Emile Walters, Village in Spring, date unknown. Oil on linen. Art Gallery of Alberta Collection, purchased in June 1925.
On October 30, 1924, the Edmonton Museum of Arts—the first art museum to open west of Winnipeg—opened its very first exhibition in the Palm Room of the Hotel MacDonald with a considerable display of paintings and historical objects. The exhibition was later installed across the street in the former Public Library, which also housed the Gallery’s first office. 1924 will introduce viewers to the decade of planning leading up to the AGA’s formation, including the vital influence of female leadership; its first exhibition, public programs and acquisitions; as well as the greater cultural backdrop of Edmonton in the early 1920s, including such key events as the end of prohibition, the struggle for women’s rights, the opening of the Edmonton Residential School and the introduction of the “Chinese Exclusion Act.”
Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and curated by Danielle Siemens.