Vancouver real estate marketer and art collector Bob Rennie has donated $12 million in art to the National Gallery of Canada. Paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media pieces made by some of the most well-known and established Canadian and international artists comprise the collection.
A gift to the nation in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, the donation of artwork by Rennie, is one of the largest gifts of contemporary art ever received by the Gallery.
“For a few years now, we have wanted to make a gift from our collection to Canada, to the nation. With Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations taking place across the country, we decided this is the moment to do it, to showcase and support the rich and diverse accomplishments of artists,” said Rennie.
Some of the major, iconic pieces were created by internationally renowned artists, such as Colombian Doris Salcedo, as well as important Vancouver-based artists Brian Jungen, Damian Moppett, Rodney Graham, Ian Wallace, and Geoffrey Farmer, who is Canada’s selection for the 57th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, opening to the public Saturday, May 13, 2017. This important donation enriches and complements the Gallery’s collection by these artists.
“This remarkably generous gift transforms the National Gallery of Canada into the collection of record for some of our country’s most outstanding artists,” said Marc Mayer, director and CEO of the National Gallery of Canada. “It deepens the exhibition and the lending possibilities for a museum whose mission is to preserve and disseminate our country’s most exceptional artistic achievements.”
In appreciation of Rennie’s generous gift, the National Gallery of Canada will name the Upper Contemporary exhibition gallery (B204), the Galerie RENNIE Gallery.
Rennie, a real estate marketer and principal of the Rennie Foundation, is active in the Vancouver and international art communities. He is a former chair of the Tate Modern’s North American Acquisitions Committee and a member of the Tate International Council and the Board of Trustees for the Art Institute of Chicago. He also sits on the Dean’s Advisory Board of the Faculty of Arts at the University of British Columbia. In 2008 he was recognized with an honorary doctorate from Emily Carr University and in 2014 he was appointed to the Order of British Columbia for his distinguished leadership and exceptional dedication to strengthening and enhancing arts and culture in British Columbia.
“Mr. Rennie is renowned as a serious connoisseur of art,” said Thomas d’Aquino, chair of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation. “His collection is highly regarded for its range and depth, so it is exciting that he would bestow upon our national collection such a significant number of works.”
