Canadian Museum of Civilization receives bequest of the priceless Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection of Quebec folk art and Canadiana
Gatineau, Quebec, March 4, 2003 — The Canadian Museum of Civilization today announced it has received an exceptional bequest by the late Mrs. Nettie Covey Sharpe of Saint Lambert, Quebec, consisting of her collection of Quebec folk art and Canadiana. Mrs. Covey Sharpe was one of the major collectors of folk art in Quebec and Canada.
“The collection bequeathed by Mrs. Covey Sharpe is one of the largest ever given to a museum in Canada. It is of major significance for the preservation of Canadian heritage,” stated Dr. Victor Rabinovitch, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. “This collection has been declared of outstanding significance and national importance by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board, reflecting the unique quality and range of its contents. Nettie Sharpe was a collector of rare imagination, knowledge and conviction. Future generations of Canadians are the greatest beneficiaries of her foresight.”
The Nettie Covey Sharpe Collection comprises a wide variety of art, craft pieces and decorated household objects, both handmade and manufactured. It includes about 50 pieces of furniture, various chairs and armchairs, and about 50 chests and boxes decorated with traditional motifs. The oldest piece in the collection is a sculpture of an angel by Paul Jourdain dit Labrosse, which dates from about 1735.
The collection also includes 300 sculptures and objects of religious and folk art from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as more than 80 paintings and prints, 1,000 ceramic and glass pieces, and numerous textiles such as quilts, blankets, rugs and crocheted items.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization is exploring several ways to showcase this collection for the general public, including a potential exhibition, a publication and Web site.
FACT SHEETS
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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