TORONTO.- The Art Gallery of Ontario will extend its blockbuster exhibition King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs for two additional weeks through May 2 due to high demand for tickets. To date, the Gallery has sold over 300,000 tickets to the exhibition, currently making its only Canadian stop at the AGO.

The exhibition is already the Gallery’s most attended in over a decade, and AGO Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO Matthew Teitelbaum is thrilled with its success. “It continues to be a privilege to host these incredible treasures as they make their final journey around the world,” he says. “The response to this exhibition has been remarkable, and we’re glad to give people one final chance to view these extraordinary wonders.”

The best times for the most leisurely visits to the exhibition are weekdays or Wednesday evenings, when the Gallery stays open until 8:30 p.m. Adult tickets are $28.50 on weekdays, a $4.00 discount on weekend prices. Visitors who plan to view the exhibition on a weekend are encouraged to book in advance via www.kingtut.ca or by visiting the Gallery box office in person, due to high demand.

To accommodate weekend visitors, the Gallery has extended the exhibition’s hours on Friday and Saturday evenings. Visitors will now be able to purchase tickets for entry at 4:30 pm, 5:00 pm, and 5:30 pm. The King Tut galleries will remain open to 7:00 pm.

King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs has drawn thousands of new visitors to the AGO. Gallery exit surveys indicate that over 70 percent of visitors to King Tut have never been to the new AGO, and Gallery memberships are at an all-time high. Members receive free and discounted tickets to the exhibition, among other benefits.

King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs must close on May 2 to make room for Drama and Desire: Art and the Theatre, the Gallery’s major summer exhibition, which opens June 19. More information on Drama and Desire can be found at www.ago.net/drama-and-desire.

King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs is part of an ambitious spring exhibition season at the AGO, which focuses on contemporary art on the leading edge. Also on view: Wangechi Mutu: This You Call Civilization?; and Sculpture as Time: Major Works. New Acquisitions.; Anselm Kiefer: Palmsonntag; Rembrandt / Freud: Etchings from Life; and Françoise Sullivan: Inner Force – Winner of the 2008 Gershon Iskowitz Prize at the AGO.