Our Collection is a Resource for Learning, Exploring and Understanding
The Canmore Museum’s collection of art, objects, specimens, photographs, maps and records can provide us with a sense of belonging, an understanding of what it means to live in Canmore and the Bow Valley, and an appreciation for the legacy of the remarkable people and events that have shaped our community.
ART
The Canmore Museum’s growing permanent art collection illustrates the built, industrial, and natural landscapes of Canmore and the Bow Valley and the human engagement with these landscapes and with one another over the past 150 years. The work includes art photography, watercolours, acrylics, oils, and pen and ink, reflecting a diversity of eras and styles from realist to modernist, historical to contemporary.
OBJECTS
The Canmore Museum growing permanent object collection covers many aspects of the history of life in Canmore. Objects in the museum’s collections reflect settlement history, with a focus on industrial history, home life, the immigrant experience, wartime experiences, RCMP (NWMP, RNWMP, RCMP) history, and the history of sport including the 1988 Winter Olympics for which Canmore served as a host community. The Canmore Museum has chosen specifically not to collect Indigenous artifacts, believing that those objects are best served within the Nation whose history and culture they represent.
ARCHIVES
The Canmore Museum archival holdings consist of valuable records generated by, or relating to, the history of the people and industry of Canmore and the immediate area. The collections include The Canmore Mines records, Town of Canmore records, and privately donated records which document the human and industry history of the region. Strengths of the paper archival holdings include hundreds blueprints, maps, and technical drawings relating to various mine companies and mining activities, daily registries from the mines, school registries spanning the 1920’s – 1990’s, and Canmore newspapers from the early 1900’s. The photographic collection is extensive and details mining development and activities, the development of the town, the 1988 Olympics, local landscapes, and flooding issues over decades.
Order Archival Reproductions NowCOLLECTIONS STAFF
The Canmore Museum’s collections are cared for by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers. If you would like to learn more about our collections or to book an appointment, please contact Mercedes with Collections + Exhibits.
