FREDERICTON - If you want to see some of the finest art in the world you don't need to visit New York, London or Paris - a small but prestigious gallery in New Brunswick may be just what you're looking for.

Nestled along the edge of the St. John River, located across the street from the New Brunswick Legislature in Fredericton, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery is home to paintings by Dali, Turner, Freud, and Gainsborough, to name just a few.

The gallery opened in 1959. It was a gift from British-Canadian press baron Max Aitken, the first Baron Beaverbrook, to the province where he grew up. It included about 350 paintings from his collection, those of friends, associates and other donors - a collection now valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

"At that time it was one of the finest, and still is, finest galleries in Canada," said Bernard Riordon, director and CEO of the gallery. "He collected paintings that we couldn't collect any more."

For the last six years, 133 of those paintings have been at the centre of a custody dispute which has kept the gallery in the news. The heirs of Lord Beaverbrook claim the paintings were simply on loan, and they want to sell them to raise money for the Canadian and U.K. Beaverbrook foundations.

In September, the gallery won a lengthy court battle with the U.K. Foundation and was awarded custody of 85 of the paintings, but the foundation is appealing. A claim by the Canadian foundation for about another 80 paintings has yet to be heard by the courts.

But for now, none of that matters to those who want to see the amazing collection.

Visitors to the gallery are greeted as they enter by the huge "Santiago el Grande" by Salvador Dali, donated by Sir James and Lady Dunn, that hangs near the main entrance.

"It has been our signature piece and hanging here since 1959," Riordon said.

The collection has expanded to include approximately 3,500 pieces of art, although current space restrictions permit only about 10 per cent to be shown ...[next page]