McMaster Museum of Art (MMA) has lent five major paintings to the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) for a special exhibition celebrating the WAG’s Centennial this year. 100 Masters: Only in Canada will run at the WAG from May 11 to August 18. The works of art on loan are The Man of Sorrows and Mater Dolorosa, 1503, by Albrecht Bouts; Voiliers au Mouillage sur la Seine, à Argenteuil, 1883, by Gustave Caillebotte; Waterloo Bridge, Effet de Soleil, 1903, by Claude Monet; and Robert, 9^th Baron Petre, Demonstrating the Use of an écorché Figure to His Son, Robert Edward, c. 1775-1776, by George Romney.

The WAG is celebrating its 100^th anniversary as Canada’s oldest civic art gallery by mounting the largest exhibition in its history. It will feature works by Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, Picasso, Warhol and more—all borrowed from 28 galleries across Canada plus the Walker Art Centre and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

“We are honoured to be part of WAG’s centenary celebration and delighted to have, not one, but five works from McMaster’s collection selected for this landmark exhibition,” says MMA Director/Chief Curator Carol Podedworny. “McMaster’s loaned paintings span the breadth of our European collections, 1500–1900. We like to think of our collection as one of the best in the country and this “best of” project highlights it as a rich source of research, loan and exhibition prospects.”

“The wonderful tradition of museums sending their best works to commemorate the opening or anniversary of a sister institution is longstanding,” says Stephen Borys, WAG Director & CEO, curator of the exhibition, who spent two years crisscrossing the country to secure the 100 loans for the show. “The works that have been chosen are among the most treasured pieces in the collections of these galleries. Many of them are rarely lent by their respective galleries but exceptions have been made to help the WAG celebrate this important milestone.”