King Tut has left Toronto. The Tut exhibition – Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs – at the Art Gallery of Ontario wrapped up on Sunday after a blockbuster run. The final visitor total was about 400,000 people an impressivenumber but not as high as the 1979 show that drew 750,000 visitors. That show featured Tuts golden death mask, an artefact that no longer leaves Egypt.
Despite the lower numbers the art gallery considers the show to be a success.
“King Tut attracted 404,364 visitors, 47 per cent of whom were making their first visit to the AGO. The exhibition is the third most attended in the Gallerys history and the most visited since The Barnes Exhibit in 1994,” said the art gallery in a new release.The Barnes Exhibit was a display of works from impressionist and post-impressionist painters. It featured works by Picasso, Montet, van Gogh and others.
The Art Gallery Director and CEOMatthew Teitelbaumgave a final salute to Tut:
It has been a remarkable experience to host these Egyptian treasures during their final visit to Canada, he said in a statement. We are proud to have welcomed such a great number of first-time visitors to the Gallery and look forward to engaging them with many more exciting exhibitions to come.
The gallerys next major show is called Drama and Desire: Artists and the Theater, which features 19th century art. But those of us looking to get an ancient fix in Toronto this summer have nothing to fear. The Terracotta Warriors show at the Royal Ontario Museum is set to begin on June 26.
Also, for those outside Toronto who want to see Tut, an exhibition just opened in New York City and another show will be opening in Denver on July 1.