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The Art Gallery of Ontario was established at the turn of the 20th century, in 1900, and was originally known as the Art Museum of Toronto. In 1966 (having changed its name to Art Gallery of Toronto in 1919), the gallery became known as ‘Art Gallery of Ontario’ (AGO), which it still retains to this day.

This catalogue was produced with a two tier objective in mind. On the surface it was intended to expose the art loving public of a selection (60) of new acquisitions that the museum had taken custody of. But, and more importantly, it sought to highlight to anyone reading that the collection of AGO depended greatly on the generous donation of patrons, anthropologists and other collections / institutions. Such donations were (and no doubt still are) the lifeblood of any gallery, especially in North America, and were continually sought after in the name of expansion, research and the future experiences of its visitors.

Designed by Allan Fleming, this piece appears to be set in a classic cut of Bodoni, in a condensed weight for the headlines, and Times New Roman for the body copy. Its proportions are of an interesting, super-wide, horizontal ratio with a full colour cover (printed to the outer faces only). Utilizing a 6 column grid, Fleming manages to retain a sense of modernity (even with the more traditional type choices) and internally balances the images perfectly across the spreads to highlight and provide emphasis. The internal pages are all printed in black and white for economy of production.

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