A Collector’s Passion: The Work of Nettie Covey Sharpe
Exhibition a window on Quebec heritage
Gatineau, Quebec, February 19, 2004 — Objects from Canada’s largest collection of Quebec heritage artifacts are being presented in an exhibition launched today at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. A Collector’s Passion: The Work of Nettie Covey Sharpe features 150 pieces of Quebec folk art and furnishings from the Museum’s largest ever bequest, the Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection.
When Mrs. Sharpe passed away in 2002, she donated more than 3000 objects to the Canadian Museum of Civilization, most of them from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Collection is one of the largest ever donations to a Canadian museum.
“Mrs. Sharpe started collecting at a time when few people were interested in French Canadian heritage objects,” said Dr. Victor Rabinovitch, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. “Her collection is extraordinary both in terms of its historical significance and its esthetic quality. This exhibition is a tribute to Mrs. Sharpe and her life’s work.”
The exhibition includes a reconstruction of one of the rooms in Mrs. Sharpe's house, which was furnished with magnificent pieces such as an eighteenth-century armoire and fine examples of Quebec folk art. The exhibition also presents five “sets” of furniture, art and other objects. Finally, a photo display tells the story of Mrs. Sharpe’s life and work.
A Collector’s Passion: The Work of Nettie Covey Sharpe, curated by the Museum’s Dr. Jean-François Blanchette, is presented on Level 4 of the Canadian Museum of Civilization until September 2005.
Visitors can take a virtual tour of the historic home where Mrs. Sharpe surrounded herself with these exceptional objects: visit the Web at http://www.civilization.ca/arts/sharpe/sharpe_e.html to wander the rooms that were once home to the Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection.
Since part of the Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection dates back to the early history of Quebec, a number of pieces from the Collection will also appear in Once in French America, an important exhibition on life in New France that will be opening at the Museum on June 11, 2004. The Collection will also be shown in a large-scale exhibition on Quebec folk arts and crafts planned for 2008.
Media Information:
Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7167
Media Relations Officer
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7169
Fax: (819) 776-7187
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