List of portraits in the Centre Block

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The Centre Block, part of the complex of parliamentary buildings on Parliament Hill in Canada's capital, Ottawa, hosts a gallery of portraits of present and former Canadian monarchs, former Prime Ministers of Canada, and other figures.

Contents

History

The collection of portraits of Canada's monarchs originated with the acquiring of a state portrait of Queen Victoria for the parliament buildings of the Province of Canada in Montreal in 1849. [1] As successive monarchs came to the throne, their portraits were added to the gallery. However, it was not until Senator Serge Joyal took on the personal project of amassing portraits of monarchs prior to Victoria that the collection came closer to completion, including the Kings of France since Francis I. [2]

The prime minister's portrait gallery dates back to 1890, when John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of the Dominion of Canada, assisted in the unveiling of his own portrait. [3] At first, the works were commissioned by friends and colleagues, made by the artist's own initiative, and then donated to the Crown Collection. A century later, a more systematic approach was implemented, and the artist is now chosen by the prime minister, although Curatorial Services provide suggerences and assistance on the choice. [3]

The portraits are viewed by over 400,000 people a year. [3]

Works

Paintings of French monarchs

Title/subjectArtistDate createdMedium
Francis I After Titienc. 1820Oil on canvas
Louis XIII Philippe de Champaigne c. 1630Oil on canvas
Louis XIV Hyacinthe Rigaud c. 1700Oil on canvas
Louis XV Charles-André van Loo c. 1740Oil on canvas

Paintings of British monarchs

Title/subjectArtistDate createdMedium
George III Joshua Reynolds 1779Oil on canvas
George IV Thomas Lawrence 1822Oil on canvas
William IV Frederick Christian Lewis 1831Engraving
Victoria John Partridge 1842Oil on canvas
Edward VII Luke Fildes 1903Oil on canvas

Paintings of Canadian monarchs

Title/subjectArtistDate createdMedium
George V Luke Fildes 1913Oil on canvas
Edward VIII Carl Vandyk 1936Photolithograph
George VI Robert Swain1955Oil on canvas
Elizabeth II Lilias Torrance Newton 1957Oil on canvas

Paintings of prime ministers

Title/subjectArtistDate createdMedium
John A. Macdonald [n 1] Henry Sandham 1889Oil on canvas
Alexander Mackenzie John Wycliffe Lowes Forster 1897Oil on canvas
John Abbott Muli Tang2002Oil on canvas
John Sparrow David Thompson John Wycliffe Lowes Forster 1897Oil on canvas
Mackenzie Bowell Joanne Tod2002Oil on canvas
Charles Tupper Victor Albert Long1896Oil on canvas
Wilfrid Laurier John Wentworth Russell1919Oil on canvas
Robert Borden Kenneth Keith Forbes 1947Oil on canvas
Arthur Meighen Ernest Fosbery1948Oil on canvas
William Lyon Mackenzie King Frank Owen Salisbury1945Oil on canvas
Richard Bedford Bennett Kenneth Keith Forbes 1962Oil on canvas
Louis St. Laurent Audrey Watts McNaughton1958Oil on canvas
John Diefenbaker Cleeve Horne 1968Oil on canvas
Lester B. Pearson Hugh Seaforth Mackenzie1968Tempera on masonite
Pierre Trudeau Myfanwy Spencer Pavelic 1991Acrylic on canvas
Joe Clark Patrick Douglass Cox2008
John Turner Brenda Bury1999Oil on canvas
Brian Mulroney Igor V. Babailov2002Oil on canvas
Kim Campbell David Goatley2004Oil on canvas
Jean Chrétien Christian Nicholson2010Oil on canvas
Paul Martin Paul Wyse2016Oil on canvas

Paintings of Speakers of the House of Assembly of the Province of Lower Canada

Title/subjectArtistDate createdMedium
Jean-Antoine Panet Copy by Théophile Hamel 1856Oil on canvas
Michel Chartier de Lotbinière Copy by Théophile Hamel 1854Oil on canvas
Louis-Joseph Papineau Alfred Boisseau1881Oil on canvas

Speakers of the House of Assembly of the Province of Upper Canada

Title/subjectArtistDate createdMedium
David William Smith Théophile Hamel 1859Oil on canvas
Alexander Macdonell Copy by Théophile Hamel 1854Oil on canvas
Levius Peters Sherwood Copy by Théophile Hamel 1855Oil on canvas
John Willson Théophile Hamel 1855Oil on canvas
Marshall Spring Bidwell Théophile Hamel 1854Oil on canvas
Archibald McLean Théophile Hamel 1854Oil on canvas
Sir Allan Napier MacNab [n 2] Théophile Hamel 1853Oil on canvas
Henry Ruttan Théophile Hamel 1856Oil on canvas

Paintings of Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

Title/subjectArtistDate createdMedium
Austin Cuvillier Copy by Théophile Hamel 1856Oil on canvas
Augustin-Norbert Morin Théophile Hamel 1854Oil on canvas
John Sandfield Macdonald Théophile Hamel 1854Oil on canvas
Louis-Victor Sicotte Théophile Hamel 1855Oil on canvas
Henry Smith William Sawyer1869Oil on canvas
Joseph-Édouard Turcotte Théophile Hamel 1865Oil on canvas
Lewis Wallbridge William Sawyer1873Oil on canvas

Paintings of Speakers of the House of Commons

Title/subjectArtistDate createdMedium
James Cockburn George Theodore Berthon1872Oil on canvas
Timothy Anglin John Colin Forbes1878Oil on canvas
Joseph-Godéric Blanchet John Colin Forbesc. 1880Oil on canvas
George Airey Kirkpatrick Frances E. Richards Rowley1887Oil on canvas
Joseph-Aldric Ouimet René Émile Quentin1889Oil on canvas
Peter White Robert Harris 1894Oil on canvas
James David Edgar Alphonse Jongersc. 1899Oil on canvas
Thomas Bain John Colin Forbesc. 1900Oil on canvas
Louis-Philippe Brodeur Ozias Leduc 1904Oil on canvas
Napoléon Belcourt Charles Ignace Adélard Gill c. 1905Oil on canvas
Robert Franklin Sutherland John Wycliffe Lowes Forster c. 1906Oil on canvas
Charles Marcil Ulric Lamarche1912Oil on canvas
Thomas Simpson Sproule John Colin Forbesc. 1913Oil on canvas
Albert Sévigny Charles Huot c. 1918Oil on canvas
Edgar Nelson Rhodes Sir Edmund Wyly Grier 1921Oil on canvas
Rodolphe Lemieux Jacqueline Comerre Patonc. 1924Oil on canvas
George Black Kenneth Keith Forbes 1934Oil on canvas
James Langstaff Bowman Kenneth Keith Forbes c. 1935Oil on canvas
Pierre-François Casgrain Kenneth Keith Forbes c. 1940Oil on canvas
James Allison Glen Kenneth Keith Forbes c. 1945Oil on canvas
Gaspard Fauteux Kenneth Keith Forbes 1946Oil on canvas
William Ross Macdonald Lilias Torrance Newton 1951Oil on canvas
Louis-René Beaudoin Kenneth Keith Forbes 1960Oil on canvas
Roland Michener Cleeve Horne 1962Oil on canvas
Marcel Lambert Kenneth Keith Forbes 1963Oil on canvas
Alan Macnaughton Lilias Torrance Newton c. 1964Oil on canvas
Lucien Lamoureux Suraj Sadan1977Oil on canvas
James Jerome Robert Stewart Hyndman1979Oil on canvas
Jeanne Sauvé Brenda Bury1984Oil on canvas
Cyril Lloyd Francis Anita Elizabeth Kertzer1987Oil on canvas
John Bosley Shirley Van Dusen1993Oil on canvas
John Allen Fraser Gregory Furmanczyk1994Oil on canvas
Gilbert Parent David Goatley2001Oil on canvas
Peter Milliken Paul Wyse2012Oil on canvas
Andrew Scheer Juan Carlos Martínez2018Oil on canvas

Paintings of the Fathers of Confederation

Title/subjectArtistDate createdMedium
The Fathers of Confederation Rex Woods1968Oil on canvas
George-Étienne Cartier [n 3] Juliette de Lavoyec. 1965Watercolour on ivory / Glass; velvet; walnut
Thomas D'Arcy McGee Bruce Mitchell1957Oil on canvas
George Brown Juliette de Lavoyec. 1965Watercolour on ivory; Glass; velvet; walnut

Paintings of historic events and people

Title/subjectArtistDate createdMedium
The Royal Visit, 1939 Frank Owen Salisbury1941Oil on canvas
Opening of Parliament in the 19th CenturyWilliam Harvey Sadd1901Oil on canvas
Discovery of Canada by Jacques Cartier Copy by Augustine Leriverend after Ferdinand Perrot (1840)Oil on canvas
Major General James Wolfe Copy by Théophile Hamel c. 1865Oil on canvas
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm Copy by Théophile Hamel c. 1865Oil on canvas
George Prevost Copy by Théophile Hamel after Robert Field (c. 1808)1864Oil on canvas
Amerigo Vespucci Copy by Antoine Sébastien Falardeau1857Oil on canvas
Christopher Columbus Copy by Antoine Sébastien Falardeau1853Oil on canvas

Sculptures

Title/SubjectPublic OfficeArtistDate Painted/CreatedMedium
George Harold Baker Member of Parliament Robert Tait McKenzie 1923Bronze
Robert Borden Prime Minister Alfred Laliberté 1915Marble
Robert Borden Prime MinisterLionel Gooch Fosbery1927Plaster, painted
Ellen Fairclough First Woman Cabinet MinisterElizabeth M. Bradford Holbrook1959Bronze
William Lyon Mackenzie King Prime MinisterAvard Tennyson Fairbanks1943Bronze
Wilfrid Laurier Prime MinisterLionel Gooch Fosbery1938Plaster, painted
Alexander Mackenzie Prime MinisterCléophas Soucy1943Plaster, painted
Agnes Macphail First woman elected to the House of CommonsFelix Weihs de Weldon1939Bronze
Roland Michener Governor General, Speaker of the House of CommonsKenneth Jarvis1982Bronze
Louis St. Laurent Prime Minister, Member of ParliamentErnest Richard Gause1954Bronze
J. S. Woodsworth Leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, Member of ParliamentCléophas Soucy1946Plaster, painted
John George Bourinot Clerk of the House of CommonsRoland Beauchamp1949Bronze
Adam Dollard des Ormeaux colonist and soldier in Ville Marie, New France Alfred Laliberté 1923 (c. 1911-1915)Bronze
La France Auguste Rodin 1921 (1904)Bronze

Notes

  1. Also a Father of Confederation
  2. Also sat as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
  3. Also the former Joint-Premier of the United Provinces of Canada

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References

  1. Clerk of the Senate. "Canada: A Constitutional Monarchy > Victoria". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  2. Clerk of the Senate. "Canada: A Constitutional Monarchy > Francois I". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 Clerk of the House of Commons. "Fine Arts > Prime Ministers' Portrait Gallery". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 February 2010.