McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an art museum in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located on a 40 hectares property in Kleinburg, an unincorporated village in Vaughan. The property includes the museum's 7,900 square metres main building, a sculpture garden, walking trails, and the cemetery for six members of the Group of Seven. The collection dates back to 1955, when Robert and Signe McMichael began to collect works from artists associated to the Group of Seven, exhibiting their works at their home in Kleinburg. In 1965, the McMichaels formally reached an agreement to donate their collection and their Kleinburg property to the Government of Ontario in order to establish an art museum. The institution was opened to the public as the McMichael Conservation Collection of Art in 1966. The museum was formally incorporated into the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in 1972. Although the museum was originally established with an institutional focus on the Group of Seven, the museum's mandate was later expanded to include contemporary Canadian art, and art from indigenous Canadians. The museum's permanent collection includes over 6,500 works from Canadian artists. In addition to its permanent collections, the institution also serves as the custodians for the archives of works on paper by Inuit artists based in Kinngait. The museum organizes and hosts a number of travelling art exhibitions, typically focused on Canadian art. In 1951 Robert and Signe McMichael purchased a 10 acres plot of land in Kleinburg, Ontario. A home was subsequently built in 1954, with the McMichaels moving into the property. The McMichaels began acquiring works by artists of the Group of Seven for their personal collection, with the first being a painting by Tom Thomson, acquired for C$ 250 in 1955. In 1962, the McMichaels acquired Tom Thomson's studio situated outside the Studio Building in Toronto, and relocated it to their property to begin restorations on it. By 1965, the McMichaels' personal collection contained 194 paintings either purchased or donated to them. The McMichaels began exhibiting their works on their Kleinburg property during the weekends, although growing number of visitors led the McMichaels to consider establishing a public a shrine dedicated to the Group of Seven. On 18 November 1965, the McMichaels and the Government of Ontario reached an agreement, where the McMichaels would donate the collection, and the property to the government, who would maintain the grounds, and maintain the spirit of the collection. As a part of the agreement, the McMichaels would maintain a degree of curatorial control, occupy two of the five seats in the museum's Board of Trustees, and permission to continue inhabiting the property, and be buried there. The McMichaels continued to reside on the property until museum operations made it no longer possible; with the Government of Ontario providing them a home in Caledon. In the months after the agreement was made, work was undertaken to re-purpose the property into an art museum, and prepare the exhibits for its collection. The property was formally opened to the public on 8 July 1966 as the McMichael Conservation Collection of Art. Robert McMichael served as the museum's first director, holding the position until resigning in 1981. In 1968, Group of Seven member A. Y. Jackson suggested that the museum serve as the burial ground for himself, and other members of the group. The proposal was later accepted by the museum, with a cemetery for Group of Seven members prepared on the property of the museum. Shortly before his death, Jackson spent a significant portion of his time painting on the property, and serving as the institution's artist-in-residence. In 1969, the museum's mandate was amended to expand the scope of the museum's collection and scope to include works of similar nature that reflect the cultural heritage of Canada; with approval from Robert McMichael, and the Premier of Ontario, John Robarts. An increase in attendance rates, and its collection led to the institution being formally incorporated as a crown corporation of Ontario on 30 November 1972, when the McMichael Canadian Art Collection Act received Royal Assent. In 1981, the museum's Board of Governors formally requested the province to amend the institution's governing act, so it is governed only by the 1972 act, and not by the 1965 agreement as well. The following dispute led to Robert McMichael's resignation as the museum's director, and an amendment to the Act in 1982 that named McMichael as the institution's Founder, Director-Emeritus, and elevated the importance of indigenous Canadian works in its collection.