In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

THE ROYAL ONTARIO AND OTHER MUSEUMS IN CANADA SIR ROB ERT FA LCONER ~E new and renovated galleries of the Royal 1 ?ntario Museums in Toronto will soon be opened to the public. It is therefore timely that attention should now be drawn to the phase of the intellectual life of <;:anada which they illustrate, all the more so because in October, 1932, there appeared A Repol·t on tbe Museums 'oj Canada made by Sir Henry A. Miers, F.R.S., and Mr. S. F. M arkham or-England for the Carnegie Corporation of New York. But consideration of the subject must, by reaso'n of limitation of space, be confined to museums in the narrower use.of the term, that is to s'ay public museums devoted to natural history, archaeology, ethnology, the fine and the applied arts. Departmental university museums, archives and picture galleries' will be excluded. Sir Henry Miers, who is a trustee of the British Museum, has in recen t years spent much time investigating the national and public museums of Britain. This recent report will therefore be read in Canada by those interested with careful attention. In it · our deficiencies a.re more obvious than our accomplishments: "Taking Canada as iI unit, it is a most extraordinary fact that less is spent upon the whole group of 125 museums than is spent upon one of the great museums in Great Britain, Germany, or the United States" (p. 29); "Our firm belief is that Canada will never acquire a museum service worthy of her position as a leading nation until she spends at least as much on her museums as the leading 168 MUSEUMS IN CANADA cities of north-west Europe or' the United States,and has the courage to appoint first-class curators at first-class salaries ~o at least 90 out of her 125 museums" (p. 63); "There is an almost complete absence of those municipal museums which are such a feature of European museum development" (p. 27); "Taken as a whole, the Dominion provides little to cultivate the appreciation of fine art, and it is a deplorable fact that so many cities of considerable size have nothing to show" (p. 18). But there is much besides criticism in the report: "The museums in Canada and the Problems which they involve cannot properly be understood unless it is realisf!d that Canada has not been very long in the collectors' field, :that her educationalmuseums are embryonic, and that her museum endowments are negligible. If these points are borne in mind, one is bound to feel the utmost admiration for what has been accomplished against' almost insuperable odds by a few enthusiastic individuals" (p, 8) . Moreover we are not solitary in our deficiencies. We may take both encouragement and warning from the report which Sir Henry made in 1928 to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trustees on The Public Museums oj the British Isles: "To put it bluntly, most people in this country do not really care for museums or believe in them; they have not hitherto played a sufficiently important part in the life of tlle community ~o make ordinary folk realise what they can do" (p. 80). Also in the Interim Report oj the Royal Commission on National Museums & ' Galleries, of which Viscount D'Abernon was chairman, issued in ' 1928, these words are used: "The National , Museums and Galleries have for long been treated as the Cinderella of the Social Services. Taking into account the change in the value of money, the cost of these Institutions has hardly increased during the period of an 169 THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY entire generation. The whirligig of time. has curiously revenged itself upon them. They began by being the first educational institutions which the Government thought proper to assist. They are now the last" (p. 28). Comparisons, however, with Britain, and even with our immensely rich neighbour, need not be taken too seriously. Our tremendous geographical handicaps have made our governmen tal .and transportation problems far more burdensome than those which most countries of our age have had to carry. Our scattered population had to struggle for decades ·to establish and sustain sc~ools, colleges, and universities; but even in those days of · penury far sighted men laid the foundations of museums. Hitherto Canada has had few persons with accumulated wealth from whom help for museums might be expected, and provincial governments in Ontario and the West have regarded the universities as a prior responsibility, though.the Royal Ontario Museums testify to the vision of leaders of the Legislature of this Province. In recent years the museum idea has undergone great transformation and expansion, and with changes in the methods of education it has come to be recognised that well arranged museums are an important factor in the higher life of the people: "Without them the educational fabric of the State would be qui te incomplete. To the scholar they afford the indispensable material for study · in almost every domain of learning, to the artist inspiration , and to industry the resources of science. T o the schoolchild they present the outward and visible explana- · tion of what he has been taught in books. To the general public they offer edification and instruction" (Royal Commission , I nterim Report, p. 28). . The modern museum is traceable to the impulse that came from the Revival of Learning, for though the word 170 MUSEUMS IN CANADA was used of the foundation in Alexandria, "without which we should not recognize our civilization", as 'Professor Bury wrote, yet only a small part of Ptolemy's Museum was what we think of when We use the name. In Europe it was not until the seventeenth century that, through the awakening spirit of enquiry, men began to collect objects of art and natural history. Though Italy gave powerful , impulse to the Renaissance, England was and has continued to be' in the lead in the Museum movement. Sir Frede~ic Kenyon sees in this activity an expression of English characteristics, one the individualistic habit of collecting and the other the custom of travelling. The houses of many of the nobility were filled -with rich treasures; and, of even greater consequence, the private collections of Elias Ashmole and Sir Hans Sloane led to the establishmen t in Oxford in 1679 of the Ashmolean , Museum, and in London in 1753 of the British Museum. Moreover in the nineteenth century Darwin's theory, based on results of his own voyage and other explorations, stimulated museum development. "The richest period of museum development was perhaps the forty years, 188e.. 1920; of the public museums started during that period nearly one-half have originated from private collections, and abou t one-third from the spontaneous action of the corporation or a group of citizens.... Only recently-and chiefly in the twentieth century-has an attempt been made to break away from the collecting bias and to establish museums for public rather than personal purposes, and with reference to educational needs" (Miers, Public Museums oj British I sles, p. IO). As expected, the antiquarian and the amateur played a large part alongside the scientist in _building up museums in the United States. The Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia establi;hed 171 THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY in 1812 was the first public natural history museum. In New York the American Museum ~f Natural Histor.y dates back to 1817, but entered on its great career after the fire in 1866 in which most of its valuable collections were destroyed. The National Museum at Washington originated in the magnificent bequest of an Englishman, James Smithson,accepted by Congress in 1846, and it has beco~e one of the leading institutions of its kind in the world. The renowned university museums of Harvard and Yale owe their -o~igin and character to eminent scien tists of their country and age-Agassiz, Silliman, -Marsh, Dana. More recently vast private wealth has made possible the creation of the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburg and the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. There are also the Boston Museum ofFine Arts, -and the great city museums of Detroit and Cleveland. While in the fine arts the American museums do not rival those of Europe, those devoted to the natural sciences rank among the best in the world. Our neighbours have spent lavishly on l";useums, realizing that in them they are promoting continuity for their derived civilization with its past, and in addition are interpreting the character and history of their own environment. By comparison Canada makes a poor showing. _But we have had outstanding scientists and collectors who laid good foundations. To begin with the National Museum at Ottawa. It originated from the impulse of one man of power, Sir William Edmund Logan, the first Director of the Geological Survey of Canada: and the Father of Canadian science. He was born in Montreal on April 20, 1798, and got his early education in its schools, but at the age of sixteen he was sent to Edinburgh, and did not return to make his home in Canada until 1843 when he became the founder of the Geological Survey. , , MUSEUMS IN CANADA With dauntless courage and heroic patience he paddled his way up stream, though poverty and indifference}nade the going hard and at times threatened to wreck his frail bark. In 1845 he received from the Canadian Government official authorization to undertake museum work, but for years he had to put up with miserable accommodation in Montreal for his collections. In 1852 he wrote: "It may be a consideration whether a growing country like Canada could not afford to anticipate what its future importance may require in the nature of a national -museum and at some future time not far distant erect an ~ppropriate edifice specially planned for the purpose." Eighty years later this wealthy Dominion has not yet 'adequately fulfilled that aspirat'ion. Logan resigned his position as Director in 1869 but lived until June, 1875. Canada has been fortunate in that the ideals for her great accomplishment in Geology and other natural .sciences were set for her by this native son, who' stood so high, among his contemporaries. Powerful stimulus was given to the scientific investigation of the natur~l resources of thecountry by the opening up I after Confederation of the "Great Lone Land" andof British Columbia. By such men as Selwyn, Macoun, the I younger Dawson and their successors and other intrepid explorers, some orthem happily still alive, the character of the .country has been scientifically described, and great collections of material gathered on periodic expeditions have been deposited in what was for some -years officially designated the Museum of the Geological - and Natural History Survey. From time to time the Museum has been enlarged by the addition of special departments in mineralogy, palaeontology, botany, zoology , and anthropology; but its progress has been slow. Years ago Sir Edmund Walker, among others, emphasised 173 THE UNIVERSITY OF, TORONTO QUARTERLY the need of a worthy building to house its comprehensive collections: "We are rich enough to bear the cost with ease, but we are not intelligent .enough to see our own interest in spending the money." By 1911 a new structure was completed which was expected to be "a complete natural history museum", but then came the \Var, and the loss of the Parliament Buildings by fire on February 3, 1916 led to the occupation of a large portion of the Victoria Memorial M,useul11, as it was designated, by the Parliament of Canada. To -day one fourth of the space is assigned to the National Art Gallery, and of the remainder so much is used by the administrative offi'ces of the Department of , Mines and by the Geological Survey, that what is left is insufficient for the p~rposes of ,such aNatural History , Museum . as Canada should have. The ~ollecting of material has cost the country very little, as it has been done mostly through the Geological Survey, but if proper value is to be received it must be dealt with in greatly enlarged laboratories and store-rooms. Addressing the Royal Society in: 1923 Professor McMurrich said: "We have all the requIsites for a good National Museum except' 'a suitable and adequate home for it and a definite organization for its maintenance." The Carnegie Commissioners also report that "the Museum ofNatural Historyalthough 'it possesses a vast amount of fine materi,al, much of which is well displayed in spite of inadequate space, does little to extend its influence beyond the city except in ' the matter of geological and mineralogical specimens» (p. 37). The responsibility for this cOlnpfilratively ineffective service is largely due to the nature of its administration, which is "completely anomalous and unlike that of any other great museum with which'we are familiar" (p. 25). The time is surely long over-due for such support for 174 MUSEUMS IN CANADA our National Museum as will make it worthy of the scientific life of the Dominion. It embodies the results of the work of some of our greatest Canadians, whose names are held in high honour by the world of science, h'U.t that work should be honoured at home also by being perpetuated in adequate availability, and by provision being made for more cOlnprehensive extension on' that foundation by their successors. Chronologically McGill University was the leader in Canada in museum equipment. Sir William Dawson established its scientific tradition, and under his influence the Peter Redpath Museum was housed in a beautiful building in 1882, which became not only the-outstanding example for Canada, but was one of the finest for its purpose on the continent. I t contains Dawson's palaentological collections and has received important mineralogical and zoological 'additions; but it is recognized that one of the necessary tasks of McGill is to re-coridition this famous museum in accordance with modern requirements. . The McCord Museum was presented to McGill_ Uni- . versity in 1919. It is "a magnificent nucleus for a great historical museum", cantaining comprehensive 'Indian material and "a large number of priceless objects and _ valuable documents" illustrating the French Regime, the Conque~t of Quebec, the War of 1812 and other periods; but the building is not hre~proof and the material should be re-arranged. - The earnestness with whic4 the McGill Governors are facing their situation is shown by the fact that in 1932they had Mr. (:yril Fox, F.S.A., Director of the National Museum of W'ales, undertake a survey of th~ir museums and libraries. His report, doubtless, will stimulate the friends of McGill to do for her, as soon as financial' con- , 175 THE UNIVERSITY ,oF TORONTO QUARTERLY ditions improve, what is in keeping with her past and worthy of the ideals which she cherishes for the future. To .deal with the museums of French-speaking Canada, fitting as they do into the educational life of that Province" is beyond the scope of this article; suffice it to quote the words of the Carnegie',report: "Most of the colleges and seminaries administered by religious orders in the province have a museum, which indicates a widespread appreciation of the value of museums as aids to education. At the same time, it must be admitted that the technical st~ndar4 of these is not high, since the expenditure is nominal, the curatorship is'honorary; ~nd few,of the curators have any special qualificatio~s for the work" (p. 5). -In LavalUniversity there have been for more than a century representative collections in' mineralogy and other branches of natural science, and it may be expected that the rising school of younger 'French~Canadian scientists will soon make their influence felt in'modern 'museum development. As ,";,to the Maritime' Provinces, the 'Commissioners' report that "the orily bright spots are the new museum at St. John" the Archives at Halifax, and the Provincial Museum at Halifax" (p. 6). The Provincial Museum of Nova Scotia 'though founded in 1868, had its nucleus in collections begun in 1832 by the Halifax Mechanics Institute . It is intended primarily to illustrate the natural resources and the development of the Arts and Industry of the ProvInce. Though . catalogued and labelled the c'ollections are so overcrowded that they are not properly availahle to the public nor safeguarded from fire. They need to be housed in a new building and kept up-to-date. In Dalhousie University, besides good teaching materials, there are for exhibition the McCulloch collection of native birds, some 550 specimens, and a Marine Museum illustrating the era of wooden ship-building. "The new 116 MUSEUMS IN CANADA museum at St. John, New Brunswick, has been designed to fulfil public wants, and will not be overburdened with large collections displayed without educational purposes" (p.6). . Considering the heavy demands made on the Prairie Provinces for the establishmentofed\lcational institutions of all kinds in a short period, it is not surprising that the Commissioners report. that "comparatively little has been done by the provincial governments·or the municipalities to provide a museum service" (p. 3). In Alberta, however , there are good collections .of minerals .and of Red Deer River .fossils. In British Columbia the Provincial Museum in Victoria , opened in 1886, is primarily a natural history museum, with a small but -good ethnological collection, acquired through the enthusiasm ·of the late Dr. New- . combe, strictly limited to material from the Province, but representative and chosen with 'attention to artistic merit. The opeping of the renovated and enlarged building for the Royal Ontario Museums will, it is hoped, .inaugurate a new era in appreciation of the scientific, historical and artistic activities which they illustrate. For some years their importance has been recognized, and . now the Carnegie commissioners state -that "the new extensions render fair to make this one of the largest museums on the American continent", and "it performs very fully' the qffices both of a .university and a public museuln" (pp. 9,4); it has also been recently ranked by Sir Frederic Kenyon 'among the great museums. of the world. The origin of these museum~ was in the collectiorls of the University of Toronto, and'may be traced back to the year 1853 when a chair of natural history was created; 177 THE. UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY but their present maturity is due to the enthusiasm of the, directors based upon the strong support and skilled advice of. the late Sir Edmund Walker, who in 1912 became the first chairman of the Board of Trustees. The transition from university collections for'teaching purposes to their present character took place gradually after 1900, Mr~ Currelly also in the following years 'contributing the nucleus for the Archaeological Museum, from materials -obtained while he was excavating in Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean. The Museums ,are under the control of a Board of Trustees appoi'nted, some by the Government of the Province and others by the' University, the former having hitherto been chosen from benefactors or those interested in their development; there are also two ex-officio members from the Government. The director of-each museum, whp determines its essential character, is also a 'full pro-:fessor in the University, from-which he draws his sa1tilry. Similarly the assistant directors hold university positions., The directors constitute an advisory board for the' Trustees. The annual maintenance has been assumed equally by the Government and the University, but the cost of the ren'ovations and extensions is being borne by the Government alone. The original wing was opened by the Duke 'of Connaught in 1914, but it soon became desperately overcrowded " and in 1930 the additions were begun, the Honourable Howard Ferguson being ,Prime Minister, Mr. J. B. O'Brian the chairman of the Trustees and ~r. Alfred Chapman the architect. The Royal Ontario Museum consists of two broad divisions, Natural History and Archaeology. The new building is connected with the old in such a way that the whole is H 'shaped, that side of the H that faces 1?8 -MUSEUMS IN CANADA Queen's Park Drive being devoted to Natural History and the rest to Archaeology . The entrance hall, stairs, elevators, a large and small lecture room, a refreshment room and other necessary accommodation are all in the new wing. There are four floors, except in the tower where there is additional space in use. _The exterior design -is akin to the Romane, sque or Norman, and was purposely adopted as suitable for a Museum which is housing fragments from earlier civilizations. rrhe stone used was quarried in Ontario, Credit Valley for the field, Queenston limestone for trimming, and Bancroft marble for the rotunda floor, -the bases and the openings throughout the galleries. The ceiling of the entrance hall is a Venetian glass mosaic designed and executed in Toronto. The general principles controlling the design of the galleries, which are the most important part of the building , were the securing of light, flexibility, and maximum unobstructed wall surface for exhibit purposes. The windows, therefore, are as high above the fioor as practicable , and the artificial lighting is by fixtures slightly illuminated on the underside so as to diffuse the light over a -bay 30 ft. by 20 ft. -The octagonal entrance rotunda, 42 ft. in diameter with a ceiling height of 38 ft. is the centre of the plan. On the north and south sides are the entrances to the Natural History Museums, and on the west is a .short hall, with -staircases on either side, leading to the Archaeological Museum. The Mu~eum of Mineralogy, entered fro~ the south side of the rotunda, covers 8,497 sq. ft. 'of exhibit area in one.1arge gallery, together with 2,151 sq. ft. for library, work-rooms and administrative offices, and on the floor below 4,129 sq. ft. for laboratories and store-rooms. The display is arranged effectiv~ly as in the great museums of London, Paris and New York, and there are perhaps 179 THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY fifty tons of.material stored systematically for purposes of research and exchange. The work carried on in the -laboratories includes chemical analysis of minerals, cutting sections of rocks for microscopic study, grinding, polishing , and photography. The nucleus , of the collection dates back to 1894- when it was purchased from Dr. W. F. Ferrier; but the Director, Professor'T. L. Walker, assisted , by Professor A. L. Parsons, has developed it with such unwearied skill that the known mineral species are now more fully represented here than in most large museums, and this collection probably ranks second or third on the cantinent in completeness. Opposite, the Museum of Geology occupies 8,502 sq. ft. of exhibit space divided into two galleries by a partition down the centre line, together with 2,269 sq. ft. for library, work-rooms and administrative offices, ahd belo~ 4,479 sq. ft. for research laboratories and store-:-rooms. This museum, of which Dr. A. P. Coleman was _the first, director, is under Professor E. S. Moore. It is arranged to illustrate features of-well known mining districts chiefly in Ontario, with relief maps, mine models, and processes of manufacture. From their natural state to the refined products there are displays of gold, silver, copper, asbestos, coal, building-stones and other material, which make possible comparis~ns of the products of Ontario mines with those of other parts of the world. While chief stress has been laid on Economic Geology, this museum 'contains also one, of the most complete exhibits of glacial deposits in existence. An effort is also made to show how the -strata of the crust of the earth have been formed during the successive geological.periods, partly with a view to instruct the layman, partly to interest the specialist. The Museum of Palaeontology, on the floor above, occupies, the whole length of the building, an area of 180 ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM: ENTRANCE HALL MUSEUMS IN CANADA 17,547 sq. fi:. for exhibits, divided into four galleries, and in addition' 5,525 sq. ft. for library, work;rooms, administration and storage, together with 3,Y:)() sq. ft. on ,the ground iloor for preparation and laboratory work. In 1905 Sir Edmund Walker presented his large collection of fossils; with its library, to the palaeontology museum of the University, which was enlarged by the purchase of the Matthew collection of Cambrian fossils; and now through the scientific enthusiasm of the Director, Professor W. A. Parks, there ,are at least 20,000 species of invertebrate fossils, extensive collections of vertebrate fossils, including twenty-five mounted specimens of dinosaurs, many of which are unique type specimens, ten other large vertebrates, and numerous fishes. These dinosaurs are the result ,of a succession of expeditions, conducted since 1918 by Dr. Parks and his associates In the Red Deer River district in Alberta and in South Dakota and Nebraska. The vast, material is system- . atically stored and catalogued,' conserved ready for research and , awaiting completion by additional discoverIes . The Museum of Zoology is placed on the third iloor and has an exhibit space of 15,380 sq. ft., 6,678 sq. ft. more for library, storage of research material and admin-' istration, together with 4,982 sq. ft. on the ground iloor for laboratory and preparation rooms. After the erection of the Biological Building in 1889, Professor Ramsay Wright developed the teaching museum, which grew ,rapidly until in 1913 it was divided, the portion for general teaching being kept in the University, while most of the Canadian material was transferred to the new museum, where it is now under Professor Bensley, the Director, and Professor Dymond, the Assistant Director. The museum possesses a technical staff for taxidermy, model- THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY ling, plaster-easting and wax-work. It has probably the most representative collection'in Canada of the birds and mammals of the world" though' in respect of research ' contents as to Canadian species the National Museum in _ ' Ottawa holds the primacy; but a continuous effort is being made to investigate the incompletely known fauna of Canada. Also there are important facilities for research in entomology, and ichthyology. A unique series of coloured replicas of species of Canadian fishes is the outcome of the fisheries research, which is being conducted in cooperation with the University laboratories. The Museum of Archaeology has aU the old, but renovated, building, the connecting cross-bar and the Chinese court, amounting in all to an area of 108,275 sq. ft. for exhibits, and I I ,300 sq. ft. for preparation, research and administrative rooms. To the genius of Professor C. T. Currelly, F.S.A., the Director, the character of this great Museum is mainly due. Professor Mcllwraith is Keeper of the ethnological section. Warm acknowledgement must be made of the support by those Toronto citizens and other donors, not a few in number, who have proved to be generous "friends" of the Museum. The name of Dr. George Crofts of Tientsin will always be associated with the extensive collection of beautiful objects of Chinese art; and more recently in the same field Bishop White of Honan has been an enthusiastic benefactor. The great entrance hall, which leads to the old building, is the armour gallery with a moderately good collection of arms and defensive armour both European and Oriental. On the south opens the court containing the impressive tomb of the Chinese General Tsu of the , Ming dynasty. The ground floor con tains important and extensive MUSEUMS IN CANADA ethnological material, 'illustrating by typical objects, usually of artistic merit, the handicrafts of the more pnmltlve races, The Eskimos, and the Indians from Ontario, the Plains and the west coast of Canada are well represen ted. Great totem poles from British Columbia, excellent pottery 'from New Mexico and Arizona, specimens of the civilizations of Central and South ,America, handicrafts of the more primitive races of Africa, Indonesia, and the Pacific Islands are also of much value ' to art students as well as t6 ethnologists. The first floor illustrates II)ainly European art and archaeology after the Roman period. Here are prints and books, and in a special gallery a small synoptic exhibit of Chinese art from the earliest times tq the' eighteenth century; here also are the finest Chinese paintings and the great fresco. Then follow galleries of German, Flemish, French, Spanish and Italian art. Then, come five galleries of English art. On the second floor is a large display of pre-historic objects, those from Europe being unusually important, ending with the bronze, gold and earliest iron age. North of these are the grain civilizations of Egypt and Babylon in five galleries. East of the pre-histori'c room are six galleries of Greek and Etruscan objects dati!lg from the fourth millenium to a little before, the time of Christ. 'Especially worthy of attention in this representative collection are the sculpture (marble and bronze), the Tanagras, and the vases illustrating admirably this ' importani : industry. On the west side is the GraecoRoman collection of objects from private life in Egypt and Palestine to the late Roman and that of Saxon Britain. Near by are musical instruments, then lace and embroideries from Roman to modern times. The top Hoor ' is devoted to the extensive Oriental 183 THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY .collections: seven teen ga,lleries displaying Chinese art ftOm the earliest period almost to the present, three displaying Japanese art and two Mohammedan and Indian. The directors of these Museums agree as to the purposes. to be served by them: The teaching of undergraduate but especially graduate students; the stimulation and assistance of research by assembling, throu'gh expeditions or purchase, new material; the storing of valuable specimens which may' be very important for the advancemen t of science, and the enlightment of the.public. The collections are, therefore, labelled both scieiltifically and to meet the needs of .the average visitor. Lectures are given, schoo) children are conducted through the galleries by expert guides, and specimens are sent to other institutions of the Province, the cumulative resul t of which is·seen in the rapidly increasing attendance of the .public, which in the last year before the closing amounted to 147,000, of whom 30,000 were children. In Toronto there is also the Ontario Provincial Museum with a very extensive supply of archaeological material, draw,n almost exclusively from this Province and indispensable for the study of its remote past, important also for that of horth-eastern America.. In time much of this material, in so far as it may not be needed for the work ofthe Normal and other schools, should be transferred. to the Royal Ontario Museums. In this group of Museums in Toronto are found units which serve the same ends as in London are promoted by the British Museum, the British Museum for Natural History, the Museum of Practical Geology and the Victoria and Albert Museum, this last "having come into being to bring art into contact with common life, and to inspire and educate the manufacturer, the craftsman and the wayfaring man." In these Museums the Province of 184 MUSEUMS IN CANADA Ontario possesses an Institution which fulfils excellently the creed of Sir Frederic Kenyon: "1 believe-in museums as a means for the cultivation and .gratification of the ' sense of beauty; as a source of enrichment of life by widening experience and stimulating curiosity; and as a force that tends to stabilize the life of the community by familiarizing it with its roots in the past. The museum is a means of heightening in value and extending in -breadth the individual's conception of life. I t gives hiin ideals of beauty and of human achievemen t which increase his sense of his own possibilities. Its ultimate purpose is -to help the nation to save its soul" (Museums and National Life, p. 25)· 185 ...

pdf

Share