The Permanent Collection of Gallery Stratford inlcudes over 1000 works of art. The majority of the collection consists of works on paper by Canadian artists: prints, drawings, and paintings. Many of the works were purchased in the early years of the Rothman’s Art Gallery by the women’s volunteer committees. In more recent years, works have been donated by artists who have had exhibitions at Gallery Stratford.

The gallery is dedicated to exhibiting the works on an ongoing basis throughout the year. The third or lower gallery is reserved for this purpose. Exhibitions from the permanent collection are curated to relate to the exhibitions on in the upper galleries. Whether by medium or by theme, it becomes an interesting project to look into the collection for works that comment or expand on themes in the other exhibitions.

As with many other public galleries in Ontario and Canada, the storage space is inadequate. The board and staff are looking into various solutions to this challenge. In the summer of 2007, the Gallery is pleased to have the support of Canadian Heritage to provide a student grant to continue to the inventory of the entire collection.