History of the Dalhousie Art Gallery

Although there has never been a formal Department of Fine Art at Dalhousie University, the Visual Arts have had a presence on campus almost from the earliest days. The Rev. Thomas McCulloch, the first President of Dalhousie, gave the first work of art to the University in the 1830s (an engraving by John James Audubon), and other gifts of art followed.

In the ensuing decades, exhibitions were hosted from time to time on campus, but it was not until 1943, under University President Carleton W. Stanley, that a University Art Group was formed at Dalhousie. Consisting of representatives from Faculty and Administration, the Dalhousie Art Group established itself in a geology room on the top floor of the Science Building. In these first years, the Group brought in exhibitions, showed films on art, and loaned out its small collection of framed art reproductions to various University departments for a small fee. Concurrently, Dalhousie University forged a lasting connection with the cultural life of the region through its association with the Maritime Art Association (MAA), the Nova Scotia Society of Artists, and the Nova Scotia College of Art. At the time, the MAA was the only vehicle through which exhibitions from the National Gallery of Canada were circulated around the region and exhibitions of Maritime artists could be given exposure in other parts of Canada. In its first year, the University Art Group joined the MAA, with Dr. R. L. Saunders (Anatomy Department) as its representative.

In October 1953, a one room area in the Arts and Administration Building was officially opened as the Dalhousie Art Gallery, although the space had been used by the Art Group for exhibitions since 1952. The Gallery continued to be administered by an art committee made up of faculty members working on a volunteer basis. At this point in the Gallery's history, the annual tradition of the Dalhousie Student, Staff, Faculty and Alumni exhibition was begun, an event which was intended to showcase University artistic talent and firmly identify the Gallery as a University facility. The year 2003 marks the 50th annual exhibition, which is probably the most visible carry over from those early years. The 1950s and 1960s were formative years, when the Gallery went through a period of rapid growth. Dr. M. A. Usmani (Classics Department) became the Gallery's honorary Curator in 1963, and the following year Mrs. Evelyn Holmes succeeded him as Acting Curator.

For a short time, the Gallery utilized an area on the main floor of the Killam Library as an exhibition space, and held two major National Gallery of Canada exhibits there in 1971. In November of that year, it moved into its new, permanent home in the just completed Dalhousie Arts Centre. With a large, permanent exhibition area and the availability of work and storage space, the Gallery began to establish itself as a viable and credible institution across the country and elsewhere, able to meet international standards for displaying and handling works of art. The new move also meant that the Gallery was able to expand and care for its Permanent Collection.

Since 1972, the Gallery has been served by a series of professionally qualified directors, curators and registrar-preparators, assisted by part-time staff and an enthusiastic body of volunteers, and guided by an Advisory Committee made up of members of both the University and general community.

In spite of excellent programming and a supportive community, the Gallery has survived several near-closures, especially during periods of fiscal restraint. After one such period in 1985, the University Senate officially approved the Gallery as an Academic Support Unit. In 1994, the Gallery was once again threatened with closure, and a Dalhousie Alumnus, John Scrymgeour, negotiated an arrangement with the Administration that enabled the Gallery to continue for five years, with its operating budget supplied by funds from the university matched by Dr. Scrymgeour. This generous arrangement provided enough time for Gallery to put in place some strategic planning for the future, including seeking bequests, and embarking on an Endowment Fund campaign. At present the Gallery’s finances are stable, with the current University Administration supplying the larger part of its basic operating budget, supplemented by the interest from bequests and the Endowment Fund.

In 2000, the Gallery received matching funds from the Canadian Department of Heritage’s Cultural Spaces Program to upgrade the climate control system, and ongoing renovations have seen most of the Gallery’s walls resurfaced. Through maintaining professional standards in exhibiting, collecting and publishing, as well as in its physical facilties, the Gallery has been able to achieve a national profile and to attract additional financial support for its programs from provincial and national cultural funding bodies, in particular The Canada Council for the Arts. This enables the Gallery to continue to offer a varied and thought-provoking program of exhibitions, films, lectures and artists' presentations free of charge, fulfilling its role as a cultural resource to the entire community.

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