The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily con ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two sites: NGV International, located on St Kilda Road in the

Melbourne Arts Precinct The Melbourne Arts Precinct is home to a series of galleries, performing arts venues and spaces located in the Southbank district of Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia. It includes such publicly-funded venues as Arts Centre Melbourne, National ...

of Southbank, and the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, located nearby at

Federation Square Federation Square (colloquially Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets built above busy ra ...

. The NGV International building, designed by

Sir Roy Grounds Sir Roy Burman Grounds (18 December 19052 March 1981) was an Australian architect. His early work included buildings influenced by the Moderne movement of the 1930s, and his later buildings of the 50s and 60s, such as the National Gallery of V ...

, opened in 1968, and was redeveloped by

Mario Bellini Mario Bellini (born February 1, 1935 in Milan) is an Italian architect, critic, and designer. He received a degree in architecture from Milan Polytechnic in 1959 and began working as an architect in the early 1960s. Like many other Italia ...

before reopening in 2003. It houses the gallery's international art collection and is on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. ...

. The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, designed by

Lab Architecture Studio LAB Architecture Studio was a firm of architects and urban designers based in Melbourne, Australia with international offices in London and Shanghai. Directors Peter Davidson after graduating from Bachelor of Architecture in 1980 from the NSW Ins ...

, opened in 2002 and houses the gallery's Australian art collection. A third site, The Fox: NGV Contemporary, is planned to open in 2028, and will be Australia's largest contemporary gallery.

History

19th century

In 1850, the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

was granted separation, officially becoming the colony of

on 1 July 1851. In the wake of a gold rush the following month, Victoria emerged as Australia's richest colony, and

, its capital, Australia's largest and wealthiest city. With Melbourne's rapid growth came calls for the establishment of a public art gallery, and in 1859, the Government of Victoria pledged £2000 for the acquisition of plaster casts of sculpture. These works were displayed in the Museum of Art, opened by Governor

Sir Henry Barkly Sir Henry Barkly (24 February 1815 – 20 October 1898) was a British politician, colonial governor and patron of the sciences. Early life and education Born on 24 February 1815 at Highbury, Middlesex (now London), he was the eldest son of ...

in May 1861 on the lower floor of the south wing of the Public Library (now the State Library of Victoria) on

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertical ...

. he History of the State Library of Victoria http://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/slvhistory/museumgallerypro/ref> Further money was set aside in the early 1860s for the purchase of original paintings by British and Victorian artists. These works were first displayed in December 1864 in the newly opened Picture Gallery, which remained under the curatorial administration of the Public Library until 1882. Grand designs for a building fronting Lonsdale and Swanston streets were drawn by

Nicholas Chevalier Nicholas Chevalier (9 May 1828 – 15 March 1902) was a Russian-born artist who worked in Australia and New Zealand. Early life Chevalier was born in St Petersburg, Russia, the son of Louis Chevalier, who came from Vaud, Switzerland, and was o ...

in 1860 and Frederick Grosse in 1865, featuring an enormous and elaborate library and gallery, but these visions were never realised. Opening of the new fine arts gallery NGV 1875

Opening of the new fine arts gallery NGV 1875

On 24 May 1874, the first purpose built gallery, known as the McArthur Gallery, opened in the McArthur room of the State Library, and the following year, the Museum of Art was renamed the National Gallery of Victoria. The McArthur Gallery was only ever intended as a temporary home until the much grander vision was to be realised. However such an edifice did not eventuate and the complex was instead developed incrementally over several decades. The National Gallery of Victoria Art School, associated with the gallery, was founded in 1867 and remained the leading centre for academic art training in Australia until about 1910. The School's graduates went on to become some of Australia's most significant artists. This later became the VCA (Victorian College of the Arts), which was bought by The University of Melbourne in 2007 after it went bankrupt. In 1887, the Buvelot Gallery (later Swinburne Hall) was opened, along with the Painting School studios. In 1892, two more galleries were added: Stawell (now Cowen) and La Trobe. In 1888, the gallery purchased

Lawrence Alma-Tadema Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, (; born Lourens Alma Tadema ; 8 January 1836 – 25 June 1912) was a Dutch painter who later settled in the United Kingdom becoming the last officially recognised denizen in 1873. Born in Dronryp, the Netherlands, ...

's 1871 painting ''The Vintage Festival'' for £4000, its most expensive acquisition of the 19th century.

20th century

The gallery's collection was built from both gifts of works of art and monetary donations. The most significant, the

Felton Bequest Alfred Felton (8 November 1831 – 8 January 1904) was an Australian entrepreneur, art collector and philanthropist. Biography Alfred Felton was born at Maldon, Essex, England, the fifth child of six sons and three daughters of William Felton, ...

, was established by the will of

Alfred Felton Alfred Felton (8 November 1831 – 8 January 1904) was an Australian entrepreneur, art collector and philanthropist. Biography Alfred Felton was born at Maldon, Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, i ...

and from 1904, has been used to purchase over 15,000 works of art. Since the Felton Bequest, the gallery had long held plans to build a permanent facility, however it was not until 1943 that the State Government chose a site, Wirth's Park, just south of the Yarra River.National Gallery of Victoria – Victorian Heritage Register £3 million was put forward in February 1960 and Roy Grounds was announced as the architect. In 1959, the commission to design a new gallery was awarded to the architectural firm Grounds Romberg Boyd. In 1962,

Roy Grounds Sir Roy Burman Grounds (18 December 19052 March 1981) was an Australian architect. His early work included buildings influenced by the Moderne movement of the 1930s, and his later buildings of the 50s and 60s, such as the National Gallery of V ...

split from his partners

Frederick Romberg Frederick Romberg, (Friedrich Sigismund Hermann Romberg), (21 June 1913, in Tsingtao – 12 November 1992, in Melbourne), was a Swiss-trained architect who migrated to Australia in 1938, and became a leading figure in the development of Mode ...

and Robin Boyd, retained the commission, and designed the gallery at 180 St Kilda Road (now known as NGV International). The new bluestone clad building was completed in December 1967 and Victorian premier

Henry Bolte Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG (20 May 1908 – 4 January 1990) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of Victoria. To date he is the longest-serving Victorian premier, having been in office for over 17 consecutive years. ...

officially opened it on 20 August 1968. One of the features of the building is the

Leonard French Leonard William French OBE (8 October 1928 – 10 January 2017) was an Australian artist, known principally for major stained glass works. French was born in Brunswick, Victoria to a family of Cornish origin. His stained glass creation ...

stained glass ceiling, one of the world's largest pieces of suspended stained glass, which casts colourful light on the floor below. The water-wall entrance is another well-known feature of the building. In 1997, redevelopment of the building was proposed, with

chosen as architect and an estimated project cost of $161.9 million. The design was extensive, creating all new galleries leaving only the exterior, the central courtyard and Great Hall intact. The plans included doing away with the water wall, but following public protests organised by the

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Trust Victoria, the design was altered to include a new one slightly forward of the original. During the redevelopment, many works were moved to a temporary external annex known as ‘NGV on Russell’, at the State Library with its entrance on Russell Street.

21st century

A major fundraising drive was launched on 10 October 2000 to redevelop the ageing St Kilda Road building and although the state government committed the majority of the funds, private donations were sought in addition to federal funding. The drive achieved its aim and secured $15 million from the

Ian Potter Sir William Ian Potter (25 August 190224 October 1994), known as Ian Potter, was an Australian stockbroker, businessman and philanthropist. Potter was knighted in 1962. The Ian Potter Foundation, which he established in 1964, has made grants t ...

Foundation on 11 July 2000, $3 million from

Loti Smorgon Loti Smorgon (née Kiffer; 1919 – 20 August 2013) was an Australian philanthropist. Along with her husband, Victor Smorgon, she donated an estimated $40 million in cash and artwork to the National Gallery of Victoria. Loti married Victor in 19 ...

, $2 million from the Clemenger Foundation, and $1 million each from

James Fairfax James Oswald Fairfax (27 March 1933 – 11 January 2017) was an Australian company director, philanthropist, and a member of the Fairfax family, an Australian family prominent in the newspaper publisher industry. Biography Fairfax was born in S ...

and the

Pratt Foundation The Pratt Foundation is an Australian philanthropic organisation based in Melbourne and established in 1978 by Jeanne and Richard Pratt. According to its Values Statement, it has "the shared vision of supporting charitable enterprises and adding ...

. NGV on Russell closed on 30 June 2002 to make way for the staged opening of the new St Kilda Road gallery. It was officially opened by premier Steve Bracks on 4 December 2003. The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in

was designed by

to house the NGV's Australian art collection. It opened in 2002. As such, the NGV's collection is now housed in two separate buildings, with Grounds' building renamed NGV International.

Locations

St Kilda Road: NGV International

NGV international is located at 180 St Kilda Rd and houses the NGV's European, Asian, Oceanic and American art collections. It houses a number of permanent displays, arranged by region and chronology. It also has a large ground-floor space used for temporary exhibitions, and contemporary art spaces on level 3 are also used for temporary exhibitions. The building is surrounded by a moat and fountains, while the main entrance features a famous water wall, which has been used to display the art of

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his wor ...

and others. At the rear of NGV International is a sculpture garden, which hosts an annual large-scale installation through the NGV Architecture Commission.

Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

NGV Australia is located in the

Ian Potter Centre The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is an art gallery that houses the Australian part of the art collection of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is located at Federation Square in Melbourne, Victori ...

. The building houses the NGV's Australian collection, with a permanent display presenting a chronological history of Australian art and a selection of the galley's 25,000 Australian works. NGV Australia has a particular focus on Indigenous Australian art, and alongside the permanent displays presents temporary exhibitions relating to Australian art and history.

The Fox: NGV Contemporary

NGV Contemporary (Melbourne Arts Precinct)

In 2018, the State Government of Victoria announced a new contemporary art gallery would built behind the

Arts Centre An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues fo ...

and the existing NGV International building. The Government spent $203 million to begin the project, including $150 million to purchase the former Carlton and United Breweries building for the new gallery. The new building is part of a major new $1.7 billion redevelopment of the surrounding Melbourne Arts Precinct which is planned to include 18,000 square metres of new public space, new space for contemporary art and design exhibitions, and a new home for the Australian Performing Arts Gallery. The Ian Potter Foundation pledged $20 million for the new building. The masterplan for the precinct was approved in 2022. The public space is being designed by architecture firms

HASSELL Hassell is a multidisciplinary architecture, design and urban planning practice with offices in Australia, China, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1937/8 in Adelaide, South Australia, the firm's former names include Claridge, Hassel ...

and

SO-IL SO – IL or Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu is an architecture firm in Brooklyn, New York City, which was founded in 2008 by Florian Idenburg (born 1975, Netherlands) and Jing Liu (born 1980, China).Hamer Hall and Southbank Boulevard. The winner of the design competition for the NGV Contemporary was announced in March 2022 as Angelo Candalepas and Associates. In April it was announced that billionaires Paula and

Lindsay Fox Lindsay Edward Fox (born ) is an Australian businessman. In 1956, Fox founded the Australian logistics company Linfox, where as of 2015 he serves as non-executive chairman. Early life Lindsay Fox was born around 1937 and brought up in Pra ...

had donated $100 million to the NGV Contemporary project in the largest ever donation to an Australian art museum, and that the gallery would be named The Fox: NGV Contemporary. Then new gallery will have 13,000 square metres of exhibition space and is planned to open in 2028. It will be Australia's largest contemporary gallery.

Collection

Asian art

Katsushika Hokusai The Great Wave off Kanagawa 1830

The NGV's Asian art collection began in 1862, one year after the gallery's founding, when

Frederick Dalgety Frederick Gonnerman Dalgety (Canada, 3 December 1817–London, 20 March 1894) was a merchant and financier, the founder of Dalgety plc, one of the United Kingdom's largest conglomerates. He was born in Canada to Alexander Dalgety, army officer, an ...

donated two Chinese plates. The Asian collection has since grown to include significant works from across the continent.

Australian art

The NGV's Australian art collection encompasses Indigenous (

Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...

) art and artefacts, Australian colonial art, Australian Impressionist art, 20th century, modern and contemporary art. The first curator of Australian Art was Brian Finemore, from 1960 until his death in 1975. The 1880s saw the birth and development of the

Heidelberg School The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It has latterly been described as Australian impressionism. Melbourne art critic Sidney Dickinson coined the term in an 1891 review of works by Arthur Streeton and ...

(also known as Australian

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

) in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, and the NGV was well-placed to acquire some of the movement's key artworks, including

Tom Roberts Thomas William Roberts (8 March 185614 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. After studying in Melbourne, he travelled to Europe ...

' ''

Shearing the Rams ''Shearing the Rams'' is an 1890 painting by Australian artist Tom Roberts. It depicts sheep shearers plying their trade in a timber shearing shed. Distinctly Australian in character, the painting is a celebration of pastoral life and work, ...

'' (1890),

Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mt Moriac, Victoria, sou ...

's ''‘ The purple noon's transparent might’'' (1896), and

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 '' The Pioneer'' (1904). The Australian collection includes works by

Del Kathryn Barton Del Kathryn Barton (born 11 December 1972) is an Australian artist who began drawing at a young age, and studied at UNSW Art & Design (formerly the College of Fine Arts) at the University of New South Wales. She soon became known for her psych ...

, Charles Blackman,

Clarice Beckett Clarice Marjoribanks Beckett (21 March 1887 – 7 July 1935) was an Australian artist and a key member of the Australian tonalist movement. Known for her subtle, misty landscapes of Melbourne and its suburbs, Beckett developed a personal style ...

Arthur Boyd Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd (24 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, ...

John Brack John Brack (10 May 1920 – 11 February 1999) was an Australian painter, and a member of the Antipodeans group. According to one critic, Brack's early works captured the idiosyncrasies of their time "more powerfully and succinctly than any Aust ...

, Angela Brennan,

Rupert Bunny Rupert Charles Wulsten Bunny (29 September 186425 May 1947) was an Australian painter. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, he achieved success and critical acclaim as an expatriate in '' fin-de-siècle'' Paris. He gained an honourable mentio ...

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 ...

Ethel Carrick Ethel Carrick, later Ethel Carrick Fox (7 February 1872 – 17 June 1952) was an English Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painter. Much of her career was spent in France and in Australia, where she was associated with the movement known as ...

Charles Conder Charles Edward Conder (24 October 1868 – 9 February 1909) was an English-born painter, lithographer and designer. He emigrated to Australia and was a key figure in the Heidelberg School, arguably the beginning of a distinctively Australi ...

Olive Cotton Olive Cotton (11 July 191127 September 2003) was a pioneering Australian modernist photographer of the 1930s and 1940s working in Sydney. Cotton became a national "name" with a retrospective and touring exhibition 50 years later in 1985. A book ...

, Grace Crowley , David Davies,

Destiny Deacon Destiny Deacon (born 1957) is an Indigenous Australian photographer and media artist. She has exhibited photographs and films across Australia and also internationally, focusing on politics and exposing the disparagement around Indigenous Austr ...

William Dobell Sir William Dobell (24 September 189913 May 1970) was an Australian portrait and landscape artist of the 20th century. Dobell won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait artists on three occasions. The Dobell Prize is named ...

, Julie Dowling, Russell Drysdale,

E. Phillips Fox Emanuel Phillips Fox (12 March 1865 – 8 October 1915) was an Australian impressionist painter. After studying at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School in Melbourne, Fox travelled to Paris to study in 1886. He remained in Europe until 1 ...

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 ...

, John Glover,

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 ...

, Fiona Hall,

Louise Hearman Louise Hearman (born 1963) is an artist from Melbourne who has been painting and drawing from a very young age. At high school level she attended Tintern Church of England Girls Grammar School in Ringwood in East Victoria where she showed much a ...

Joy Hester Joy St Clair Hester (21 August 1920 – 4 December 1960) was an Australian artist. She was a member of the Angry Penguins movement and the Heide Circle who played an integral role in the development of Australian Modernism. Hester is best known ...

, Hans Heysen,

Emily Kame Kngwarreye Emily Kame Kngwarreye (or Emily Kam Ngwarray) (1910 – 3 September 1996) was an Aboriginal Australian artist from the Utopia community in the Northern Territory. She is one of the most prominent and successful artists in the history of Austr ...

George W. Lambert George Washington Thomas Lambert (13 September 1873 – 29 May 1930) was an Australian artist, known principally for portrait painting and as a war artist during the First World War. Early life Lambert was born in St Petersburg, Russia, ...

, Sydney Long,

John Longstaff Sir John Campbell Longstaff (10 March 1861 – 1 October 1941) was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture. His cousin Will Longstaff was also a painter and war artist. Longstaff was known ...

Helen Maudsley Helen Maudsley (born 1927) is an Australian artist, who has been described as "one of Australia’s most tenacious and perhaps most underrated artists". Born in Melbourne in 1927, Maudsley has had regular solo exhibitions since 1957. She is best ...

Tracey Moffatt Tracey Moffatt (born 12 November 1960) is an Indigenous Australian artist who primarily uses photography and video. In 2017 she represented Australia at the 57th Venice Biennale with her solo exhibition, "My Horizon". Her works are held in th ...

Jan Nelson Jan Nelson (born 1955) is an Australian artist who works in sculpture, photography and painting. She is best known for her hyper real images of adolescents. She has exhibited widely in Australia as well as Paris and Brazil. Her works are in the c ...

Hilda Rix Nicholas Hilda Rix Nicholas ( Rix, later Wright, 1 September 1884 – 3 August 1961) was an Australian artist. Born in the Victoria (Australia), Victorian city of Ballarat, she studied under a leading Australian Impressionism, Australian Impressio ...

, Sidney Nolan,

John Perceval John de Burgh Perceval AO (1 February 1923 – 15 October 2000) was a well-known Australian artist. Perceval was the last surviving member of a group known as the Angry Penguins who redefined Australian art in the 1940s. Other members include ...

Patricia Piccinini Patricia Piccinini (born 1965 in Freetown, Sierra Leone) is an Australian artist who works in a variety of media, including painting, video, sound, installation, digital prints, and sculpture. Her works focus on "unexpected consequences", conv ...

Margaret Preston Margaret Rose Preston (29 April 1875 – 28 May 1963) was an Australian painter and printmaker who is regarded as one of Australia's leading modernists of the early 20th century. In her quest to foster an Australian "national art", she was al ...

Thea Proctor Thea may refer to: * Thea (name), a given name * Ancient Greek term for goddess, including an alternative spelling of Theia * ''Thea'', the former name of the tea plant genus, now included in ''Camellia'' * Thea, a village in the municipal unit Mes ...

Hugh Ramsay Hugh Ramsay (25 May 1877 – 5 March 1906) was an Australian artist. Early life and education Ramsay was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 25 May 1877, the son of John Ramsay. He moved with his family to Melbourne in 1878. He was educated at Esse ...

, David Rankin,

, John Russell,

Grace Cossington Smith Grace Cossington Smith (20 April 189220 December 1984) was an Australian artist and pioneer of modernist painting in Australia and was instrumental in introducing Post-Impressionism to her home country. Examples of her work are held by every ...

Ethel Spowers Ethel Louise Spowers (11 July 1890 – 5 May 1947) was an Australian artist associated with the Grosvenor School of Modern Art in London. She was especially known for her linocuts, which are included in the collections of major Australian and ...

Clara Southern Clara Southern (3 October 1860 – 15 December 1940) was an Australian artist associated with the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. She was active between the years 1883 and her death in 1940. Physically, Southern was t ...

, Jane Sutherland,

Violet Teague Violet Helen Evangeline Teague (21 February 1872 – 30 September 1951) was an Australian artist, noted for her painting and printmaking. Early life and training The only daughter of Melbourne homeopath James Teague and his wife Eliza Jane Mil ...

, Jenny Watson, Fred Williams and others. A large number of works were donated by Dr. Joseph Brown in 2004 which form the Joseph Brown Collection. Selected works File:Aboriginal shields NGV.jpg, Aboriginal shields File:Nicholas Chevalier - The Buffalo Ranges - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Buffalo Ranges'' (1864) by

, the first painting of an Australian subject to be acquired by the gallery File:Tom Roberts - Shearing the rams - Google Art Project.jpg,

, ''

'', 1890 File:Arthur Streeton Purple 1896.jpg,

, ''‘ The purple noon's transparent might’'', 1896

International art

National Gallery of Victoria Britain & European Collection 2017

The NGV's international art collection encompasses European and international paintings, fashion and textiles, photography, prints and drawings, Asian art, decorative arts, Mesoamerican art, Pacific art, sculpture, antiquities and global contemporary art. It has strong collections in areas as diverse as old masters, Greek vases, Egyptian artefacts and historical European ceramics, and contains the largest and most comprehensive range of artworks in Australia. The international collection includes works by Arbus, Bernini, Bordone,

Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of city views or ...

, Cassatt, Cézanne,

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...

, Dalí,

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is espec ...

, Delaunay,

van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

, Emin,

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

, Gentileschi, El Greco,

Lange Lange may refer to: People *Lange (surname), a German surname * Lange (musician) (born 1974), British DJ * Lange (Brazilian footballer) (born 1966), Brazilian footballer Companies * Lange (ski boots), a producer of ski boots used in alpine (dow ...

Manet A wireless ad hoc network (WANET) or mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a decentralized type of wireless network. The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a pre-existing infrastructure, such as routers in wired networks or access points ...

, Memling, Modigliani,

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

, Picasso,

Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). H ...

Pittoni Giambattista Pittoni or Giovanni Battista Pittoni (6 June 1687 – 6 November 1767) was a Venetian painter of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He was among the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, of which in 1758 he became the ...

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for ...

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

, Ribera, Riley,

Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Latv ...

, Rubens,

Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...

Tintoretto Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed with ...

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

Uccello Uccello () is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Antonina Uccello (born 1922), American politician * Julian Uccello (born 1986), Canadian soccer player * Luca Uccello (born 1997), Canadian soccer player *Paolo Uccello ...

, Veronese and others. One of the highlights of the NGV's international collection is

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

's first cast of his iconic sculpture ''

The Thinker ''The Thinker'' (french: Le Penseur) is a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin, usually placed on a stone pedestal. The work depicts a nude male figure of heroic size sitting on a rock. He is seen leaning over, his right elbow placed on his left t ...

'', executed in 1884. The NGV is also home to the only portrait of

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

known to have been painted from life, dated to approximately 1515 and attributed to

Dosso Dossi Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, better known as Dosso Dossi ( 1489–1542), was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the School of Ferrara, painting in a style mainly influenced by Venetian painting, in particular Giorgione and early T ...

. In 2018, the NGV acquired ''Trilogy of the Desert'' by

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

, after launching a crowd-funding campaign to raise money to fill a gap in its European collection. Selected works File:Jan van Eyck 075.jpg, Jan van Eyck (

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the on ...

), ''

Ince Hall Madonna The ''Virgin and Child Reading'' is an oil painting of uncertain date. It is a mid-to-late 15th century imitation of the work of the Early Netherlandish master Jan van Eyck, possibly after a now-lost original painting by him from 1433 - another c ...

'', 1433 File:Correggio, Madonna and Child with infant St John the Baptist 1514–15.jpg,

, ''Madonna and Child with infant St John the Baptist'', 1514–15 File:Rembrandt Two old men disputing 1628.jpg,

, ''Two old men disputing'', 1628 File:The Crossing fo The Red Sea.jpg, Nicolas Poussin, '' The Crossing of the Red Sea'', 1634 File:Anthony van Dyck Rachel de Ruvigny.jpg,

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

, ''Rachel de Ruvigny, Countess of Southampton'', 1640 File:Giambattista Tiepolo - The Banquet of Cleopatra - Google Art Project.jpg, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, ''

The Banquet of Cleopatra ''The Banquet of Cleopatra'' is the title of several paintings showing the culmination of a wager between Cleopatra and Mark Antony as to which one could provide the most expensive feast. As recounted in Pliny the Elder's '' Natural History'' Cl ...

'', 1743–44 File:George Stubbs 005.jpg,

George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Reynolds or Gainsborough ...

, ''A Lion Attacking a Horse'', 1765 File:Thomas Gainsborough - An officer of the 4th Regiment of Foot - Google Art Project.jpg,

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

, '' Richard St George Mansergh-St George'', 1776 File:J. M. W. Turner - The Red Rigi - Google Art Project.jpg, J. M. W. Turner, '' The Red Rigi'', 1842 File:John Everett Millais - The rescue - Google Art Project.jpg,

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...

, '' The Rescue'', 1855 File:August Friedrich Albrecht Schenck - Anguish - Google Art Project.jpg,

August Friedrich Schenck August Friedrich Albrecht Schenck (23 April 1828 – 1 January 1901) was a painter who was born in Glückstadt in Holstein, now in Germany but then in Denmark. He lived and worked for most of his life in France. He was both French and German b ...

, ''

Anguish Anguish (from the Latin ''angustia'' "distress") is "extreme unhappiness caused by physical or mental suffering." The feeling of anguish is typically preceded by a tragedy or event that has a profound meaning to the being in question. Anguish can ...

'', 1878 File:Jules Bastien-Lepage - October - Google Art Project.jpg,

Jules Bastien-Lepage Jules Bastien-Lepage (1 November 1848 – 10 December 1884) was a French painter closely associated with the beginning of naturalism, an artistic style that emerged from the later phase of the Realist movement. His most famous work is his lan ...

, ''

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôct ...

'', 1878 File:Claude Monet - Vétheuil - Google Art Project (427751).jpg,

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...

, ''Vétheuil'', 1879 File:Cézanne - FWN 175.jpg,

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

, ''The Uphill Road'', 1881 File:Camille Pissarro - Boulevard Montmartre, morning, cloudy weather - Google Art Project.jpg, Camille Pissarro, ''Boulevard Montmartre, morning, cloudy weather'', 1897 File:Amedeo modigliani, ritratto dle pittore manuel humbert, 1916.JPG,

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

, ''Portrait of the painter Manuel Humbert'', 1916

Photography

Max Dupain - Sunbaker - Google Art Project

In 1967, the NGV established the first curatorial department dedicated to photography in an Australian public gallery, one of the first in the world. It now holds over 15,000 works. In that same year, the Gallery acquired the photography collection's first work, ''Surrey Hills street'' 1948 by David Moore

and in 1969 the first international work was acquired, ''Nude'' 1939 by František Drtikol

The first photographer to exhibit solo at the NGV was Mark Strizic in 1968. Jennie Boddington, a filmmaker, was appointed first full-time curator of photography in 1972, possibly only the third such appointment amongst world public institutions.

Prints and drawings

William Blake - Dante running from the three beasts - Google Art Project

The NGV's Department of Prints and Drawings is responsible for one third of the gallery's collection. Highlights among the department's holdings include one of the world's largest collections of engravings and woodcuts by Dürer. The NGV is also said to have one of the most impressive collections of works by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

, including 36 of the 102 watercolours he worked on up until his death in 1827 to illustrate the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

'' by

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

, the largest number of works from this series held by any gallery in the world. Rembrandt and

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

are also well-represented, and the Australian collection contains a detailed account of the history of graphic arts in Australia. The NGV no longer dedicates a space to exhibiting works from the Prints and Drawings collection, though some works on paper are rotated within the permanent collection galleries and may appear in exhibitions. Works in the collection may be viewed by appointment in the department's Print Study Room.

Controversies

As a "National Gallery"

When plans for the construction of the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

became firmly established in the 1960s, Australia's state galleries removed the word "national" from their names (for example, the National Gallery of New South Wales in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

became the Art Gallery of New South Wales). This naming convention dated back to the 19th century when Australia's colonies were self-governing political entities and had yet to federate. Only the NGV has retained "national" in its name. This has proven to be somewhat contentious, given that the NGV is technically not a national gallery, and occasionally there have been calls for it to follow the example of the other state galleries. According to former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks, "We won't be renaming the National Gallery of Victoria. It has a great tradition. It is the biggest and best gallery in the country and it's one of the biggest and best in the world."

Withdrawal of ''Chloé''

In May 1883, when the National Gallery of Victoria opened on a Sunday for the first time, a public debate erupted over the propriety of displaying a female nude portrait on the Sabbath. The painting in question, French artist

Jules Joseph Lefebvre Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French figure painter, educator and theorist. Early life Lefebvre was born in Tournan-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, on 14 March 1836. He entered the École nationale supérieure des Bea ...

's ''

Chloé Chloé () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. During the next year of 1953 Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creativ ...

'' (1875), had been loaned to the gallery that month, and was "cautiously displayed in a dim corner". Nonetheless, ''Chloé'' became "Melbourne's '' femme fatale''", and after three weeks of scandal, was withdrawn and hidden from the public. It eventually found a home at Melbourne's Young and Jackson Hotel.

Slaughtered Cow happening

In 1975, painter and performance artist Ivan Durrant deposited a cow carcass in the NGV forecourt. Durrant later stated that it was part of a performance art piece intended to shock those who might be horrified by the death of the animal while also happy to consume meat. At the time, the NGV denounced the piece as a "sick and disgusting act".

Picasso theft

A famous event in the gallery's history occurred in 1986 with the theft of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

's painting ''

The Weeping Woman ''The Weeping Woman'' (French: ''La Femme qui pleure'') is a series of oil on canvas paintings by Pablo Picasso, the last of which was created in late 1937. The paintings depict Dora Maar, Picasso's mistress and muse. ''The Weeping Woman'' paint ...

'' (1936). A person or group identifying themselves as the "Australian Cultural Terrorists" claimed responsibility for the theft, stating that the painting was stolen in protest against the perceived poor treatment of the arts by the state government of the time. They sought as a ransom the establishment of an art prize for young artists. The painting was found undamaged in a railway locker two weeks later and returned to the gallery.

''Piss Christ''

During a retrospective of Andres Serrano's work at the NGV in 1997, the then Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne,

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the inaugural prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers between 2013 ...

, sought an injunction from the Supreme Court of Victoria to restrain the gallery from publicly displaying ''Piss Christ'', which was not granted. Some days later, one patron attempted to remove the work from the gallery wall, and two teenagers later attacked it with a hammer. Gallery officials reported receiving death threats in response to ''Piss Christ''. NGV Director Timothy Potts cancelled the show, allegedly out of concern for a

exhibition that was also on display at the time. Supporters argued that the controversy over ''Piss Christ'' is an issue of

artistic freedom Artistic freedom (or freedom of artistic expression) can be defined as "the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of governmental censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors." Gener ...

and freedom of speech.

Special exhibitions

An exhibition known as ''The Field'' opened the gallery's new premises on St Kilda Road in 1968. Reflecting the influence of abstract art, particularly New York-inspired Hard Edge and Color Field painting, it featured 74 works by forty (mostly emerging young) Australian painters and sculptors. Described as a radical departure from the gallery's more traditional program, it signified more broadly a growing internationalisation of the Australian art world. The NGV held an exhibition titled "The Field Revisited" in 2018 to mark its 50th anniversary.

Melbourne Winter Masterpieces

The NGV has held several large exhibitions known as Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibitions, starting with ''Impressionists: Masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay'' in 2004.

NGV Triennial

In 2013 the NGV launched "Melbourne Now", an exhibition which celebrated the latest art, architecture, design, performance and cultural practice to reflect the complex cultural landscape of creative Melbourne. "Melbourne Now" ran from 22 November 2013 – 23 March 2014 and attracted record attendances of 753,071. Following the success of "Melbourne Now", in 2–14 March the NGV announced a major new initiative, the NGV Triennial. Beginning in the Summer of 2017 and to be held every three years, this ambitious event will be a large-scale celebration of the best of contemporary international art and design. The inaugural Triennial ran from 15 December 2017 to 15 April 2018, and drew almost 1.3 million visitors during its run, making it the most attended exhibition in the gallery's history. The 2020–21 NGV Triennial opened on 19 December 2020 and closed on 18 April 2021. The exhibition, which attracted more than 520,000 visitors during its run, showcased works by more than 100 artists, designers and collectives from 30 countries, with 34 newly commissioned works from a mixture of both Australian and international artists.

Publications

The ''Art Journal of the National Gallery of Victoria'', usually referred to as the ''Art Journal'', was first published as ''The Quarterly Bulletin of the National Gallery of Victoria'' in 1945 (volume 1, no. 1), changing its name and frequency in 1959 to the ''Annual Bulletin of the National Gallery of Victoria'' (edition 1), then to the ''Art Bulletin of Victoria'' in 1967–68 (edition 9) (abbreviated to ABV, edition 42). For Edition 50 in 2011, in its 50th year of publication and 150th anniversary of the gallery, the name was changed to its present name.

Directors of the NGV

Directors of the NGV since its inception: * G. F. Folingsby, 1882–1891 *

Lindsay Bernard Hall Lindsay Bernard Hall (28 December 1859 – 14 February 1935) was an English-born Australian artist, teacher and art gallery director. Early life and career Hall was born at Garston, Liverpool, England, the son of a broker of the same famil ...

, 1892–1935 *

William Beckwith McInnes William Beckwith McInnes (18 May 1889 – 9 November 1939) was an Australian portrait painter, winner of the Archibald Prize seven times for his traditional style paintings. He was acting-director at the National Gallery of Victoria and an instr ...

, (acting) 1935–1936 * P. M. Carew-Smyth, (acting) 1937 * J. S. Macdonald, 1936–1941 * Sir Ernest

Daryl Lindsay Sir Ernest Daryl Lindsay (31 December 1889, in Creswick, Victoria – 25 December 1976, in Mornington), known as Dan Lindsay, was an Australian artist. Early life He was the youngest son in a large family born to Anglo-Irish surgeon Robert Ch ...

, 1942–1955 *

Eric Westbrook Dr Eric Westbrook (29 September 1915 – 2005) was a British-born Australian artist, curator and gallery director of Auckland Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Victoria. Early life and education Eric Westbrook was born in Peckham, south- ...

, 1956–1973 * Gordon Thomson, 1973–1974 * Eric Rowlison, 1975–1980 *

Patrick McCaughey Patrick McCaughey (born 1942) is an Irish-born Australian art historian and academic. McCaughey was born in Belfast, his father being Davis McCaughey. He migrated with his family to Melbourne, Australia. when he was ten years old. His secondary ...

, 1981–1987 * T. L. Rodney Wilson, 1988 *

James Mollison James Mollison (20 March 1931 – 19 January 2020) was acting director of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) from 1971 to 1977 and director from 1977 to 1989. He was director of the National Gallery of Victoria from 1989 to 1995. Ea ...

, AO, 1989–1995 * Timothy Potts, 1995–1998 * Gerard Vaughan, 1999–2012 * Tony Ellwood, 2012–present

References

External links

*
Egyptian objects in the National Gallery of Victoria

Contact Information for the National Gallery of Victoria
*Video

{{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Melbourne Landmarks in Melbourne Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne Buildings and structures completed in 1968 Modernist architecture in Australia Brutalist architecture in Australia Art museums established in 1861 1861 establishments in Australia National museums of Australia * Southbank, Victoria