The Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum has come into possession of a historical collection of artwork spotlighting the world of Niagara – with some of these pieces more than 200 years old.

The museum received 19 works of art this summer as a donation from the Goldspink family, owners of the former TAG Art Gallery in St. Catharines, which closed its doors in the fall of 2022.

“These works are a part of history,” said the museum’s managing director Sarah Kaufman in a media release. “For more than 200 years these drawings, etchings, and watercolours were in great demand by Europeans for early travel books and journals.”

The collection depicts well-known parts of Niagara’s history based in NOTL, including Queenston Heights and Brock’s Monument, as well as historical figures such as Sir Isaac Brock and Joseph Brant.

Canadian artists such as Owen Staples and Nicholas Hornynasky, plus others from outside Canada, are responsible for the works included in the collection, which includes etchings, aquatints, pencil drawings and pastels.

The overall value of the donation totals $19,115, said Kaufman in an email to The Lake Report.

“This generous donation will benefit all of us,” said the museum’s assistant curator Shawna Butts, “researchers, scholars, visitors, and art lovers alike. And, it makes a superb addition to our collection.”

It may be some time, however, before visitors can view these works in the flesh: Kaufman said in her email that the museum is processing the new items and may not be able to display them until sometime in the winter or next year.

The collection’s pieces are currently going through what’s called the accessioning process, she wrote: they’re being individually photographed, having their conditions assessed and being added to the museum’s database.

However, she said the museum hopes to have them available for viewing on its online collections database by the end of 2023.