West Vancouver Art Museum

Owned and operated by the District of West Vancouver, the West Vancouver Art Museum builds awareness of diverse forms of contemporary and historical art, architecture, and design, engaging audiences with issues and ideas central to the community and the world beyond.

The Art Museum, located at 680 17th Street, fosters appreciation for art through its exhibitions, education, and programming. It offers diverse programs, including art and architecture classes and camps for kids, family art workshops, curatorial tours, artist talks, panel discussions, and lectures. With a special focus on local architectural history, the West Vancouver Art Museum raises awareness of West Coast modern architecture through its annual West Coast Modern Home Tour. 

The West Vancouver Art Museum’s collection comprises works and archival materials from or related to important contemporary and modern artists, architects, and photographers. The collection of artworks includes historical and contemporary works by artists such as B.C. Binning, Jack Shadbolt, Emily Carr, Joan Balzar, Lionel Thomas, Alistair Bell, Takao Tanabe, Sylvia Tait, Pierre Coupey, Renée Van Halm, Kim Kennedy Austin and Babak Golkar, among others. Its collection of negatives from architectural photographers John Fulker and Selwyn Pullan form one of the most comprehensive and important collections of mid-century architectural photographs in Canada. The Art Museum values the diversity of artists from West Vancouver and beyond, understanding the ways in which art offers important avenues for education. The Art Museum’s collection not only supports its dynamic exhibitions, but adds appreciably to its mission to profile the important creators and innovators who shape our community, region and country.

The West Vancouver Art Museum is located in the Gertrude Lawson house, a historically significant building in West Vancouver. Designed and built in 1939 by Gertrude Lawson, a teacher by profession, the building features a stone facade inspired by Scottish castles. Lawson’s home was a social hub where she hosted teas, traditional Scottish dances, weddings, and boarders. In 1994, the house was acquired by the District of West Vancouver and became a museum.