Sarah Lazarovic at Gallery 1065 in Toronto ahead of the upcoming National Portrait Gallery of Canada of Bloorcourt show.Jon Laytner/The Globe and Mail
Sarah Lazarovic is a communications strategist based in Toronto. She writes the newsletter More Vibrant Planet. The National Portrait Gallery of Canada of Bloorcourt show runs until Jan. 18 at Gallery 1065 in Toronto.
Almost 20 years ago I built the Montrose Portrait Gallery of Canada in my ramshackle Toronto garage. It was 2006, and I was annoyed that the Harper government had stalled plans to build Canada’s National Portrait Gallery after learning its now modest-seeming cost would total $45-million. Though they wouldn’t fully kill the gallery until 2008, the implication was that they were trying their darndest to do so. So my “gallerage” (gallery + garage) was born. We collected pieces from anyone who wanted to submit (the artist Mendelson Joe even mailed me some of his work), and I opened for leisurely visits on summer weekends. Portrait lovers would come by for lemonade, and to admire gems like my friend’s photograph of CBC commentator Rex Murphy’s shoes. Which were sturdy brogues, of course.
I was a punchy portrait provocateur trying to goad the government into reconsidering their spineless (faceless?) decision. And I guess I still am that person, as this week, in partnership with curator Jode Roberts and Gallery 1065, we opened the National Portrait Gallery of Canada of Bloorcourt in a storefront space on Toronto’s Bloor Street.
Artist Franco DeLeo, centre, discusses hanging options for his work with Ms. Lazarovic and curator Jode Roberts, on Jan. 6th, 2026.Jon Laytner/The Globe and Mail
How did I get so obsessed with portraits? Well, I’d lived in London for just long enough to pretentiously sprinkle my vocabulary with the word “dodgy,” and to fall in love with their National Portrait Gallery. This museum of notable faces was always busy, full of life and energy. Admission was (and still is) free and my flat was nearby, so I visited all the time.
Portrait galleries are the best museums. They’re welcoming, accessible, fun, and narrative-driven, because every face tells a story. In this age of threatened Canadian identity and an attendant desire to tell a shared story, a National Portrait Gallery is also a no-brainer nation-building project.
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Since the government’s about-face on the National Portrait Gallery in 2006, a succession of groups peopled with passionate portrait pushers have taken turns championing the idea. Michael Wernick, current board chair of the not-for-profit Portrait Gallery of Canada, estimates that he and his colleagues are the third or fourth wave of “portrait activists” motivated by the belief that this country needs a dedicated home for portraiture.
“Canada is an outlier in not having an institution dedicated to portraiture. There are half a dozen national portrait museums around the world,” Mr. Wernick says. “The Netherlands even has two.”
East gallery wall at Gallery 1065, mid install of the National Gallery of Canada of Bloorcourt show.Jon Laytner/The Globe and Mail
'The Critic' oil and wax on watercolour paper mounted to wood panel, by artist Teri Donovan.Jon Laytner/The Globe and Mail
In 2022, Mr. Wernick’s group commissioned a study by AEA Consulting that put the cost of building a bricks-and-mortar gallery in a metropolitan area at about $200-million, or, conservatively, about 1/150th the cost of those new F-35 fighter jets. A lot, to be sure, but portrait galleries are some of the most well-attended in the world, and a public-private partnership model could make the math more manageable. Alas, Ines Akué, spokesperson for the Department of Canadian Heritage, says there are no current plans to build a National Portrait Gallery.
And yet, we have the portraits. There are upward of 20,000 pieces in storage at Library and Archives Canada. And according to its spokesperson Richard Provencher, new acquisitions have been made in recent years. “For example, in the photography portfolio: Louie Palu, Martin Weinhold, Lana Slezic, Andrew Danson, Gabor Szilasi, and Christine Fitzgerald,” he said via e-mail. “We also acquired photos with the help of the Black Artists’ Networks in Dialogue (BAND) Gallery and Cultural Centre in Toronto; notably the Black Women in Leadership collection.”
Beyond the shows curated by Mr. Wernick’s Portrait Gallery of Canada group, we also have a national portrait competition in the form of The Kingston Prize, an annual juried competition. And much of this work can be viewed online.
But the opportunity presented by a National Portrait Gallery is equal parts nation-building and community-building. We need our stories – good, bad, and watercoloured – reflected back to us, in an age where we spend a huge amount of time on social media that affords us increasingly negligible opportunities to understand what’s actually happening in our world, much less our Canadian world. What I loved about Britain’s portrait gallery was the groups of kids having animated discussions about the work. It helps that they had charming accents.
Curator Mr. Roberts reflected in a mirror with other artwork. Since the government’s about-face on the National Portrait Gallery in 2006, passionate groups have taken turns championing the idea.Jon Laytner/The Globe and Mail
We need places and spaces to be together, in real life, to build trust, to be human, and to look at portraits of John Candy made out of bubble gum. I joke, but, like the Mona Lisa, I am also dead serious. Our success as a nation will be judged not just on how we steward resources, lift up our citizenry, and contribute to the world, but also by how we honour the people who helped or hindered that work. This is why I have a painting of Conrad Black from our first garage show hanging in my living room.
The current group championing the National Portrait Gallery is refreshingly undoctrinaire in the shape of our potential portraiture. There’s no edifice bias here; the gallery could take many forms, says Mr. Wernick.
“We don’t all agree, and that’s part of the fun, talking about what it could be. It can be a mix of physical space – having a hub really helps – or more distributed with small hubs in different cities. It’s not just about a big honking building in the national capital à la the National Gallery.”
“Canada has phenomenal portraitists across the country,” said his fellow board member, Malea Richardson, citing Charlie Bierk and Anna Weyant.
Ms. Lazarovic fell in love with London's National Portrait Gallery, inspiring efforts to install one in Canada.Jon Laytner/The Globe and Mail
I love the way portraits undo the gatekeepy nature of museum art and I love the idea of portrait hubs across the country. Though our National Portrait Gallery of Canada of Bloorcourt is small, we received more than 150 submissions, including a healthy number of dog portraits.
For its part, despite lacking an official portrait space, Library and Archives Canada is committed to making sure Canadians access the collection. “A highlight of the new LAC-Ottawa Public Library joint facility, Ādisōke, will be its professional exhibition gallery. Over the coming years, this museum-quality space will showcase LAC’s many collections, including portraits,” said Mr. Provencher.
Portrait shows bring out the best characters, the best stories, the most raucous energy. In a tense moment for our nation, and the world, we could all use some mirth and liveliness and beauty. I’m excited to see the work at the show, of course, but I’m more excited to meet the people who made the work. After all, what’s a gallery opening but a living portrait of a moment in time?
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to Ādisōke as a project jointly run by LAC and Ontario Public Library. It jointly run by LAC and Ottawa Public Library.