Artworks

The first level of exhibit space inside the National Gallery is given over to the Canadian galleries. The first thing one sees upon entry is First Nations art- both ancient and contemporary. This deliberate choice dates to 2017, when the Gallery reorganized to include First Nations and other indigenous works alongside that of European influenced works throughout the Canadian galleries. 

This stone is probably the oldest object of art here- petroglyphs carved onto it by an artist a thousand years ago in what is now Alberta.

This is far more recent. Luke Parnell created A Brief History Of Northwest Coast Design in 2007.

On this wall, a display case at right includes old Inuit combs. At left, a response to them- Combs Of Our Ancestors is a 2009 woven tapestry by Germaine Arnattaujuq, in collaboration with weavers in Nunavut.

wHOLE w(((h)))orl(((d))) is a 2013 painting by lessLIE of the Coast Salish.

Here we have Indian Psychology 101, a 1997 work by the Metis artist Bob Boyer.

There is an adjoining courtyard, the first of two internal courtyards in the building. At its heart is a garden.