
The exterior of the AGO, from Dundas Street West, 2017. Photo: AGO.
ABOUT THE AGO
Located in Toronto, Canada’s largest city of 5.9 million, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is one of the largest art museums in North America. The AGO’s collection of close to 95,000 works ranges from cutting-edge contemporary art such as Untilled by Pierre Huyghe to European masterpieces such as Peter Paul Rubens’s The Massacre of The Innocents; from the vast collection by the Group of Seven to works by established and emerging Indigenous Canadian artists; with a photography collection that tracks the impact of the medium with deep holdings of works by artists such as Garry Winogrand and Diane Arbus; and with focused collections in Gothic boxwood miniatures and Western and Central African art. Drawing on this collection—as well as collaborations with museums around the world—the AGO presents wide-ranging exhibitions and programs, taking special care to showcase diverse and underrepresented artists. A major expansion designed by Frank Gehry in 2008 with lead support from the family of Ken Thomson makes the AGO a highly-photographed architectural landmark.
The Art Gallery of Ontario is funded in part by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Additional operating support is received from the City of Toronto, the Canada Council for the Arts and generous contributions from AGO members, donors and private-sector partners.
We bring people together with art to see, experience and understand the world in new ways by presenting great ART, facilitating LEARNING and engaging our AUDIENCE.
The AGO will lead global conversations from Toronto through extraordinary collections, exhibitions and programs and by reflecting the people who live here.
Detailed information on the Gallery's history, leaders and physical space
A history of the Gallery's name as it evolved from 1900 to the present
A history of the changing definition of the Gallery's fiscal year, currently from April to March
A listing the Gallery's presidents from 1900 to the present
A history of the Gallery's evolving Board of Trustees, from 1900 to the present
A history of the Gallery's leaders from 1912 to the present
A history of the first home of the AGO, Grange manor
A detailed description of the AGO's 2008 capital expansion, led by Canadian architect Frank Gehry
The Art Gallery of Ontario Foundation plays an integral role in supporting the AGO’s vision by serving as permanent custodian and steward of the endowment funds of the AGO.