National Gallery of Canada

After a lovely day of rest where we explored the neighbourhood a bit and shopped locally for special foods to cook and eat, we went next day to the extraordinary National Gallery of Canada. We caught the 14 bus from around the corner into the city and walked the rest of the way to the Gallery along the rather grand Sussex Street. The first thing we came upon in the Gallery precinct was what looked like a war memorial but was in fact a tribute to Canada’s peacekeeping efforts called “Reconciliation”. Then in the background of this monument we spied the Gallery for the first time. Wow! The pictures in this post only give an idea of the monumental architecture of this modern cathedral to art. And as if to say, you cannot escape Louise Bourgeois (we had paid for but missed her show in Sydney before we came here because we simply ran out of time) there was her giant Mamman Spider out the front! Apparently there are nine replicas of these creatures throughout the world- just to remind us that we all have unconscious minds at work!- as if we could forget. Peace Freud!
Because these great galleries have far too much to see in one visit we concentrated on Level 1 Indigenous and Canadian art. We spent all day at it and managed to cover the lot - although our attention was a little bit ragged by the end. We took quite a few snaps a sample of which are attached. The day ended with a crowded 14 bus home, a light dinner, thoughts of hitting the road on the morrow, and some packing. We figure we can make Sydney on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia in five hops. There we plan a longer stay of a full week. Meanwhile the road is our home …Read more