Event Overview
Her Honour conducted an official visit to the City of Owen Sound. During her visit, Her Honour fmet with His Worship Ian Boddy before touring the Billy Bishop House and Museum. Her Honour and His Worship then unveiled a street sign, and a Vimy Legacy Oak Plaque. Finally, Her Honour joined community members for a garden party.
Tweets
Thank you to @ian_boddy and @CityOwenSound. A privilege to sign the guest book on the original desk belonging to local hero Billy Bishop. pic.twitter.com/NxWgZD6JFS
— Elizabeth Dowdeswell (@LGLizDowdeswell) June 12, 2017
Site of Significance
The Tom Thomson Art Gallery was established as a memorial to the iconic Canadian landscape artist Tom Thomson who grew up on the shores of Georgian Bay, just a few kilometres north of Owen Sound, in Leith. The Gallery houses a nationally significant collection of Thomson works and artifacts, paying homage to this maverick who fused a passion for the wilderness with a new and experimental style of painting. Today the gallery stands, literally, on its humble beginnings. Formerly a church, the basement structure at the present site was purchased by the Grey County Historical and Art Society in 1959. The society operated the museum in the front, and the gallery, comprised of just four pegboard walls, in the back. By 1964, and still in its basement existence, with strong community support and donations by the Thomson family and A.Y. Jackson, the gallery had collected several works by Thomson and members of the Group of Seven.
The City of Owen Sound ratified the construction of the gallery, as a centennial project, atop the existing basement structure. The foundation of a unique public collection of Canadian art was solidly laid when the new Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery opened in 1967. Source
Did You Know?
Canadian World War One hero Billy Bishop grew up in Owen Sound. The city is now home to a wonderful museum in his honour. The Billy Bishop Home & Museum was built in 1884 and is a beautiful Victorian house in the heart of Owen Sound. It is the boyhood home of Air Marshal William Avery "Billy" Bishop. Source
Royal Connection
During a six day tour of Ontario in 1974, Her Royal Highness the Princess Anne visited Owen Sound.