Glenbow Museum
The Glenbow Museum combines a museum, art gallery, and library and archives in one building. The Glenbow Museum has over a million artifacts and 28,000 works of art in its collection. It is located right in downtown Calgary across from the Calgary Tower. The Glenbow Museum is one of the largest museums in Canada. Through a variety of programs, exhibitions and programs, and a large permanent collection of art, artifacts and historical documents, the Glenbow Museum maintains on its founder’s vision to continually enhance the cultural and western heritage fabric.
The Glenbow Museum began with the passion for art and culture of petroleum entrepreneur and lawyer Eric Lafferty Harvie. Mr. Harvie came into his enormous oil fortune in 1947 when oil was discovered on the land to which he held the mineral rights. Using his new newly created wealth, Harvie decided to pursue his hobby of collecting, and return his good fortune back to the region that had been the cause of his financial success. Mr. Harvie's goal was to collect any and all objects representing the history and culture of Western Canada as well as many from around the world.
Glenbow Museum Facts and Information
At the time of his death Eric Harvie had donated about the equivalent of half a billion dollars (in today’s market) to Canadian culture and his personal dreams for a concrete western heritage entity are in the building called the Glenbow Museum.
The Glenbow Museum's extensive collection of art, artifacts, archival materials, and published works document the history and culture of Western Canada. It also includes a diverse range of international art and artifacts.
This semi-permanent exhibition expands the Glenbow Art Collection and shows the modern era in art from the early 20th century to 1980. To separate the subjects and themes of Canadian artists, this semi- permanent exhibition is categorized by theme.
The museum’s permanent collection includes historical artifacts that tell the history of First nation’s peoples, western frontier exploration, and the development of western civilization in Canada. Objects from cultures around the world, plus a collection of gems and minerals are also part of the permanent collection.
Glenbow Museum’s Library documents the history of Western Canada. Books, pamphlets, journals, and maps relating to the history of Alberta are available here.
The ARC discovery room is for children of all ages and focuses on getting everyone interested in art and history!
View the website to see what programs are currently being offered:
http://www.glenbow.org/programs/family/discovery.cfm
For visiting hours and admission prices:
http://www.glenbow.org/visiting/
Melissa Montgomery