Fredericton - Beaverbrook Art Gallery

Opposite the Legislative Building, at the north end of "The Green" by St John River, stands the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, opened in 1959.

The gallery is named after Lord Beaverbrook (1879-1964), who was raised in Newcastle, New Brunswick, settled in England in 1910 and built up a giant newspaper empire there. During the Second World War he was a very influential member of Sir Winston Churchill's cabinet.

Lord Beaverbrook first came to the fore as a great patron of the cultural life of New Brunswick. His collection of paintings forms the basis of the gallery's exhibits. He also financed the local playhouse and several of the buildings of New Brunswick University.

Resplendent in the entrance hall hangs the giant work by Salvador Dali, "Santiago el Grande". Other magnificent paintings include Botticelli's "Resurrection", a portrait of Lord Beaverbrook by Graham Sutherland, Krieghoff's "Merrymaking" and a number of works by the British painters Gainsborough, Hogarth, Reynolds and Turner as well as some by Corneille, Lukas Cranach and Delacroix. Outstanding, too, is the collection of works by Canadian painters, including Cornelius Krieghoff, Paul Kane, the Group of Seven and Emily Carr. Also on display are some fine works by Inuit artists.
The Marion McCain Atlantic Gallery was added in 1995 as a tribute to the late Marion McCain. Major Atlantic Canadian artists represented in the permanent collection include Mary and Christopher Pratt, Molly Lamb Bobak and Bruno Bobak, Tom Forrestall, and Miller Gore Brittain. Contemporary Acadian artists such as Francis Coutellier, Ghislaine McLaughlin, Nancy Morin, Yvon Gallant and Roméo Savoie are also represented.