Arms of the Art Gallery of Guelph

Blazon

Per pale dexter Or a fess chequy Azure and Argent between in chief a heart voided flanked by two cross-crosslets fitché Gules and in base a tobacco leaf erect proper all within a bordure Gules; sinister per fess Gules and Azure in chief a horse forcene Argent between two ancient crowns in bend sinister Or, in base a cross Gules fimbriated Argent cantoned in each quarter by five plates in saltire and within a bordure Argent charged with seven garbs Tenné;

Symbolism

The left side of the shield displays the arms of Colonel David Macdonald Stewart, President of the Macdonald Stewart Foundation, one of the primary financial initiators of the gallery. The chequered bar is a feature of Scottish Stewart arms, and the crosses are often found in Macdonald arms. The tobacco leaf represents the family’s company, Macdonald Tobacco Inc. of Montréal. The heart was the company’s emblem. The white horse on red is an element of the arms of the City of Guelph, which were themselves inspired by those of the Kingdom of Hanover, whose rulers descended from the house of Guelph. The coronets, also from the city’s arms, allude to its sobriquet of the “Royal City.” The bottom right of the shield depicts the arms of Wellington County, where Guelph is located. They are a differenced version of the arms of the county’s namesake, the Duke of Wellington, while the sheaves of grain evoke agriculture.