Crown Collection

{{Short description|Canadian collection of art and other items}}

File:DSC01989 - Pauline Vanier Room (44754586042).jpg, is furnished throughout with pieces from the Crown Collection, the Pauline Vanier room is specifically designated to showcase distinctly Canadian art and craftsmanship.]]

The Crown Collection is the assemblage of more than 7,000 objects,{{Citation| last=Thompson| first=Elizabeth| title=Senator: GG shouldn't redecorate Rideau Hall| newspaper=Toronto Sun| date=26 May 2009| url=http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2009/05/26/9579376-sun.html| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708204320/http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2009/05/26/9579376-sun.html| url-status=usurped| archive-date=July 8, 2012| access-date=14 January 2010}} including contemporary and antique art and furnishings, books, rugs, and other objects owned by the sovereign in right of Canada, many of which are used to furnish the country's official residences.{{cite web| url=http://www.ncc-ccn.gc.ca/property-management/what-we-manage/canadiana-fund| title=Official Residences > The Canadiana Fund| publisher=National Capital Commission| access-date=14 January 2010}}{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=95| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| authorlink=Governor General of Canada| title=Visit Us > The Citadelle of Québec > Collections| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=14 November 2012}}

The collection is managed by the National Capital Commission and pieces are acquired either as gifts from philanthropic benefactors to,{{Cite journal| last=Canadiana Fund| title=The Canadiana Fund: Preserving Our Common Heritage| journal=In the Know| volume=1| page=4| publisher=National Capital Commission| location=Ottawa| year=2007| url=http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/data/2/rec_docs/9454_CanFunds_Newsletter_07.pdf| access-date=13 January 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222081119/http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/data/2/rec_docs/9454_CanFunds_Newsletter_07.pdf| archive-date=22 December 2009| url-status=dead}} or through purchase by, the Canadiana Foundation,{{Harvnb| Canadiana Fund| 2007| loc=Gifts to the Crown Collection, p. 4}} an organisation established in 2005 specifically to manage the furnishings of the official residences and which is under the patronage of the governor general of Canada.{{Cite journal| last=Canadiana Fund| title=The Canadiana Foundation| journal=In the Know| volume=1| page=1| publisher=National Capital Commission| location=Ottawa| year=2006| url=http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/data/2/rec_docs/9455_CanFund_Newslet_06.pdf| access-date=14 January 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610155128/http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/data/2/rec_docs/9455_CanFund_Newslet_06.pdf| archive-date=10 June 2011| url-status=dead}}{{Harvnb| Canadiana Fund| 2006| loc=Governor General Becomes Honorary Patron of the Canadiana Fund, p. 1}} The foundation collects, via its Canadiana Fund (established in 1990), donations of both money and pieces that have been approved by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board as having "outstanding significance or national importance".{{cite web| url=http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/property-management/what-we-manage/canadiana-fund| title=Property Management > What We Manage > Heritage Conservation > Managing the Official Residences > The Canadiana Fund| publisher=National Capital Commission| access-date=14 November 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911124915/http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/property-management/what-we-manage/canadiana-fund| archive-date=11 September 2012| url-status=dead}} A curator oversees acquisitions, research, conservation, inventory management, de-accessioning, loans, and all agreements with donors, partners, and stakeholders.{{cite web| url=https://www.ecuad.ca/studentservices/careers/artswork/52309| last=National Capital Commission| title=Student Services > Careers > Artswork > Curator, Official {{not a typo|Residneces}} Crown Collection| publisher=Emily Carr University of Art + Design| access-date=14 November 2012}}

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Works are generally by Canadian artists and craftsmen and/or are of significance in Canadian history,{{Harvnb| Canadiana Fund| 2007| loc=Ontario Artist Showcased in Canada's National Homes, p. 2}} such as the MacKay-Keefer Legacy Cup, created in 1831 to commemorate the construction of the Rideau Canal;{{Harvnb| Canadiana Fund| 2007| loc=MacKay-Keefer Legacy Cup, p. 1}} a Last Spike Pin, made from the bent last spike driven by the Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal into the Canadian Pacific Railway;{{citation| url=http://maplemonarchists.weebly.com/blog/the-canadian-crown-jewels| title=The Canadian Crown Jewels| date=8 February 2018| publisher=The Maple Monarchists| accessdate=29 March 2023}} a tall-case clock produced in 1825 by J. B. Twiss of Montreal, and a Quebec pine armoire crafted in the Louis Quinze style between 1750 and 1760.{{cite web| url=http://www.canadianafund.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16300-20451-39706-39727&lang=1| title=Official Residences > The Canadiana Fund > Collection Highlights| publisher=National Capital Commission| access-date=14 January 2010| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706170345/http://www.canadianafund.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16300-20451-39706-39727&lang=1| archive-date=6 July 2011}} Also in the collection is the piece 24 heures de l'Isle-aux-Oyes by Jean-Paul Riopelle, as well as the Grant de Longueuil Epergne, a silver centrepiece made in 1759.{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13255| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| authorlink=Governor General of Canada| title=The Residences > The Citadelle of Québec > Plan Your Visit > Tour of the Residences| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=16 August 2010}} The collection does also hold, however, pieces from Europe and the Far East.

Pieces used in Canada's official residences are selected so as to reflect the country's "diverse artistic and cultural traditions"; all art displayed is by Canadian artists, including Inuit works. Public Services and Procurement Canada oversees the Crown Collection pieces that have been installed in the official residences, keeping inventory and commissioning any necessary restoration.