In accordance with the announcement by the provincial government, the Gardiner Museum has closed temporarily, effective Monday November 23. While this news is difficult, the health and safety of our visitors, staff, and the wider community remains our top priority. We'll continue to provide you with engaging digital content to keep us connected while the galleries are closed.
During our temporary closure, we're posting exhibitions and selections from our collection online. Discover Inuit ceramics, Chinese and Japanese porcelain, pottery from the Ancient Americas, and more!
In accordance with instructions from the provincial government, the Museum closed to the public on Monday November 28 and we have cancelled all clay classes. We regret the inconvenience this may cause, but are hopeful that these actions will help maintain the health and safety of our communities. We will automatically be crediting students with a refund for remaining sessions.
Every object in our permanent collection can be accessed through our eMuseum portal. Learn about individual collecting areas, like Italian Maiolica or Modern and Contemporary Ceramics, or search the full collection by keyword. You'll be amazed by what you discover!
With the Museum closed temporarily, we need your support to continue to offer innovative and engaging exhibitions, programs, and community projects online, as well as plan for the future. Please consider making a donation to help us build community with clay.
Lobby Display
In 1862, two intrepid tourists, Viscount Milton and Dr. Walter Cheadle, undertook a two-year expedition across Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Travelling by ship, steamboat, stage coach, train, horse, canoe, and raft, they faced deep snow, swarms of mosquitoes, swollen rivers, starvation, and grizzly bears.
Milton and Cheadle published an illustrated account of their epic trip, The North West Passage by Land. Two bone china dessert services were specially ordered from the Minton manufactory to commemorate their adventures: one made for Dr. Cheadle in 1865, and the other for Lord Milton in 1867. Twenty-two illustrations from the book, taken from Cheadle’s drawings or watercolours, served as inspiration for the hand-painted scenes on the services.
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation, thirteen pieces from Lord Milton’s magnificent service have been reassembled from public and private collections for this intimate lobby display.
Exhibition Programs & Events
September 22 – 26, 3 pm Screening: To Build a Fire French filmmaker Fx Goby’s animated adaptation of Jack London’s 1908 classic novel, To Build a Fire, depicts a trapper’s struggle for survival in the freezing temperatures of the Yukon in the late 1890s. Included with general admission. Learn more
Sunday September 23, 3 pm Artist Talk: FX Goby Join us for a moderated conversation with French filmmaker Fx Goby following a screening of his film To Build a Fire. Included with general admission. Learn more
Friday November 3, 4 pm Painted on Porcelain: A Canadian Odyssey Chief Curator Meredith Chilton recounts the story of Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle’s incredible voyage and the history behind the Milton dessert services that commemorated their journey. Lear more
Image: Detail of an illustration from The North West Passage by Land