The Canada Council Art Bank is honouring art consultant Lorraine Pierce-Hull as she prepares to retire later this month. Pierce-Hull’s first experiences with the Art Bank date back to 2000, when, as an independent art appraiser, she was contracted to appraise the entire Art Bank collection—18,000 works of art in total by more 3,000 artists in all mediums and representative of the last four decades of Canadian art. In 2015, she re-joined the Art Bank as an art consultant, working with a broad portfolio of public and private sector clients in Ottawa, Toronto and Calgary.
Lorraine in sync with Brian Fisher’s painting, Mirror No.2 (1972)
In a recent interview, she spoke about the collection with affection. “It’s a special, diverse collection that now spans over five decades and represents every geographical region in Canada,” she said. “You can follow the history of artists from when they emerged and observe trends, styles and artistic movements.”
The monumental task of appraising the collection included contacting each artist or their representatives and updating the Art Bank artist file system. This was the first time the Art Bank had appraised the entire collection—and it was an almost two-year process for Pierce-Hull and her team comprising an assistant and three placement students from the art history departments of Carleton University, the University of Ottawa and the Algonquin College Museology program.
“The hardest part was preventing a kind of conveyor-belt experience,” said Pierce-Hull. “To keep motivation high, we devised games that worked to engage the team and keep us on track.”
Pierce-Hull’s love of games saw her successfully lobby Amazing Race Canada to film a recent segment at the Art Bank. Race participants were given a selection of artwork that they had to look up in the Art Bank database and then were tasked with finding and photographing them in the Art Bank’s enormous warehouse.
Jon Montgomery, host of Amazing Race Canada, and Rebecca Huxtable in the Art Bank racks
She contacted the artists for permission to show their works on the nationally televised program. One of the artists, Vancouver-based painter Gordon Smith, is among the collection’s oldest living artists at 100. Smith insisted Lorraine choose his best from among his 133 works in the collection. Pierce-Hull laughingly recalls their conversation. “I asked him, ‘Which ones are your best?’ and he replied, ‘Whichever ones you pick!’”
Gordon Smith, Untitled (1975) in the lobby of Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market
Aside from working in an environment that houses the largest collection of contemporary Canadian art in the world, Ms. Pierce-Hull says she shall most miss her Art Bank colleagues for their “skill, expertise and passion.” Her sentiments are echoed by Art Bank head Amy Jenkins, who said in a recent interview that, “Lorraine’s energy, enthusiasm, boundless creativity and general zaniness will be greatly missed.”
Lorraine with her Art Bank colleagues
In parting, Pierce-Hull has a message for all Canadians about the world-renowned Art Bank program. “This collection belongs to all Canadians; view it, use it, be proud of it.”
Below are a few of Lorraine’s favorite art rental installations…
Lise Gervais, Par le Soleil, Vampire (1963) installed in Echelon Wealth Partners’ reception area
Michel Labbé, Sans titre no.1, 2, and 3 (1979)
Rita Letendre, Oab (1972)
Artworks by Harold Town, Archie Ishulutak, Simeonie Aqpik, Annie Kisusiutwa, and Eva Talukee
Jean-Paul Riopelle, Envol (1956)