African art at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston, Ontario: The aesthetic legacy of Justin and Elisabeth Lang

This paper offers a discussion of the Justin and Elisabeth Lang Collection of African Art in Kingston, Ontario, in terms of the complex history of individuals and events that influenced its formation and its position within broader themes of African art collecting in the West. Its donation to the Agnes Etherington Art Centre and the implications and challenges of the gift for this particular museum are also explored. I argue that the Lang Collection of African Art is a product of the Modernist Primitive 'taste culture' that formed during the mid-twentieth century in Canada; its specific character can be linked to the social and familial education of the Langs and fits within broader trends of African art collecting in the West. The collection's presence at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre is attributable to the aesthetic preferences members of the Art Centre staff shared with Justin and Elisabeth Lang.