It is the largest public art gallery in the Regional Municipality of Durham, of which Oshawa is a part.

Shortly thereafter, Ewart McLaughlin and his wife (known as Alexandra Luke, a member of Painters Eleven) offered financial support and a significant collection of works to help create the foundation of a public gallery for the city.

[4] Dedicated to the collection, preservation, and exhibition of the best in Canada's art heritage, the gallery possesses an extensive selection of Canadian paintings, sculptures, and prints.

[5] The gallery's dedication to abstract art can be connected to Alexandra Luke of Oshawa, Ontario, an artist who had studied with Hans Hofmann in Provincetown, Mass.

The collection had the distinction of being the first Canadian exhibition of abstract painting to be assembled in Canada on a national scale and devoted exclusively to this art form.