Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Worth a stop if you are visiting other sites within walking distance.
The Geisha and kimono exhibits were very interesting and informative.
The Girls and Emily Carr exhibits were mundane.
The bonsai trees were exquisite, as was the mansion interior.

I really like Emily Carr, and the current exhibit on display was helpful to me as it really demonstrated how her style evolved through time and with the influence of other painters and schools of thought. The display includes works by those other artists, so it’s really very enlightening. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It’s more like listening to a complete album rather than a greatest hits collection. While you might not see all of your favourites, the pieces are magnified by being part of a set. If that makes any sense to you.
Other rotating exhibits span everything from 17^th century Dutch paintings to 20^th century Japanese block-​prints, which reminded me more of comic book panels than anything else.
Definitely worth the walk from downtown, and it’s a nice neighbourhood to walk through, especially during cherry blossom season.

Add Inspiration to Your Life! And it’s only a short walk down the hill from Craigdarroch or the other way from Downtown. Gayle and I stopped by during our recent trip to Victoria.
Opened in 1951, the Art Gallery of Greater Victory gallery possesses notable works by artists such as Emily Carr, and has one of Canada’s most significant collections of Asian art. An Asian garden located on the gallery grounds includes the only authentic Japanese Shinto shrine in North America. With almost 17,000 works of art, the Art Gallery has the largest public collection in BC and is a vibrant and active part of Victoria’s arts community.
The modern Art Gallery addition is connected to a Victorian era home known as Gyppeswyk, built in 1889. This makes things a little funky looking from the outside, but it’s what’s inside that counts. The gift shop featuring various Emily Carr items is also definitely worth a look.

Absolutely great mix of exhibits.
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is within walking distance of downtown. I suggest you hit up the gallery on the same trip as a visit to nearby Craigdarroch Castle.
The highlight exhibit is, of course, Emily Carr (1871 – 1945). Her exhibit will last through 6÷30÷2013. Carr was a Victoria native. I’ve also seen her work exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
Carr is my favorite Pacific Northwest artist, with her magical impressionistic watercolor paintings of forests. She is also well-​known for having used First Nations (Native American) people as subjects in her art. I was startled a bit by one placard in the exhibit that quoted Morris Graves, another great Northwest artist, as stating that Emily would have been nothing if it wasn’t for him sharing his techniques with her. He certainly didn’t have low self-​esteem, did he?
I also enjoyed the modern mixed media exhibit — Agnostic Objects. Loved the film loop of the car sliding around on «Galloping Gertie» bridge. This was filmed just before the car and Galloping Gertie (a massive engineering snafu) tumbled into the Tacoma Narrows during a windstorm.
Another pleasing exhibit were the Albrecht Dürer (1471 – 1528) woodcut prints. The gallery thoughtfully provided magnifying glasses to better enjoy the prints’ fine detail. The exhibit of Samurai warrior body armor and masks was cool and I liked the colorful snuff bottle collection, which was quite large, rivaling the one at Portland Art Musuem.
Art is soothing for the soul, especially one (like mine) that has become somewhat jangled by all the caffeine from Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel.

I don’t come here often, and I really should as VAG always has something different. Last night I finally got there to see the Tibetan Monks Sand Mandala. Absolutely amazing. What ever photos you see of this, they don’t do the skill justice. Unfortunately, this exhibit is here for sucha shot time, but it’s the second year in a row, so if you miss it there’s always next time. That being said the Sacred Arts of Tibet will be staying longer, and of course there’s a plethora of Emily Carr works on permanent display.