On October 5, 1931, the Vancouver Art Gallery opened its doors to the public. The Gallery's Founders conceived of an institution that would provide its visitors with access to the art of this region, this nation and the world at large. To do so they assembled a collection consisting of 58 oil paintings, 31 watercolours, two sculptures, 23 prints and drawings, and 4 sculptures. Today that collection has grown to almost 9,000 works but our goal remains much the same. We seek to provide our visitors with access to visual art from around the world in all its forms.

This year we are mounting four exhibitions that characterize the scale and scope of the collection and acknowledge the many sources and criteria that guide the acquisition of those artworks. But even in its early days the Gallery was conceived as more than a home for the collection; it was also a site for discourse on the arts. In the words of the Founders, it was, "...a home for friendly intercourse, discussion, and lectures on art matters; for the exhibition of travelling collections, for student study and art appreciation for the young, and for closer contact by us all with the minds and spirit of the other men and other times as revealed in works of art." These goals remain a fundamental part of our program today.

It seems fitting that we should mark our 75th anniversary with a publication that represents a new milestone for the Gallery. This is our first digital publication conceived and intended for use on the Internet. It provides a new model for publishing on the collection, one that capitalizes on the seemingly endless capacity of the Internet to hold and distribute images, information and ideas. It is vital that we continue to develop research around our collection and to utilize new technologies to provide the broadest possible access to those who wish to study and appreciate these extraordinary works of art.

With this publication we celebrate the Gallery's long history as an essential figure in a cultural community that includes Vancouver, Canada and beyond, and we point the way toward its continued growth.

Kathleen S. Bartels
Director