Imagine being asked to give an old lady a facelift, when she has had several already, and then dress her up to look with-it without looking like a tart, or a tart making a vain attempt to look like a lady. That is exactly the task given to world-renowned architect Frank Gehry by the powers-that-be at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), who want an outstanding make-over for the gallery. The hometown boy, who left home in 1947 when he was 18, came back to tackle the assignment. He has done so with considerable grace and charm.

On January 28, AGO's Walker Court was filled with an air of suspense as invited guests and media waited to see what Gehry, architect and urban planner of acclaim, had in mind for the redevelopment of the art gallery. Some may have been disappointed with the unveiled proposal, but the majority showed real pleasure at the solution that Gehry had found for this very difficult project.

His design shows that he is sensitive to the location of the AGO. It is surrounded by picturesque Victorian houses and Grange Park, and the Grange itself, the original Georgian home of the gallery. These might easily be overshadowed and overwhelmed by a modern building of the kind of radical design that is so closely identified with this architect, who can without a doubt be described as the most famous of our age. Gehry's solution shows restraint. Yet, it definitely takes . . .