No Rodin For Barrie: MacLaren May Close

“A multimillion-dollar deal to bring hundreds of bronze sculptures attributed to the French master Auguste Rodin to a small Ontario art gallery has collapsed, with the result that the gallery may be forced to close its doors as early as next month.” The 510 bronze pieces, reportedly worth as much as CAN$135 million, were expected to be the linchpin of an ambitious art project which would have placed Canadian and international sculpture in and around the town of Barrie, Ontario, home of the MacLaren Art Centre. But questions cropped up about the proposed deal to bring the bronzes to Barrie, with some experts even questioning whether all 510 pieces exist.