Permanent Collection
The Museum contains a permanent collection of the art of British Columbia including an outstanding collection of nineteenth century Northwest Coast masks, one of Canada’s strongest Emily Carr collections, a selection of Vancouver’s celebrated photo-based art plus a gallery devoted to West Coast artist Edward J. Hughes.
The collection includes The Crazy Stair, a painting by Emily Carr which recently sold at auction for a record breaking $3.3 million. This price was the highest ever paid for an Emily Carr at auction, the highest for a work by a Canadian woman artist and the fourth most expensive work at an art auction in Canada.
In addition to the works from British Columbia the Museum displays up to three temporary exhibitions a year from leading museums around the world, creating an ever-changing display to delight locals and visitors alike.
Current Exhibition
Edward Burtynsky: The Scarred Earth
Date: June 10 – October 16, 2017
Description: The Audain Art Museum is proud to announce the third Special Exhibition of 2017. Opening on June 10, 2017, Edward Burtynsky: The Scarred Earth is the next in a series of international calibre experiences for our members and visitors organized by the Audain Art Museum’s Darrin Martens, Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chief Curator.
Edward Burtynsky, as a documentary photographer, has chronicled humanity’s influence over the Earth’s surface over the past three decades. The Scarred Earth is an intimate look at how we, as a species, have altered our physical landscape through resource extraction.
Upcoming Exhibition
Stone and Sky: Canada’s Mountain Landscape
Date: November 11, 2017 – February 26, 2018
Description: Lawren Harris and the Group of Seven shaped a vision of the landscape that remains synonymous with Canadian identity. Juxtaposing contemporary depictions of the natural landscape with historical perceptions, this exhibition brings together the work of iconic Canadian artists, including Lawren Harris, Emily Carr, W.P. Weston, Edward Burtynsky, John Hartman, N.E. Thing & Co.(IAIN BAXTER&), Gordon Smith and Kenojuak Ashevak.