Blog Archives

Mickey Mouse Comes to McGill

Disney’s most memorable cartoon characters have come to McGill’s Visual Arts Collection. A new acquisition of Disney material, donated by long-time supporter of the Collection, Dr. Joanne Jepson (M.D.C.M. ’59), includes a multitude of sketch prints and celluloid images that …

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“Moving Paint:” Kent Monkman discusses his art practice and most recent exhibition

Fisher River Cree artist Kent Monkman inspired a sold out audience at McGill’s Pollock Hall the night of February 6th with a behind-the-scenes look into his artistic practice. The artist’s lecture was presented by the McCord Museum, in collaboration with …

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A family reunion at the Visual Arts Collection

-Written by Vanessa Di Francesco and Rosalind Sweeney-McCabe, with contributions from Dr. Newton Hyslop McGill University’s Visual Arts Collection is home to hundreds of painted portraits, many of them picturing famous McGillians who, in one way or another, left their …

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And though she be but little, she is fierce: Miniature engravings of musical instruments in Shakespeare by Gerard Brender à Brandis

Figure 3: Gerard Brender à Brandis, Tambourine, Positive Organ, Bells, and Hornpipe, from the series Concord of Sweet Sounds: Musical Instruments in Shakespeare, 2006-2009, hand-tinted wood engravings, 40 x 35 cm (mat). Visual Arts Collection, McGill University Library 2018-020.13-020.16.

La version française suit By Vanessa Di Francesco, Assistant Curator, McGill Visual Arts Collection Tiny is trending, big time. From micro-homes and minimalist design to microbreweries and small-batch production, the downsizing wave is cresting. But tiny has always been trendy, …

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Many Women, Many Voices; Stories from McGill Collections

Guest Contribution by Hannah Deskin. ROAAr launched its recent book Many Women, Many Voices; Stories from McGill Collections with a fanfare, a successful sale, and an excellent turnout on November 8th.  ROAAr–that is the Rare Books & Special Collections, the Osler Library of the …

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R. Tait McKenzie: Bridging the Gap Between Art and Science

Written by Davin Luce, Museum Database Assistant at the McGill Visual Arts Collection In honour of Science Literacy Week, the Visual Arts Collection is highlighting the work of physician, physical education pioneer, and artist Robert Tait McKenzie (1867-1938). While a …

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Art in Classrooms across McGill

Last Wednesday, staff from McGill’s Visual Arts Collection got on the 8:30 a.m. shuttle bus to Macdonald campus, where we installed five artworks across two classrooms in the Raymond Building. This installation was the most recent in our Art in …

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Drama Beyond the Frame: 19th century Japanese prints in the Visual Arts Collection

The Visual Arts Collection’s Visible Storage Gallery on the 4th floor of the McLennan Library is home to a Japanese woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi titled Actor Ichikawa Kuzo II as Saitogo Kunitake (1846-47). In the print, pictured below, the actor is depicted as portraying …

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Grazing the Art at McGill

With over 2,500 artworks dispersed across nearly 90 buildings over three campuses, McGill’s Visual Arts Collection is not easy to take in as a whole. As a Museum Database Assistant responsible for inputting information on hundreds of objects into a …

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If These Buildings Could Walk: On a newly acquired Melvin Charney sculpture

Melvin Charney, CITIES ON THE RUN…Three Stragglers, 1999. Aluminium soudé, sablé et laqué. Don de Lilian et Billy Mauer. Collection d’arts visuels de McGill, 2017-055.

La version française suit By Vanessa Di Francesco, Assistant Curator, McGill Visual Arts Collection — The idea that the built environments we inhabit can take on their own lives, acting apart from us or on our behalf, occupies our popular …

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