Media Launch at Deleon White Gallery, Queen Street West in Toronto Rodin's The Thinker, uncrated William Moore, Director, Maclaren Art Centre, speaking at the Launch

NEWSFLASH! For Immediate release RODIN SCULPTURES UNCRATED AT MEDIA LAUNCH IN TORONTO Barrie's MacLaren Art Centre Launches "ArtCity" Project TORONTO, March 29, 2001-- The MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie will today launch ArtCity, a project to increase the amount of artwork in that city, beginning with the donation and loan of work from French artist Auguste Rodin. About $40-million worth of work from Rodin -- the artist perhaps best known for a piece called The Thinker -- will be donated to ArtCity. It will be one of the largest collections of Rodin studio and foundry plasters in the world outside the Musée Rodin in Paris. The MacLaren Art Centre has purchased and has on loan more than 50 studio and foundry plasters and bronze sculptures and will unveil them at a ceremony at Toronto's DeLeon White Gallery,1096 Queen Street. West this morning, before moving them to Barrie. The collection includes some of Rodin's most famous works, including The Thinker, The Kiss, Eve, The Age of Bronze and The Head of St. John The Baptist. Having the collection in Canada is significant since, before MacLaren's purchase, only one plaster and less than 30 bronze and marble sculptures by Rodin were known to be open to public view across Canada. William Moore, director of the MacLaren Art Centre, says while people know Rodin from his bronzes, his plasters are important because they show where the bronzes began. "In the plasters you can see Rodin's process of creation, his thinking and his genius," Moore says. While some works have already been donated, others are on loan, and future donations are also being planned. The MacLaren Gallery expects to have about 90 pieces once all donations have been completed. MacLaren is also working on building a new Rodin gallery. Having the Rodin collection will help bring more recognition to the City of Barrie. It is expected to boost tourism and strengthen the local economy, says Jim Perri, the Mayor of Barrie. In the future, an international tour and a new facility will be erected to house the plasters. Unlike a sculpture garden, which is contained in one area, the ArtCity project places art throughout Barrie in parks, along trails and in public spaces. Visitors will be able to view the sculptures for free. -30- Further Information: MACLAREN ART CENTRE,147 Toronto Street, Barrie, ON Canada L4N 1V3 T.705.721.9696 /F.705.739.1391 E-mail: maclaren@maclarenart.com www.maclarenart.com Selected Websites: Musee Rodin, Paris, France@ www.musee-rodin.fr Rodin Museum of Philadelphia@ www.rodinmuseum.org