Skip to main content
Apr 24 2020

My Daily Art

Stephen Borys, WAG Director & CEO WAG at WAG 100 Masters exhibit. Carolin Vesely story (WAYNE GLOWACKI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

I was a curator long before I was a director – and it remains my first love in the museum world.

For a curator, there are those exhibitions you dream of doing, wish would never end, and want to share with everyone. “100 Masters: Only in Canada” was one of those shows that fulfilled all three.

It was my fortune to curate this centennial exhibition for the WAG in 2013, bringing together 100 masterworks from thirty museums across Canada. It was a Canadian love-in for the WAG’s 100th birthday.

Over the course of the exhibition, I’d pop into the galleries to enjoy the works, but also to catch visitors enjoying the same. Near the end of the run, the energy of the crowds filling the spaces found me taking in the art all over again – through fresh eyes.

On these quick visits, I’d snap a few shots to capture the moment, and the happy crush of people embracing the art. The pics aren’t great but the energy was amazing. And the audio tour narrated by CBC’s Jeff Douglas was a smash!

Stephen Borys, WAG Director & CEO WAG at WAG 100 Masters exhibit. Carolin Vesely story (WAYNE GLOWACKI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

While the WAG is temporarily closed, this series of posts from Director & CEO, Dr. Stephen Borys, shares an artwork from the collection every day until the Gallery reopens. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, or visit our stories section for this and more WAG@Home content.

MORE STORIES

Share

2 thoughts on "My Daily Art"

Ruth Swan says:
April 25, 2020 at 1:00 pm

This was my all-time favourite show. Loved that it was from Canadian collections. Thanks for the memories. I went several times. It is nice to see the crowds – like at a Paris salon! Ruth Swan

Reply
Winnipeg Art Gallery says:
April 29, 2020 at 8:47 am

It holds a special place in our hearts too, thank you Ruth!

Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share

Related Stories

Mar 31 '20

My Daily Art

Another celebrated Victorian artist, William De Morgan (1839-1917) was one of the most influential ceramic artists of his day, even though some said his vessels...
Mar 24 '20

My Daily Art

Speaking of spring and planting, one of my favourite photographic series by Winnipeg artist Sarah Anne Johnson is her series on tree planting. A few...
Apr 4 '20

My Daily Art

Participating in the WAG’s INSURGENCE/RESURGENCE exhibition in 2017, Joi T. Arcand chose Cree syllabics in neon and other materials to explore the revitalization of the...
Mar 30 '20

My Daily Art

The British painter John Everett Millais (1829-1896) gave his painting “Afternoon Tea” in the WAG collection the subtitle “The Gossips”. Perhaps it was because he...
Mar 26 '20

My Daily Art

Still thinking of the landscape, I wanted to return to Winnipeg – and our amazing river landscapes. In Native Fires (1996) in the WAG collection,...
Mar 27 '20

My Daily Art

In this time of self-isolation and quarantine, people’s faces are protected, covered, and even hid. It made me think about the hooded portraits by Winnipeg...
Mar 25 '20

My Daily Art

From the surreal images of the northern Manitoba landscape to the fields and forests of 19th-century France, I wanted to share a painting by the...
Apr 10 '20

My Daily Art

For me, it’s the best rooftop garden in the city hands down. On a bright spring day, hot summer evening, or fall afternoon, this expansive...
Mar 23 '20

My Daily Art

I often associate spring with new growth – and the waiting and hoping for things planted in past seasons to rise up. It’s like the...
Mar 29 '20

My Daily Art

When visitors see “The Story” (1890) by the Canadian artist George Agnew Reid (1860-1947) at the WAG, they often ask two things – what are...
Mar 28 '20

My Daily Art

Winnipeg-born Rosalie Favell often incorporates material from family photo albums and popular culture and media to document her experience as an Indigenous woman and artist....
Apr 9 '20

My Daily Art

The main limestone-clad stairway originating from the entrance hall of the WAG provides a gracious entree to the Mezzanine and Gallery levels, offering exhibition spaces...
Apr 3 '20

My Daily Art

Shortly after my arrival at the WAG, we organized a retrospective exhibition of the Winnipeg artist, Bruce Head (1931-2009). Sadly, a year later Bruce passed...
Apr 19 '20

My Daily Art

I remember clearly the day I first met the Winnipeg artist Eva Stubbs (1925-2017). I had just arrived at the WAG as Director a few...
Apr 16 '20

My Daily Art

Turning from the art collection to the architecture and back to the collection, I wanted to devote some posts to the artists behind the works....
Apr 21 '20

My Daily Art

In 2016, I came across a Globe & Mail story about an artist, Teva Harrison, who, after being diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer,...
Apr 5 '20

My Daily Art

I am hoping this is the last day for months that I post a snow picture. But to bid adieu to the winter I may...
Mar 20 '20

My Daily Art

Raised by family friends in Germany through her formative years, Christiane Pflug and her family later settled in Toronto in the early 1960s. For many...
Apr 8 '20

My Daily Art

Fittingly, the main entrance hall of the WAG is named in honour of Dr. Ferdinand Eckhardt (1902-1995), the visionary WAG director that ushered the Gallery...
Apr 2 '20

My Daily Art

Since it’s my birthday today, I thought I would share a personal story. Museum directors sometimes ask each other – which artwork would you grab...
Apr 15 '20

My Daily Art

Same artist two days in a row – but Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald (1890-1956) deserves it this time around. Imagine working on a retrospective exhibition for...
Mar 19 '20

My Daily Art

While the WAG is temporarily closed, your collection is still here for you. Stay connected with the art through daily posts from our Director & CEO, Dr....
Apr 1 '20

My Daily Art

The inspiration for “Girl with Red Shirt” (2005) by the Winnipeg-born Janet Werner was a magazine advertisement for children’s clothing. The artist then reduced the...
Apr 7 '20

My Daily Art

The architectural competition for the new WAG attracted 109 entrants from around the world. The jury selected Gustavo da Roza, a young Portuguese-Canadian architect and...
Apr 23 '20

My Daily Art

35 daily art posts and I still haven’t talked about the magicians at the WAG. So before I share a few of my favourite exhibitions...
Apr 14 '20

My Daily Art

On April 2 we opened the exhibition Into the Light: Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald to an audience of one – the security officer on duty that morning....
Apr 22 '20

My Daily Art

Robert Archambeau has been working and teaching with clay for over sixty years. This is a legacy of studio excellence, academic prowess, and profound mentorship...
Apr 13 '20

My Daily Art

A window is a valued asset in these days of self isolation; and a window that opens up to a view is a prize. With...
Apr 20 '20

My Daily Art

You may have seen a star blanket mural by Kenneth Lavallee on the side of a building in Winnipeg. I wanted one for the WAG...
Apr 12 '20

My Daily Art

“Easter Morning, La Petite Penitente, Brittany” was painted by Mary Riter Hamilton (1873-1954) around 1900 while she was studying in Paris. After her studies, Hamilton...
Apr 17 '20

My Daily Art

For some reason several of my photos of these two artists happen to show them standing together – Jaimie Isaac and Julie Nagam. Of course...
Apr 6 '20

My Daily Art

Turning from the WAG collection to the architecture behind the art, I wanted to feature some of the spaces of what is considered one of...
Apr 11 '20

My Daily Art

Art is a voice, and a powerful one. Art also brings us together and helps us communicate with each other, and learn – as a...
Mar 21 '20

My Daily Art

The title of this 1922 painting by Frank Johnston – Serenity, Lake of the Woods – says so much and offers so much about the...
Apr 18 '20

My Daily Art

For me, the Winnipeg artist Cliff Eyland cannot be defined by one of his paintings, photo-based works or any art object. When I think of...
Mar 22 '20

My Daily Art

I included this wool felt embroidery work by the Inuit artist Marion Tuu’luq (1910-2002) in my 100 Masters: Only in Canada exhibition at the WAG...
Apr 25 '20

My Daily Art

A 737 cargo jet filled with Antique Greek and Roman sculptures and artifacts destined from Berlin to Winnipeg. That was the start of the 2015...
Apr 26 '20

My Daily Art

Every so often there is a singular artwork that seems tailor made in scale and timing for a gallery space. This was the case for...
Apr 27 '20

My Daily Art

We called it a summer with the Impressionists: “French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850-1950” brought together 70 paintings and sculptures from the Brooklyn Museum in...
Apr 28 '20

My Daily Art

Since the 1970s, Tony Scherman has pursued image and figuration over other movements of the day such as Pop Art and Conceptualism. And for his...
Apr 29 '20

My Daily Art

The WAG received an early holiday present in 2016 with the loan of the monumental sculpture The Thinker by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). One of the...
Apr 30 '20

My Daily Art

After years of planning we were thrilled to break ground on the WAG Inuit Art Centre on May 25, 2018. This would be the home...
May 1 '20

My Daily Art

It’s Friday, and the WAG is planning to reopen next week after a seven-week closure. It’s also Day #44 in my series. I’m not really...
May 2 '20

My Daily Art

A big part of great architecture is relationships. Over the last few years I’ve had the pleasure of working with Michael Maltzan on the creation...
May 4 '20

My Daily Art

My LAST Daily Art . . . Art is a Voice – and I’ve heard and seen countless voices over these days of isolation and...
Nov 2 '20

My Daily Art

My Daily Art is back . . . Fifty years apart they both wore blue. Half a century ago it was Her Royal Highness Princess...
Nov 3 '20

My Daily Art

My Daily Art . . . In these challenging days of the pandemic, I often find myself turning to art for inspiration, even escape. With...
Nov 4 '20

My Daily Art

My Daily Art . . . This morning I woke up searching for an artwork that would help me look ahead, focus on the positive,...
Nov 5 '20

My Daily Art

Often when we think about Inuit art, carvings, prints, drawings, and textiles come to mind. But there is a lot more to this contemporary artistic...
Nov 6 '20

My Daily Art

My Daily Art . . . Over life-sized on a pedestal, she stands over two meters tall, sheathed in sculpted white plaster – honest, direct,...
Plan Your Visit
WAG-Qaumajuq recognizes that land acknowledgements are part of an ongoing dialogue with Indigenous Nations, and we are grateful to live and work on these lands and waters. Institutionally, WAG-Qaumajuq is committed to acknowledging our colonial history and we are actively working to interrogate the Gallery’s colonial ways of being.

WAG-Qaumajuq is LEED certified.

WAG - Winnipeg Art Gallery Outline
Winnipeg Art Gallery—Qaumajuq
300 Memorial Blvd
Winnipeg, MB
204.786.6641 // Gallery
204.789.1769 // Shop
Email Us
Wed-Thu // 11am–5pm
Fri // 11am–5pm
Sat-Sun // 11am–5pm
Closed Mondays & Tuesdays