The Burnaby Art Gallery has a much storied history. The Fairacres mansion was built near Deer Lake Park in 1911, designed by architect R.P.P.S Twizzel, and was owned by H.T. and Grace Ceperley. It was the grandest home in Burnaby when it was built, according to the city’s website on the property.
Grace passed away in 1917 and stipulated in her will that the home be sold and the money be used to build a children’s playground at Stanley Park.
The home was sold to former Vancouver mayor Frederick Buscombe in 1922.
Since then, it has been a Benedictine monastery, a fraternity house and finally, an art gallery.
The mansion was an art museum in the ‘60s, and the Burnaby Art Gallery began as an association in 1967, collecting and showing contemporary art there.
The exterior of the Edwardian mansion was restored by the City of Burnaby, which took over management of the gallery in 1998.
Last fall, the gallery got a prestigious feather in its cap when it was chosen to showcase National Gallery of Canada exhibition, Storms and Bright Skies: Three Centuries of Dutch Landscapes, as well as a collection of Dutch portraits.
The exhibit included works by well-known Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn.
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