Applications Open: Rodger and Joann McLennan Canadian War Art Research Fellowship at the National Gallery of Canada

Deadline: June 26, 2026

OTTAWA, ON, May 20, 2026 /CNW/ - The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) is now accepting applications for its Rodger and Joann McLennan Canadian War Art Research Fellowship, which encourages and supports advanced research in Canadian and Indigenous Canadian war and military art. The Fellowship provides CAD $5,000, covering expenses and allowances, for a term of one year beginning on September 1, 2026. Aspiring fellows have until June 26, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT to apply.

This Fellowship supports original research by scholars undertaking publishing, exhibition, thesis and dissertation work or their equivalent. Research must relate to any aspect of Canadian war or military art, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking and other media, and emphasize the use and investigation of the collections of the NGC, the Canadian War Museum, and Library and Archives Canada.

Eligible applicants
The Fellowship is open to art historians, curators, critics, conservators, graduate students, independent researchers, and other professionals working in the visual arts, in museology and related disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. International applicants are also encouraged to apply. The fellowship is tenable only at the NGC. Researchers from outside Canada must verify the entry requirements for the Fellowship program independently.

Current Fellow Dr. Sarafina Pagnotta is a specialist in Canadian war art history and material culture studies, having recently earned a PhD in Public History from Carleton University. Her project focuses on soldier art and other examples of Canadian war art from the First and Second World Wars, suggesting that these works of art can often be overlooked in the textual archives of national collections, due to archival best practices and how materials are traditionally described and catalogued as art, artifact, or historical document. 

How to apply
For additional details about the application submission process and assessment criteria, visit gallery.ca/research/fellowships.

Qualified candidates, including Indigenous peoples, women, people of any sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, racialized people and people living with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.

About the National Gallery of Canada
Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada is among the world's most respected art institutions. As a national museum, we exist to serve all Canadians, no matter where they live. We do this by sharing our collection, exhibitions and public programming widely. We create dynamic experiences that allow for new ways of seeing ourselves and each other through the visual arts, while centering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Our mandate is to develop, preserve and present a collection for the learning and enjoyment of all--now and for generations to come. We are home to more than 90,000 works, including one of the finest collections of Indigenous and Canadian art, major works from the 14^th to the 21^st century and extensive library and archival holdings. Our dazzling, light-filled building is situated on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation, in Ottawa.

Ankosé  – Everything is connected – Tout est relié

SOURCE National Gallery of Canada

For media use only - for more information, please contact:  Pénélope Carreau, Officer, Public Relations, National Gallery of Canada, [email protected], Josée-Britanie Mallet, Senior Officer, Media and Public Relations, National Gallery of Canada, [email protected]