St. Catharines’ TAG Art Gallery, which closed its doors last fall, has made a sizable donation of historically significant artwork to the museum. Photo credit: City of Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls History Museum
Last week, the City of Niagara Falls announced that the Niagara Falls History Museum has received what it is calling an “unprecedented” donation to its art collection.
A total of 114 historically significant art pieces – ranging from watercolour paintings to historical prints – has been generously donated from TAG Art Gallery in St. Catharines.
TAG Art Gallery was opened in 2006 by Tom and Frank Goldspink. The brothers have deep local ties to the Niagara region, with their family lineage extending back to a contractor of the first Welland Canal.
It was their great appreciation for the history of Niagara that led the brothers to build their art collection and eventually open their gallery to the public. Besides their vast historical art collection, a number of local contemporary artists have also been featured on the gallery walls. Sadly, after over 15 years of serving the art community, the TAG Art Gallery closed its doors in the fall of 2022 due to family illness.
A final farewell from the TAG Gallery website reads, “Thank you to all the patrons, friends and artists for their marvellous support over the years.”
Historically significant pieces have been divided between four local institutions: Niagara Falls Museums, St. Catharines Museum, Brock University, and Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum.
“We were thrilled and grateful when TAG Art Gallery reached out to ask if the History Museum would be interested in accepting this large donation,” said Suzanne Moase, Head of Museum and Curatorial Services with the City of Niagara Falls.
“It is not often that we receive such a kind and generous offer of this scale, and we are proud to add it to the Museum’s permanent collection. We are excited to share the collection with our visitors in January 2025 when the OPG temporary gallery is next available.”
The future 2025 exhibit will display various artworks of Niagara Falls which date from the late 1600s to the mid-20th century. Many of these original art pieces, depicting iconic Niagara scenery in watercolour and pencil drawings, were acquired from private individuals living in England that inherited art from a family member who once served in the British military stationed in Canada.
