2007 Annual Report Mendel Art Gallery

Collections (Registration & Preservation)
Processing of Acquisitions
In 2007 the Mendel Art Gallery acquired 323 works
of art, 318 of which were gifts to the collection. Three
contemporary artworks were purchased with the
assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts and the
Gallery Group, and two historical works were purchased
with a gift from Mr. Calvin Redlick.
All the works acquired have been cataloged and
examined for condition. Deeds of Gift have been
received, as have most of the appraisals. The remaining
appraisals are for donations made late in the year, and
are expected to arrive soon.
Digitization
The Mendel Art Gallery uses a program called Virtual
Collections as our collections database. There have
been numerous newer versions since the initial
purchase of version 5 of Virtual Collections in 2001.
In 2007 we upgraded to version 9. The conversion to
the new database went fairly well but the Collections
Department is checking all the data and will have to
build new reports. All the data for the 2007 acquisitions
has been entered into the database and a check for
veracity will be done in 2008. To date there are 5576
works in the collection for a total value in excess of
$13.5 million
For the past few years, our practice has been to take
digital images of each artwork when it is acquired. These
images are used in the database, on the Mendel web site,
and in Mendel publications. We are also in the process
of digitally photographing older works in the collection.
To date 3193 of the 5576 works in the collection have
been digitally photographed. Technology and expertise
has improved and in some cases better images will be
taken as time permits.
Preparation and Installation of
Exhibitions
The Collections Management and Preparatory team
prepared and installed twenty-four exhibitions and
constructed or refitted crates for six provincially-touring
exhibitions and two nationally-touring exhibitions.
Artworks from the Permanent Collection were loaned
to the Canadian Museum of Civilization, The Art
Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Royal Ontario Museum, and
the Mackenzie Art Gallery.
Challenges
Our biggest challenge continues to be lack of safe storage
space for the Permanent Collection. The vault built
in the 1970s cannot contain all of the collection. The
aging heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems
cannot maintain museum standards on an ongoing
basis. We continue to address this situation with offsite
storage and stop-gap use of fans and dehumidifiers.
The renovation of the Mendel Art Gallery is critical to
preserving this important public trust.
2007 Acquisitions Summary
Gifts
Robert Newton Hurley
Untitled (farm at dusk), 1953
watercolour on illustration board
Gift of Norma Botterill, 2007
2007.1.1
Robert Newton Hurley
Untitled (river landscape), 1953
watercolour on paper board
Gift of Norma Botterill, 2007
2007.1.2
Bartley Robilliard Pragnell
Untitled (rolling hills and farm), n.d.
watercolour on paper
Gift of Ann Seed, 2007
2007.2
Ernest F. Lindner
Untitled (prairie landscape), 1928
oil on hardboard
Gift of Mr. Johann and Mrs. Elisabeth Kunkel, 2007
2007.3.1
Cecil Edward James
For Today and Tommorrow, 1957
oil on hardboard
Gift of Mr. Johann and Mrs. Elisabeth Kunkel, 2007
2007.3.2
Joe Norris
Men with Fishing Nets, 1980
oil on canvas
Gift of Christ Huntington and Charlotte McGill, 2007
2007.4.1
32 Mendel Art Gallery 2007 Annual Report