Canada's Portrait Gallery Closes

The Portrait Gallery of Canada has never been able to find a permanent location; nor will it ever under that moniker. A larger scale shakeup at the gallery’s parent institution has lead to the gallery’s move to a “portrait program” and the loss of Lilly Koltun, the director who shaped it for nearly a decade. Donna Sianchuk, general director of the programs branch, will now head up the program. Though some within the organization see the gallery’s switch as lateral, others believe it to be a demotion. “Make no mistake, this is because of the Conservative government asking for savings,” Paul Dewar, New Democratic Party member of parliament said. “To say that this will have no impact is really an insult to people who want to see our culture put on display.” The gallery lays claim to over 20,000 painting, drawings, and prints, 4 million photographs, and thousands of caricatures—ranging from the country’s finest artists to average citizens.