The Geelong Art Gallery, currently known as Geelong Gallery, is a major regional

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

in the city of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The gallery has over 6,000 works of art in its collection. The Gallery forms Geelong's Cultural Precinct with the adjacent Geelong Library and Heritage Centre (Geelong Regional Library and

Geelong Heritage Centre The Geelong Library and Heritage Centre is a regional library, archive and resource facility in the city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Geelong Free Library was begun in 1858. The Geelong Historical Records Centre was established in 1979 as a ...

Geelong Arts Centre Geelong Arts Centre, formerly the Geelong Performing Arts Centre (GPAC), is a performing arts, functions, and events venue located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The complex is located between Little Malop and Ryrie Streets in central Geelong, ...

, and the Geelong Courthouse (housing

Back to Back Theatre Back to Back Theatre is one of the leading contemporary Australian theater companies engaging with disability on stage. The company is based in Geelong, Victoria creating its work nationally and touring around the world. The work produced by the ...

and Platform Arts).

History

An art gallery for

was first petitioned for in 1895 by members of the Geelong Progress League. In May 1900 permission was given for the Geelong Art Gallery Association to use three walls in the

Geelong Town Hall Geelong Town Hall is a civic building located on Gheringhap Street in central Geelong, Victoria. It was originally built for the City of Geelong, which became the City of Greater Geelong in 1993. Construction The land for the Town Hall was fir ...

to hang artwork on. Among the first acquisitions made was

Frederick McCubbin Frederick McCubbin (25 February 1855 – 20 December 1917) was an Australian artist, art teacher and prominent member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, McCubb ...

's 1890 '' A bush burial'' which cost 100 guineas ($210 USD) at the time. On 31 May 1900, the formal opening of the Geelong Art Gallery took place at the town hall. Mr. S. Austin, M.L.C., presided and the mayor Alderman Carr made a speech officially declaring it open to the publi

The gallery was soon moved to the Free Library Building in Moorabool Street (between Malop and Corio Streets). In March 1903, two watercolours of colonial life in Victoria were presented to the Geelong Art Gallery by Mr. G.M. Hitchcock. One depicts William Buckley (convict), William Buckley 'the wild white man

The other watercolour is of the interior of the first newspaper office in Melbourn

Building

The current Geelong Gallery was officially opened in 1915, and was erected as a memorial to the late George M. Hitchcock. It is located on the south side of Johnstone Park, Geelong, Johnstone Park, between the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

and the former fire station site, now occupied by the

Geelong Library and Heritage Centre The Geelong Library and Heritage Centre is a regional library, archive and resource facility in the city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Geelong Free Library was begun in 1858. The Geelong Historical Records Centre was established in 1979 as a ...

. The initial building consisted of a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

and vestibule facing the park, and the G. M. Hitchcock Gallery. The first additions to the gallery occurred in 1928 when the Henry P. Douglas Gallery was opened, followed by the H.F. Richardson Gallery in 1937. The main entrance to the gallery was moved to Little Malop Street with the opening of the J.H. McPhillimy Gallery by then-Prime Minister

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

in 1938. Further expansion followed in 1956 and 1971, with contemporary renovations taking place in 2001 and 2017.

Collection

Frederick McCubbin - A Bush Burial, 1890

The Gallery has a collection of over 6,000 Australian and International items including works on paper, paintings, decorative arts and sculpture. Individual collection items can be viewed on th
Geelong Gallery collection website
There are a number of notable artworks in the collection: * Eugène von Guérard
Aborigines met on the road to the diggings
' (1854) *

Eugene von Guerard Johann Joseph Eugene von GuérardHis first name is variously spelled "Eugen", "Eugene", "Eugène", one source mentions "Jean" (instead of "Johann"); his surname is spelled "Guerard" or "Guérard". The most frequent combination is that used by t ...

View of Geelong
' (1856) *

Louis Buvelot Louis Buvelot ( Morges 3 March 1814 – Melbourne 30 May 1888), born Abram-Louis Buvelot, was a Swiss landscape painter who lived 17 years in Brazil and following 5 years back in Switzerland stayed 23 years in Australia, where he influenced the H ...

On the Woods Point Road
' (1872) *

'' A bush burial'' (1890) *Edward Fischer
Geelong gold cup
' (1890) *

Stanhope Forbes Stanhope Alexander Forbes (18 November 1857 – 2 March 1947) was a British artist and a founding member of the influential Newlyn school of painters. He was often called 'the father of the Newlyn School'.The pier head
' (1910), considered "one of the greatest British impressionist paintings in Australia"Bronwyn Watson, "public works", ''Weekend Australian'', 23–24 January 2016, Review, p. 10 *

Russell Drysdale Sir George Russell Drysdale (7 February 1912 – 29 June 1981), also known as Tass Drysdale, was an Australian artist. He won the prestigious Wynne Prize for ''Sofala'' in 1947, and represented Australia at the Venice Biennale in 1954. He was i ...

Hill End
' (1948) * Fred Williams ''Yellow landscape'' (1968) *

Rosalie Gascoigne Rosalie Norah King Gascoigne (née Walker; 25 January 191725 October 1999) was a New Zealand-born Australian sculptor and assemblage artist. She showed at the Venice Biennale in 1982, becoming the first female artist to represent Australia there ...

Sharpe Bros horizontal
' (1981) Since 2016 the Gallery has been the custodian of the Colin Holden Print Collection on behalf of the Colin Holden Charitable Trust.

References

*Beg, Peter. (1990). ''Geelong - The First 150 Years''. Globe Press. ISBN 0-9592863-5-7

About the Gallery.

External links

Official Site
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Geelong Art museums and galleries in Victoria (Australia) Tourist attractions in Geelong Art museums established in 1895 1895 establishments in Australia