Ontario school board withholds art records, citing secrecy laws

A Canadian school board is withholding detailed records about a publicly owned art collection by invoking provincial secrecy provisions, according to documents obtained and reported by CBC News.

The Thames Valley District School Board in London, Ontario, disclosed limited information after CBC filed freedom of information requests seeking an inventory of the board’s artworks, their locations and governing policies.

The collection consists of 84 works of art with a total 2012 appraised value of $30,445 for an average of roughly $360 per piece, the CBC reported. The board told the CBC it could find no records supporting a long-circulating claim that a single painting at one of its schools was worth millions of dollars.

The CBC shared the records it received on DocumentCloud. Large portions of the document, as reviewed by Urgent Matter, are redacted. Entire columns identifying former schools and current locations are blacked out, as are all individual appraisal values. In several cases, parts of the artwork descriptions are also redacted, leaving only partial titles, artist names or media visible.

Board officials cited exemptions under Ontario’s freedom of information laws covering economic interests and records whose disclosure could “reasonably be expected to seriously threaten the safety or health of an individual,” according to the CBC. The CBC said it has filed an appeal challenging the use of the secrecy provision to justify the redactions.

A review of the records by Urgent Matter shows that among the readable entries are oil paintings, watercolours, lithographs and silkscreen prints, many depicting landscapes, seasonal scenes or familiar locations.

The inventory identifies works attributed to named artists, including Frank (Franz) Johnston, Manly Edward McDonald and Albert Jacques Franck. One entry groups “Eight framed prints by Benjamin Chee Chee,” indicating multiple works recorded under a single line item rather than as individual objects.

References to Indigenous artists appear in a limited number of entries. The records list a “First Nations lithograph” titled Great Mother by Clemence Wescoupe, dated 1980, alongside the Chee Chee prints. No other Indigenous artists are clearly identified in the visible portions of the inventory.

Some entries reflect standard cataloguing conventions used when full titles are not recorded or when attribution is based on signatures rather than documentation. One painting is listed as a “seascape” signed “Payne,” attributed to Gordon E. Payne. Another entry is listed as “Unknown” by artist Bert Kloezeman.

But the level of detail varies across entries. Some list an artist, medium and date, while others use less descriptive wording. The visible portions of the inventory do not show accession numbers, acquisition dates, provenance histories or condition information.

School boards across Ontario hold large amounts of publicly owned art, much of it donated decades ago and managed outside museum systems.

The Thames Valley board is one of five Ontario school boards currently under provincial supervision for financial mismanagement. Of those, only the Toronto District School Board has publicly disclosed its art holdings, the CBC reported, with its collection valued at up to $10 million in 2010, and with 13 major works housed at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

The records show how artworks held by public institutions can be documented in ways that limit public visibility into their scope and handling.

Experts interviewed by CBC said that incomplete records and undisclosed collections can face added risks over time, particularly if works are lost, damaged or stolen.

CBC also reported that provincial supervision of school boards focuses on financial stability, with no clear public accounting of how non-financial assets, such as artwork, are tracked or reported.

Advocates told CBC that similar accountability gaps exist across Canada, where schools and hospitals hold donated artworks that fall outside clear oversight frameworks.

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