton (1849-1896)
Canadian
Portrait of Sir William Dawson (1820-1893), 1891-1892
Oil on Canvas
Now hanging in the Arts Council Room
Sir William Dawson arrived at McGill University at a time of great
financial difficulty and recalled campus with “the ground unfenced,
and pastured at will by cattle” in 1855. He had a vision of the school
as a leading international intitution; by the end of his service as
Principal he had started it well on its way.
Louis Dulongpré (1759-1843)
Québécois
Portrait of James McGill (1744-1813)
Oil on Canvas
One of three versions of this portrait can now be found in Redpath Hall.
Gregory Popov
Canadian
McGill Arts Building, ca. 1977
Watercolour
Now hanging in the Education Building
Gift of Geraldine Hurley
Through the exhibition of artworks depicting
the school and its prominent figures, McGill
University enhances its image. Objects of visual
culture create a lasting cultural identity.
Many pieces of art from the Jepson Collection have already found new
homes on campus where they are enjoyed by staff, students and visitors
alike. Pictured above is a showcase of First Nations rattles and masks at
the opening of the newly renovated fifth floor of the Bronfman Building.
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875-1942)
American
Caryatid Fountain, 1920
Marble Sculpture
“Three Bares Park,” outside of the Redpath Museum
Gift of the artist
Students gather around Caryatid Fountain to celebrate the start
and end of each academic year. The artist was connected to McGill
through friend and renowned pianist, McGill graduate Ellen Ballon.
P.E. Nobbs (1875-1963)
Canadian
Strathcona Memorial Window, 1922
Glass and Lead
Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building
McGill’s visual arts are often incorporated into the buildings
themselves. Frequently unrecognized are the murals, relief
sculpture and stained glass which the Visual Arts Collection
features. The example shown here is a stained glass window
donated by the teaching staff of the Faculty of Medicine in
1922 to commemorate the members of the staff who died in
World War One.
Claude Tousignant (1932-)
Canadian
Verticales, 1954
Silkscreen 11/25
A part of the Merrill Trust gift
It is common to see
people documenting their
time at McGill by taking
photographs next to the
statue of James McGill. The
bronze was created by David
Roper-Curzon and was
added to campus in 1996.
This statue exemplifies the
importance of the visual arts
as symbols of the history of
McGill University.
Three silhouettes of the statue
of James McGill appear on
banners downtown celebrating
the school’s importance to
the history of Montréal. The
banner series also features
images of the martlet and
of the cupola of the Arts
Building. When thinking of
McGill, and of what McGill
means, these are the visual
icons that come to mind. The
Visual Arts Collection plays a
crucial role in creating identity
on campus.
The statue of Queen Victoria by
H.R.H. Princess Louise is unveiled
1900
H.R.H. Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria
and Prince Albert, created this sculpture of Queen
Victoria. This work stands proudly in front of the
Strathcona Music Building. The statue at McGill is
a cast of the marble statue that presides at the royal
residence of Kensington Palace in London, England.
It was donated by Donald Smith, Lord Strathcona,
Chancellor of the University, friend to the princess,
and creator of the Donalda Program. Royal Victoria
College was purpose-built to house the women
enrolled in this program, the first to welcome female
scholars at McGill.
McGill continues to expand its collection of portraits. It is a
mode of honouring the influential individuals of the McGill
community. In recent years, Chancellor Steinberg is one of
those to have had his portrait commissioned. It was painted by
Cyril Leeper in Redpath Hall, a room filled with the portraits
of many important figures of the school’s history.
Barbara Hepworth
British
Square Forms and Circles, 1963
Bronze Sculpture
A part of the Montreal Star collection