Olha and Mykola Kolankiwsky

Details

Inductee: Olha and Mykola Kolankiwsky

Year inducted: 2009

About:

Olha and Mykola Kolankiwsky, in founding and developing the Niagara Falls Art Gallery, created an internationally recognized culture legacy for our city. The gallery houses, among other works, an important William Kurelek collection including the passion of Christ series and the more recently acquired John Burtniak Niagara Collection. The Niagara Collections includes representations of the falls and other regional landmarks. This gallery exists because of the vision and commitment of the Kolankiwsky's, who immigrated to Canada in 1950 from France.

A journalist and a beautician, they were not wealthy art patrons; rather they were exceptional community-minded individuals who recognized the need for a gallery in our city and dedicated their lives to developing a world-class culture resource. In 1970, they purchased the Passion of Christ series with plans to make it the central focus for the gallery.

They bought two acres of land and financed the building of the gallery 1970. They had a special interest in the works of Mykola Krychevsky, a well known Ukraine-born post-impressionist painter, and those of William Kurelek a Canadian artist known for his representation of twentieth-century prairie life and of various ethnic groups.

In 1979, they were the driving force in setting up a charity to take over the collection and building on their deaths, to ensure public access to important works of Canadian art. Over the years, they worked hard to attract volunteers to help run the gallery and their enthusiasm was infectious. They bequeathed over 700 art pieces to the Niagara Falls Art Gallery and the permanent collection continues to grow.