Who We Are

The Art Dealers Association of Canada (ADAC) was founded in 1966 as a not-for-profit trade organization, binding together the largest representation of major private commercial galleries in Canada, who in turn represent the country’s leading visual artists, both contemporary and historic.

As Canada’s leading professional arts trade organization we strive to raise the profile of Canadian Visual Art and Artists, exploring and expanding markets for Canadian Art Dealers and their artists both in Canada and Internationally. Our membership has a unique expertise and knowledge base in an extremely esoteric but profitable sector. We seek to amplify the voices of all Canadian Visual Artists, not only with the goal of exposing the world to their talents, but also as a way to realize monetary value and revenue from our government’s continued investment in Canadian Culture.

ADAC is a supporter of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and we seek to protect and promote the interests of Canadian Indigenous Artists, including the repatriation of the rightful properties of Canadian Indigenous Nations back to Canada.

For over 30 years the ADAC has provided unparalleled Appraisal Services to public institutions who are receiving fine art donations. We specialize in seamless and professional appraisal services with an emphasis on Canadian Cultural Properties Review Board (CCPERB) applications.

We strive to continuously expand and serve our membership; including both established and emerging art dealers, fostering a robust association from various backgrounds and specialties. We create and ensure vital programming and professional development initiatives for our members through opportunities at home as well as abroad. Through these opportunities we aim to help promote our members, but also Canadian Visual Arts as a whole. As an association we ensure that our members are aware of important information pertaining to their businesses and the art world.

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History

in the summer of 1966, the Canada Council for the Arts organized a summit for Canadian gallery directors at Stanley House in New Richmond, Quebec. The meeting was a direct response to concerns raised by artists and arts workers during public meetings, called “soundings,” held by Canada Council in the 1960s. The art dealers who attended the 1966 summit were Dolores Booth (née Morton), co-owner of Fleet Galleries in Winnipeg; Mira Godard, owner of the Galerie Agnès Lefort in Montréal; John Robertson, owner of Robertson Galleries in Ottawa; Avrom Isaacs, owner of the Isaacs Gallery, and Walter Moos, owner of Gallery Moos, both in Toronto. Canada Council representative David Silcox and J.H. ‘Jake’ Moore, President of Labatt and a notable Ontario art collector, were also present.

The vision of a national art dealers association was formed during this summit. The new association would support Canadian gallerists, ensure that artists were able to exhibit and sell their work to the public, foster community within the commercial art world, and uphold standards of professionalism based on respect for fellow dealers, artists, and members of the broader arts community.

The association was officially incorporated as a Canadian not–for–profit corporation on September 6, 1966 as the Professional Art Dealers Association of Canada / L’Association professionnelle des marchands d’art du Canada, with Mira Godard as the first president. The original membership comprised about twenty galleries in Montréal, Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Halifax. In 2001, the membership voted to change the name to the Art Dealers Association of Canada / l’Association des Marchands d’Art du Canada.

Above, L to R:

Dolores Booth across from Fleet Galleries, 1970, photographed by Frank Chalmers. From the Winnipeg Tribune Fonds at the University of Manitoba Libraries.

Mira Godard with Picasso's Nu Sur un Divan at Marlborough Godard Gallery, Toronto ca. 1974. From the Toronto Star Photograph Archives at the Toronto Public Library.

Avrom Isaacs at the Isaacs Gallery, photographed by Michel Lambeth. © Estate of Michel Lambeth.

Walter Moos with Jean-Paul Riopelle's Vert de Gris, ca. 1978. From the Toronto Star Photograph Archives at the Toronto Public Library.

Vernissage at Galerie l’Art français, 1971. From the Archives nationales à Montréal.

Advocacy

ADAC strives to create and foster opportunity and community in the visual arts, which can be realized in many forms. The association has a dedicated Advocacy Committee and Foundation Committee that works towards the betterment of the Membership as well as Canadian Art as a whole.

Established in 1986, the Art Dealers Association of Canada Foundation is a registered charity empowered to receive donations for the purpose of supporting the visual arts and giving back to the community. The Foundation's mandate is to advance the arts through public education, programming, and exhibition.

The ADAC Foundation’s Avrom Isaacs Award supports the remembrance and legacy of Canadian art dealer Avrom Isaacs. The award is a testament to the legacy of an unwavering champion of the visual arts. Isaacs discovered and supported the career of many of Canada's best known artists, such as Michael Snow and William Kurelek, and helped bring Inuit art to the forefront as a contemporary art in its own right. In honour of Avrom Isaacs and his contribution, this award will be presented to a mid-career artist who shows great talent and promise, as a means to recognize their achievements and support their continued practice.

ADAC also has a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was established in 2001. The award was put on hold due to the Covid-19 Pandemic but will be reinstated soon. This Award is given to an ADAC member who has, in the span of their career, shaped the Canadian art world, and beyond.

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Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients:

Avrom Isaacs, 2001
Walter Moos, 2002
Faye Settler, 2003
Walter Klinkhoff, 2004
Michel Moreault, 2006

Uno Langmann, 2007
Ian Muncaster, 2008
Roger Bellemare, 2009
Mira Godard, C.M., 2010
Torben Kristiansen, 2011

Gerard Gorce, 2012
Olga Korper, C.M., 2013
Miriam Shiell, 2014
Patricia Feheley, C.M., 2015
Douglas Maclean, 2016

Paul Wildridge, 2018