Firestone collection of Canadian art

What is it: It was the largest privately owned collection of Canadian art, so big that in the 1960s the Firestone family built an 8,000-square-foot, gallery-like house in Rockcliffe to display it, and invited the public in for tours. It’s been at the Ottawa Art Gallery since 1992.

What’s in it: 1,614 pieces, including 644 by the Group of Seven. A.Y. Jackson has the most, with 253 paintings. It total, there are 753 paintings, 818 drawings, 14 sculptures, four artifacts, two prints, two photographs, and two collages.

Incidental fact: A.Y. Jackson celebrated his 80th birthday in the Firestone house.

Collection highlights: Where to begin? Lawren Harris’s Mount Thule, Bylot Island (1930); Emily Carr’s Sunlight in the Forest (1912); Rita Letendre’s Incandescence (1969); Paul-Émile Borduas’ Forgotten Farms (1958) and many more.

It needs more space: Gallery curators treat the collection with due reverence and care, but the cramped space at the OAG has never been sufficient to give the collection the exposure it deserves.

It’s a valuable asset: Public galleries rarely discuss monetary value of the works they own, but earlier reports have pegged the value of the collection between $17 and $20 million, which seems reasonable given the cultural and historical importance of many pieces.