Lattimer Gallery Turns 30
By Alex Dawkins
Posted in News, on June 14, 2016
During the ten years that Leona Lattimer ran the Vancouver Museum gift shop, she had thought about opening a gallery of her own on several occasions. The impetus to do so emerged when she discovered that the World Exposition would be hosted in Vancouver throughout the summer of 1986. Leona, and her husband David, made plans to open their own gallery not far from the Vancouver Museum in time for this defining event of/in Vancouver’s history, and they opened on June 9th of that year. Thirty years later, Lattimer Gallery stands in the same location and has become one of the preeminent Indigenous art galleries in North America. Leona and David’s grandson, Peter, purchased the business in 2001 and has preserved the standards and ambition that his grandparents established three decades ago.
Over the years, Lattimer Gallery has evolved to reflect the times. From creating a popular website, to publishing a quarterly newsletter, to founding our annual Charity Bentwood Box Event which has donated over $150,000.00 CAD to Vancouver’s Urban Native Youth Association, Lattimer Gallery is always striving to promote Northwest Coast First Nations art in the most creative and effective ways possible. The newly coined Armoury District has grown up a great deal around the gallery, and we can’t wait to see what happens over the next thirty years.
On June 17th, we will be having casual anniversary celebrations at both of our locations. From 11am to 1pm, Lattimer Gallery YVR will be hosting a small event, and from 5pm to 8pm Lattimer Gallery will be hosting a party with refreshments. Thank you to all of our loyal customers, and thank you to all of the artists who we have worked with for so many years. We hope to see you soon!