The Art of Collecting

The Art of Collecting highlights over one hundred works selected from the seven thousand artifacts acquired by the Museum’s European Department over the last 15 years.

Displaying significant examples of the finest in European and American decorative arts, the exhibition spans the late Renaissance to the Post-Modern periods. Visitors will learn about social customs and material culture, as well as about the development of decorative arts styles over the centuries.

Perusing furniture by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, porcelain from the Sèvres factory, silver by Puiforcat, and glassware by René Lalique, visitors will feel like connoisseurs, and come away with a greater understanding of the breadth of knowledge required in collecting antiques.

The Art of Collecting  also serves as a thank you to the many generous donors who have made the ROM’s European Decorative Art Collection the most comprehensive in Canada.