Glenbow Museum began with the remarkable vision of petroleum entrepreneur and lawyer Eric Lafferty Harvie. Mr. Harvie came into his fortune when oil was discovered on the land to which he held the mineral rights to, with the discovery in Leduc in 1947 and in Redwater in 1949. With this prosperity, he decided to pursue his favourite passion — collecting — and simultaneously return some of his good fortune back to the region that had been so generous to him. Mr. Harvie's goal was to collect the objects representing the history and culture of Western Canada as well as from around the world.

Eric Harvie began collecting material relating to the history of Western Canada in the 1950s, developing an extensive collection of artifacts from North America that tell the fascinating story of Aboriginal peoples, frontier exploration, and the development of western Life. He built on these North American collections with extraordinary artifacts and art from Asia, West Africa, South America, and islands in the Pacific, eventually amassing a huge museum collection. Establishing the Glenbow Foundation in 1954, Mr. Harvie's collection became an eclectic blend of western history and international art and artifacts.

In 1966, Eric Harvie and his family donated his impressive collection of art, artifacts, and historical documents to the people of Alberta. Today, Glenbow Museum is one of the most entrepreneurial museums in Canada, playing an essential role in defining Western Canadian culture. Glenbow also continues Eric Harvie's vision to be "Where the World Meets the West," inviting visitors to explore three major special exhibitions annually, and an eclectic range of permanent galleries featuring significant Western Canadian and international collections.