Designed and financed by Lord Beaverbrook, the original structure was his gift to the people of New Brunswick. Opened in 1959 and expanded in 1983, the gallery is a major art centre of Atlantic Canada, featuring the donor's personally selected collection of British, European and Canadian art. At the gallery's entrance is Salvador Dali's huge Surrealistic canvas Santiago el Grande, depicting St. James on horseback being carried to heaven. Particularly strong in portraiture, the collection of British art is the most comprehensive in Canada. Paintings by Hogarth, Lawrence, Romney, Gainsborough and Reynolds are juxtaposed with striking works by Turner, Stanley Spencer, Augustus John and Graham Sutherland. Continental Europe is represented by paintings by Cranach, Botticelli, Delacroix, Tissot and Corneille de Lyon. Fine European tapestries and furniture are arranged in period settings. The Canadian Collection features works by most of the country's best-known artists, including Cornelius Krieghoff.