Sue Bond Public Relations

Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1G4, CANADA

This Collection spans some 350 years and contains examples of exquisite workmanship and some of the masterpieces of the genre. Foremost are rare late 17th and 18th century British dockyard models, made to scale for the Royal Navy and wealthy individuals. There is also a large number of models made by some of the 120,000 prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars. These models, made from wood and bone, with rigging of silk and human hair, were produced by teams of skilled craftsmen and sold to local British collectors who gathered at the prison gates. The shipbuilders’ models extend from the mid 19th century to the Second World War, representing a diversity of both model style and ship type ranging from tugs, dredgers and trawlers to cargo vessels, passenger steamers, private yachts, corvettes, battleships, cruisers, torpedo boats, destroyers and two aircraft carriers.

Visitors to the transformed AGO will discover these remarkable ship models set within a creative installation with curved glass cases that echo the sea. This not only highlights their history and their artistry but also reveals their exquisite craftsmanship and detail, which so captivated Ken Thomson.