Magazines - Tribal Art Winter 2009

By Bernard de Grunne

Introduction
With a permanent collection of more than 73,000 artworks, the Art Gallery of Ontario ranks among the most distinguished art museums in North America. It began a new chapter in 2002 with a major architectural overhaul of the historic 1817 Grange building by renowned architect Frank Gehry, and the new AGO opened its doors in November 2008 with iconic architecture and more than 4,300 works of art on display in 110 galleries.
An important collection of interest to tribal art collectors is now on view at the AGO—a gift of eighty-five African sculptures from the Frum Family African Art Collection.* Toronto collector and AGO board member Murray Frum chose to make his donation in part because his African sculptures would be presented to the public as high art rather than anthropological specimens. It was also an opportunity for these masterpieces to be shown in close proximity to the AGO’s important collection of Henry Moore sculptures, which were given to the gallery by Moore himself.