Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery
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| Established | 1964 (Collection established 1953 but with no permanent museum facility) |
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| Location | University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
| Type | art galleries |
| Director | Martin Segger |
| Curator | Caroline Riedel |
| Website | http://uvac.uvic.ca |
The Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery is located at the University of Victoria in Saanich, British Columbia. The museum is home to the University of Victoria Art Collections, which contains in excess of 30,000 art objects ranging from ancient Chinese artifacts to works by well-known contemporary artists. Rotating exhibitions in the Maltwood’s three gallery spaces offer a glimpse into the University of Victoria’s acquisitions and holdings, in addition to showcasing works by local and Canadian artists.
The Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery is named in memory of husband and wife John and Katharine Maltwood (1878–1961), who were major benefactors to the University of Victoria. The Maltwoods' original donation ranged from Chinese ceramics to textiles, rugs, seventeenth century English furniture, Canadian painting, and Katharine Maltwood's own sculptural works, paintings, and drawings. Acquired by the University of Victoria in 1964, the collection moved to its current home in the University Centre in 1978, amalgamating with the original University of Victoria Art Collection founded in 1953.
Since 1978, the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery has expanded its collection through donations from various benefactors. Michael C. Williams donated the largest gift, which facilitated the collection’s growth to an excess of 30,000 works. Currently, the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery exhibits in three distinct gallery spaces: the Maltwood Art Gallery, located in the University Centre at the University of Victoria; the McPherson Gallery, located in the University of Victoria’s McPherson Library; and the Legacy Art Gallery and Café, located in downtown Victoria, British Columbia.
The Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery acquires most of the works in its collection through donations from a variety of benefactors. The two largest benefactors to the University of Victoria Art Collections are John & Katharine Maltwood and Michael C. Williams.
The Maltwood Collection is a subcategory of works owned by the University of Victoria Art Collections. The original Maltwood collection was owned by John and Katharine Maltwood, global travellers who accumulated various items relating to their spiritual interests. These pieces were displayed in their Victoria home, alongside Katharine’s own works. The collection adheres to the couple’s ideology of having nothing in their home that was not useful or beautiful. Upon moving to Victoria, the Maltwoods decided to develop a museum to house their art, with the aim of one day donating it to the city. They purchased a former restaurant in the Royal Oak area of Victoria, British Columbia. Serving as a gallery and home, it was called The Thatch. The couple’s collection consisted of household items from various artistic periods, such as English Gothic furniture, furniture from the Tudor and Stuart periods, Oriental and Persian antique rugs and Oriental silk hanging scrolls, paintings from Paris, London, and Peiping, modern oil and watercolour paintings, Chinese and Middle Eastern ceramics and figurines, and Moslem pottery and metalwork, in addition to Katharine Maltwood’s own works, writings, and journals. A library of art books referencing the Maltwoods' holdings accompanied the collection.
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