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The addition of new galleries to the north of the old house further expanded the Museum. It officially opened on April 4, 1918, with many OSA members in attendance.

In the meantime, the government had also made the decision to close the picture galleries in the Educational Museum. With this closure, the OSA purchases were distributed among the province’s six Normal Schools. A number of factors could have influenced the minister in making this decision, not the least of which may have been the ongoing discord that seemed to mark the relationship between the government and the OSA. Another factor may have been the government’s support for new institutions that broadened the opportunity for the public display of artwork with the establishment of the new Art Museum of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of Ontario) and the Royal Ontario Museum in 1912.

The cancellation of the government’s arrangement with the OSA did not end the art purchases, however. For the years 1913 and 1914 an additional 23 paintings were selected by a special committee formed by the Minister of Education. The paintings were chosen from the OSA annual exhibitions of 1913 and 1914 and from the Canadian Art Club exhibition of 1913. These works were also distributed among the province’s Normal Schools.

Although only six of these paintings remain in the collection today, they include a very fine winter scene, The River Magog by Marc A. Suzor-Côté, Arthur Lismer’s, The Clearing and Florence Carlyle’s, The Threshold.

With the purchases of 1914, the government’s program of art acquisitions from the OSA came to an end. While it may have been motivated by the changing priorities of the war years, the reason for the cessation of the purchasing program is unknown. Nevertheless, a total of 167 works by over 60 artists had been acquired by the government.

With the purchases of 1914, the government’s program of art acquisitions from the OSA came to an end. While it may have been motivated by the changing priorities of the war years, the reason for the cessation of the purchasing program is unknown. Nevertheless, a total of 167 works by over 60 artists had been acquired by the government.

Normal Schools were renamed teachers’ colleges in 1953, and in the late 1970s these colleges were absorbed by university faculties of education. While some of the existing artworks were returned to the government at this time, others were donated to the province’s public institutions. Beneficiaries included Nipissing University College (now Nipissing University) in North Bay and the Art Gallery of Peterborough. In 1972, a particularly significant gift of artworks was made by the Ontario government to the Art Gallery of Ontario. Of the 21 works donated, eight had been purchased from the OSA exhibitions. These included Northern Lake by Tom Thomson, Lords of the Forest by Lucius O’Brien, Morning Shadows by J. E. H. MacDonald and The Tiff by Florence Carlyle.

Only 43 of the original OSA purchases are known to be in the Government of Ontario Art Collection today. The majority of these are hanging on public display in the halls of the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park

Role of Women in the OSA

The OSA’s history reveals the slow but increasingly visible role played by some women in Ontario’s artistic life; at the turn of the 20th century, Although women were admitted to the OSA from its early days, they were not allowed to vote at meetings and their participation progressed slowly; between 1875 and 1914, the total number of women artists in the OSA rose from two to nine.

Today, the Ontario Society of Artists has a membership of over two hundred artists. It continues to hold open juried exhibitions as well as a full slate of member exhibitions in different venues throughout the province. The OSA publishes a regular newsletter and also maintains a website to promote its history and current activities.