The Thomson Collection of European Art includes the world's largest holding of the Gothic boxwood miniatures, featuring 10 carved beads and two altarpieces. Other works featured in the Thomson Collection for European Art includes "Massacre of the Innocents" by Peter Paul Rubens. The painting was acquired by Ken Thomson in 2002 for C$115 million, at the time the most expensive Old Master work sold at an art auction. Thompson intended for the work to serve as the centrepiece for the collections he donated to the museum in 2004. When the museum reopened in 2008, the painting was installed in a blood-red, low-lit room in the Thomson Collection for European Art. The room featured no other paintings, with the only lighting in the room directed towards the work. The painting remained at that location until 2017 when it was placed in a gallery with other works from the European collection.