FREDERICTON.- The Beaverbrook Art Gallery recently announced a major donation of Canadian and International art from the late Mark Schwartz that will now be part of the gallery’s permanent collection. Mr. Schwartz, of Montreal, Quebec, was a patron and generous donor to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery over many years. Several months before he passed, he generously offered the Beaverbrook one of the most significant and broad collections of art that the gallery has received.

“We are very thankful to the late Mr. Schwartz for his generous gift to the gallery.” says Beaverbrook Art Gallery Director, Tom Smart. “We are honoured to be the recipient of such a significant selection of art and we know the public will be pleased to see these new additions to our collection.”

Featuring postwar Canadian and International works of art, the donation includes works from Canadian artists Claude Tousignant, Guido Molinari, Anne Kahane, Bill Vazan, Charles Daudelin, Jean Dallaire, Armand Vaillancourt, and Mark Prent. Two important American Pop artists in the collection of donated works are Roy Lichtenstein and Tom Wesselmann. Rounding out the gift are international artists Jean Cocteau, R.B. Kitaj, and Karel Appel.

“It's exceptionally rare to receive this donation of works of this calibre. Mr. Schwartz’s legacy will live on in our collection. Works in this donation are an excellent showcase of postwar works. Of particular interest is “Transformateur Rythmique” by Claude Tousignant, a Canadian artist whose work is critical to the modern art history of Canada.” says John Leroux, the gallery’s Manager of Collection and Exhibitions. “The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa has a large "Gong" painting by Tousignant that is always displayed, and now we have one in our collection. The painting is now displayed in our Canadian gallery.”

Many of the other pieces from the donation will be installed over the next few weeks in the Beaverbrook’s permanent galleries for the public to view and enjoy.