PRESS RELEASE h NEWS RELEASE - November 21, 2001 ART GALLERY OF NOVA SCOTIA RECEIVES MAJOR GIFT FROM SOBEYS HALIFAX - Sobeys Inc. has donated to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia a major work of art by Canadian artist Ivan Eyre. On November 21, at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the painting was presented by Sir Graham Day and Donald Sobey, on behalf of Sobeys Inc. of Stellarton, Nova Scotia, to AGNS Chair of Acquisitions Committee Fred Fountain and Director Bernard Riordon. "The painting is a welcome addition to the Gallery's growing collection of contemporary Canadian art", said Riordon. "We are grateful to Sobeys Inc. for this generous gift that extends the range of our collection and acknowledges this important Canadian artist." The painting will be on display in the LeRoy and Marguerite Zwicker Gallery (5) at AGNS, which features Canadian painting and sculpture. The painting is titled Mountain Meadow. Painted by Ivan Eyre in 1989, the work is acrylic paint on canvas, 56" x 120". The painting has been in the collection of Sobeys Inc. since 1998. Previously the painting was owned by The Oshawa Group, Etobicoke, Ontario. Ivan Eyre was born in Tullymet, Saskatchewan in 1935. He started his art studies at the Saskatoon Technical Collegiate at the age of fourteen (14) and continued his education at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Manitoba. While studying for his Masters at the University of North Dakota, he began a long and distinguished teaching career. Upon his return to Canada he took a teaching job at the University of Manitoba where he was appointed Full Professor (painting and drawing) and where he stayed until his retirement in 1993. Throughout his teaching career Eyre remained a constant painter whose work is highly prized. His minutely detailed landscapes have won him wide acclaim and recognition, and in 1974, Eyre became a Member of the Royal Canadian Academy. Ivan Eyre has participated in numerous group exhibitions in public and private galleries in Canada, the US and internationally. He has been the subject of more than 20 solo exhibitions in Canada, the US, the UK and Germany. Eyre is represented in innumerable private collections, more than 120 public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Vancouver Art Gallery. The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is open Sunday and Monday 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm; Tuesday and Friday: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm; Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm. These hours are in effect until 6 January 2002. Special group tours can be arranged by calling (902) 424-2836. The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is funded by the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism and Culture. Additional support is received from the Halifax Regional Municipality, the Department of Canadian Heritage, The Canada Council for the Arts, and corporate and private supporters. -30- file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/GutterC/Desktop/All/Fiscal%202002/160_11-21-2001.htm[6/22/2010 11:37:36 AM] PRESS RELEASE For more information please contact Nancy Keating at (902) 424-8935 file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/GutterC/Desktop/All/Fiscal%202002/160_11-21-2001.htm[6/22/2010 11:37:36 AM].