"The National Gallery of Canada: Ideas, Art, and Architecture examines the National Gallery as an institution, a collection, and a series of sites for the display of the nation's art. Douglas Ord explores how, throughout the gallery's development, art has consistently been linked to notions of religious truth, national spirit, and hallowed atmosphere, culminating in Moshe Safdie's design for the institution's current building. Integrating accounts of political intrigue and public controversy with philosophy, art theory, and architectural analysis, Ord provides vivid accounts of successive directors' struggles to obtain a permanent home for the nation's art and sheds light on the place and the role of art in Canada."--Résumé de l'éditeur.