Donald Ellis donates $1.5 million to the Vancouver Art Gallery for new building
The Vancouver Art Gallery announced a $1.5 million gift from art dealer Donald Ellis
News
Haida masterpieces donated to the Vancouver Art Gallery
Five pieces by legendary Haida sculptor Charles Edenshaw donated by dealer Donald Ellis.
Globe and Mail Feature
Donald Ellis was featured in this article in the national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, concerning his role in the historically significant repatriation of this Sun mask to the Kwakwaka’wakw people of Alert Bay, British Columbia.
Art Newspaper Interview
Donald Ellis was featured in a full page interview in the March 2016 issue of the Art Newspaper.
Donald Ellis donates $1.5 million to the Vancouver Art Gallery for new building
The Vancouver Art Gallery has announced a gift of 1.5 million dollars from Donald Ellis for its new building that will include a dedicated gallery showcasing historical Indigenous art from the Northwest coast. The new gallery will bring together extraordinary works by Indigenous artists to a much wider audience, a goal that has been at the forefront of Donald Ellis’ 40-year career. Ellis states:“The artistic contributions of Indigenous peoples over centuries—from the Coast Salish, the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, Haida (Xaat Kíl) and beyond—are essential to the history of Canada. I am deeply committed to the expansion of the Vancouver Art Gallery and the potential it has to advance reconciliation through art.
“Through his monetary and art donations over the past decade, Donald Ellis has been a generous donor to the Vancouver Art Gallery,” said Daina Augaitis, Interim Director. “I’m thrilled that he is making such a remarkable commitment to showcase historical Indigenous art in the new Gallery building. His generosity brings us one step closer to realizing your new Gallery building.”
See the special announcement from the Vancouver Art Gallery
Read more in the Vancouver Sun article
Haida masterpieces donated to the Vancouver Art Gallery
Charles Edenshaw is arguably the greatest sculptor in Canadian history. Working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Haida carver crafted dazzling, elegant, impossibly intricate pieces that took traditional Haida art into whole new realms.
New York art dealer Donald Ellis compares him to Michelangelo.
