The Art Bank is a division of the Canada Council for the Arts

Canada Council

The Canada Council for the Arts, commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown Corporation established in 1957 to act as an arts council of the government of Canada, created to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. It funds Canadian artists and...

 that rents works of art to public and private sector offices.

Established in the 1970s the Art Bank buys art from notable Canadian artists through a system of peer review juries. The Bank continues to expand its collection, buying 52 works for 160,000 dollars in 2002. The bank is completely self-funded, earning its money from renting out works in its collection. The vast majority of its art is rented by the Federal government

Government of Canada

The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

, with less than ten percent being rented by the private sector. Works of art are rented out for two-year periods, and the price is generally 20% of the piece's value for the rental. The Art Bank is located in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, but it ships its work across the country. Its collection has been appraised to be worth over 60 million dollars.