National Gallery of Victoria
 | |
| Established | 1861 |
|---|---|
| Location | Southbank, Melbourne, Australia |
| Coordinates | 37°49′21″S 144°58′07″E / 37.822595°S 144.968634°E / -37.822595; 144.968634 |
| Type | Art museum |
| Visitors | 2,600,000 (2015) |
| Director | Tony Ellwood |
| Public transit access | Flinders Street station Tram routes 1, 3, 5, 6, 16, 64, 67, 72 |
| Website | www.ngv.vic.gov.au |
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest, largest 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 of Southbank, and the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, located nearby at Federation Square. The NGV International building, designed by Sir Roy Grounds, opened in 1968, and was redeveloped by Mario Bellini before reopening in 2003. It houses the gallery's international art collection and is on the Victorian Heritage Register. Designed by Lab Architecture Studio, the Ian Potter Centre opened in 2002 and houses the gallery's Australian art collection.
Contents
1 History
1.1 19th century
1.2 20th century
1.3 21st century
2 Collection areas
2.1 Asian art
2.2 Australian art
2.3 International art
2.4 Photography
2.5 Prints and drawings
3 Controversies
3.1 As a "National Gallery"
3.2 Picasso theft
4 Special exhibitions
4.1 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces
4.2 NGV Triennial
5 Directors of the NGV
6 References
7 External links
History
19th century
Nicholas Chevalier's unrealised 1860 vision for the National Gallery next to the State Library building
Victoria gained independence from New South Wales in 1850 (effective 1 July 1851). In the wake of the Victorian gold rush that began in (August) 1851, it became Australia's richest colony, and Melbourne, its capital, the largest and wealthiest city in Australia. 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.[1] These works were displayed in the Museum of Art, opened by Governor Sir Henry Barkly in May 1861 on the lower floor of the south wing of the Public Library (now the State Library of Victoria) on Swanston Street.[2] 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.[3][4] Grand visions for a gallery building at Lonsdale and Swanston Street were drawn by Nicholas Chevalier in 1860 and Frederick Grosse in 1865 featuring an enormous and elaborate library and gallery, however such visions were never realised.
Entrance to the McArthur Gallery on Swanston Street, which was the first permanent home of the collection, now home to the painting collection of the State Library of Victoria.
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.[2] The McArthur Gallery was only ever intended as a temporary home until the much grander vision was to be realised.[5] 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.[6] The School's graduates went on to become some of Australia's most significant artists.
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.[2]
20th century
The world's largest stained-glass ceiling in the NGV's Great Hall, designed by Australian artist Leonard French[7]
The gallery's collection was built from both gifts of works of art and monetary donations. The most significant, the Felton Bequest, was established by the will of Alfred Felton and from 1904, has been used to purchase over 15,000 works of art.[8]
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.[9] £3 million was put forward in February 1960 and Roy Grounds was announced as the architect.[10]
In 1959, the commission to design a new gallery was awarded to the architectural firm Grounds Romberg Boyd. In 1962, Roy Grounds split from his partners Frederick Romberg 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[11] and Victorian premier Henry Bolte officially opened it on 20 August 1968.[12] One of the features of the building is the Leonard French 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 1999, redevelopment of the building was proposed, with Mario Bellini chosen as architect and an estimated project cost of $161.9 million. The proposal was to leave the original architectural fabric intact including the exterior facade and Leonard French stained glass ceiling, but to significantly modernise the interior.[13] 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.[2]
21st century
A major fundraising drive was launched on 10 October 2000 to redevelop the ageing facility 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 Foundation on 11 July 2000, $3 million from Lotti Smorgon, $2 million from the Clemenger Foundation, and $1 million each from James Fairfax and the Pratt Foundation.[14]
NGV on Russell closed on 30 June 2002[2] 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.[15]
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in Federation Square was designed by Lab Architecture Studio 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.
Collection areas
Asian art
Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830
The NGV's Asian art collection began in 1862, one year after the gallery's founding, when Frederick Dalgety donated two Chinese plates. The Asian collection has since grown to include significant works from across the continent.
Australian art
Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
The NGV's Australian art collection encompasses Indigenous (Australian Aboriginal) art and artefacts, Australian colonial art, Australian Impressionist art, 20th century, modern and contemporary art.
The 1880s saw the birth and development of the Heidelberg School (also known as Australian Impressionism) in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, and the NGV was well-placed to acquire some of the movement's key artworks, including Tom Roberts' Shearing the Rams (1890), Arthur Streeton's ‘The purple noon's transparent might’ (1896), and Frederick McCubbin's The Pioneer (1904).[16]
The Australian collection includes works by Charles Blackman, John Brack, Arthur Boyd, Louis Buvelot, Rupert Bunny, Nicholas Chevalier, Charles Conder, David Davies, William Dobell, Russell Drysdale, E. Phillips Fox, John Glover, Eugene von Guerard, Hans Heysen, George W. Lambert, Sydney Long, John Longstaff, Frederick McCubbin, Sidney Nolan, John Perceval, Margaret Preston, Hugh Ramsay, Tom Roberts, John Russell, Grace Cossington Smith, Arthur Streeton, 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
Aboriginal shields
Eugene von Guerard, Mount Kosciusko, seen from the Victorian border, 1866
Tom Roberts, Shearing the Rams, 1890
Arthur Streeton, ‘The purple noon's transparent might’, 1896
International art
NGV International
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.[17]
The international collection includes works by Bernini, Bordone, Canaletto, Cézanne, Constable, Dali, Correggio, Degas, van Dyck, Gainsborough, Gentileschi, El Greco, Manet, Memling, Modigliani, Monet, Picasso, Pissarro, Poussin, Rembrandt, Renoir, Ribera, Rothko, Rubens, Tiepolo, Giambattista Pittoni, Tintoretto, Turner, Uccello, Veronese and others.
One of the highlights of the NGV's international collection is Auguste Rodin's first cast of his iconic sculpture The Thinker, executed in 1884.[18]
Selected works
Jan van Eyck (workshop), Ince Hall Madonna, 1433
Correggio, Madonna and Child with infant St John the Baptist, 1514–15
Rembrandt, Two old men disputing, 1628
Nicolas Poussin, The Crossing of the Red Sea, 1634
Anthony van Dyck, Rachel de Ruvigny, Countess of Southampton, 1640
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, The Banquet of Cleopatra, 1743–44
Thomas Gainsborough, An officer of the 4th Regiment of Foot, 1776
J. M. W. Turner, The Red Rigi, 1842
Jules Bastien-Lepage, October, 1878
Claude Monet, Vétheuil, 1879
Camille Pissarro, Boulevard Montmartre, morning, cloudy weather, 1897
Amedeo Modigliani, Portrait of the painter Manuel Humbert, 1916
Photography
Max Dupain, Sunbaker, 1937
In 1967, the NGV established the first curatorial department dedicated to photography in an Australian public gallery,[19] 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[1] and in 1969 the first international work was acquired, Nude 1939 by František Drtikol[2]. The first photographer to exhibit solo at the NGV was Mark Strizic in 1968[20][3]. Jennie Boddington, a filmmaker, was appointed first full-time curator of photography[21] in 1972,[22] possibly only the third such appointment amongst world public institutions.
Prints and drawings
William Blake, Dante running from the three beasts, 1824
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.[23] The NGV is also said to have one of the most impressive collections of works by William Blake, including 36 of the 102 watercolours he worked on up until his death in 1827 to illustrate the Divine Comedy by Dante, the largest number of works from this series held by any gallery in the world.[24] Rembrandt and Goya are also well-represented.
Controversies
As a "National Gallery"
When plans for the construction of the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra 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 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.[25] 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."
Picasso theft
A famous event in the museum's history occurred in 1986 with the theft of Pablo Picasso's painting The Weeping Woman (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.[26]
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 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.[27]
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.
| Year | Duration | Exhibition Title | Attendance[28] | Notable works and information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | 17 June - 26 September | Impressionists: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay | 371,000 | An additional exhibition of Caravaggio paintings was also held in 2004 |
2005 | 24 June - 2 October | Dutch Masters from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam | 219,000 | Vermeer's painting The Love Letter was exhibited, the first time a Vermeer painting had been exhibited in Australia |
2006 | 30 June - 8 October | Picasso: Love and War 1935–1945 | 224,000 | Over 300 Picasso drawings and paintings from 1935–1945, curated by Anne Baldassari, Director of the Musée Picasso, Paris[29] |
2007 | 30 June - 7 October | Guggenheim Collection 1940s to now | 180,000 | More than 85 works by 68 artists, mainly from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, but also from other Guggenheim Museums in Venice, Bilbao, and Berlin. The exhibition did not travel to any other city[30][31] |
2008 | 28 June - 5 October | Art Deco 1910—1939 | 241,000 | Organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London[32] |
2009 | 13 June - 4 October | Salvador Dalí Liquid Desire | 333,000 | |
2010 | 19 June - 10 October | European Masters: Städel Museum, 19th–20th Century | 200,000 | |
2011 | 13 June - 4 October | Vienna Art and Design | 172,000 | |
2012 | 2 June - 7 October | Napoleon: Revolution to Empire | 189,000 | |
2013 | 10 May - 8 September | Monet's Garden: The Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris | 342,000 | |
2014 | 16 May - 31 August | Italian Masterpieces from Spain's Royal Court, Museo del Prado | 153,000 | |
2015 | 31 July - 8 November | Masterpieces from the Hermitage: The Legacy of Catherine the Great | 172,000 | Exhibition featured pieces by Rembrandt, Rubens, Velazquez, Van Dyck and others |
2016 | 24 June - 18 September | Degas: A New Vision | 197,500 | |
2017 | 28 April - 12 July | Van Gogh and the Seasons | 462,262 | Exhibition clocked a total attendance figure of 462,262, making it the most popular ticketed art exhibition ever presented in Victoria,[33] and the most successful ticketed exhibition in the gallery's 156-year history.[34][35] The exhibition is credited for generating almost $56 million for the Victorian economy.[36] |
2018 | 9 June - 7 October | MoMA: 130 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art | Exhibition in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Includes over 200 key works arranged into eight chronological and thematic sections |
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.[37]
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.[38]
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.[39][40][41]
Directors of the NGV
Directors of the NGV since its inception:[42]
G. F. Folingsby, 1882–91
Lindsay Bernard Hall, 1891–35
William Beckwith McInnes, (acting) 1935–36
P. M. Carew-Smyth, (acting) 1937
J. S. Macdonald, 1936–41- Sir Ernest Daryl Lindsay, 1942–55
Eric Westbrook, 1956–73
Gordon Thomson, 1973–74
Eric Rowlison, 1975–80
Patrick McCaughey, 1981–87
T. L. Rodney Wilson, 1988
James Mollison, AO, 1989–95
Timothy Potts, 1995–98
Gerard Vaughan, 1999–2012
Tony Ellwood, 2012–present[43]
References
^ Mansfield, Elizabeth. Art History and Its Institutions: Foundations of a Discipline. Psychology Press, 2002. p. 105
^ abcde [The History of the State Library of Victoria http://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/slvhistory/museumgallerypro]
^ Lane, Terence. Nineteenth-century Australian Art in the National Gallery of Victoria. National Gallery of Victoria, 2003. pp. 13–14.
^ McCulloch, Alan. The Encyclopedia of Australian Art. University of Hawaii Press, 1994. p. 815
^ State Library of Victoria Complex. 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne Conservation Management Plan. Lovell Chen
^ McCulloch, Alan; Susan McCulloch (1994). The Encyclopedia of Australian Art. Allen & Unwin. p. 864 (Appendix 8). ISBN 1-86373-315-9..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Shmith, Michael. "Raising the roof with a glass ceiling", The Age. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
^ "NGV Media | Welcome to NGV Media". ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
[permanent dead link]
^ National Gallery of Victoria - Victorian Heritage Register
^ "Democratic" Art Gallery Planned. The Canberra Times. Sat 27 Feb 1960
^ Green, Louise McO. "NGV Women's Association History". National Gallery of Victoria. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
^ The Canberra Times. Wed 21 Aug 1968. pg 3
^ "The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Redevelopment". Retrieved 26 February 2018.
^ National Gallery of Victoria Annual Report 2000-2001 http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ngv_corp_annualreport_2000_01.pdf
^ National Gallery of Victoria Annual Report 2003-2004 http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ngv_corp_annualreport_2003_04.pdf
^ Galbally, Ann. The Collections of the National Gallery of Victoria. Oxford University Press, 1987.
ISBN 9780195545913, p. 36.
^ "Collection Online > collections > Collection Areas". ngv.vic.gov.au. 31 July 2013. Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
^ Blanchetière, François; Thurrowgood, David (2013). "Two Insights Into Augustus Rodin's The Thinker". Art Journal. National Gallery of Victoria. 52.
^ Although the Art Gallery of South Australia began collecting photographs as fine art in 1922, it houses them with 'Australian Prints, Drawings and Photographs'(see: http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Collection/australlian_prints_drawings_and_photographs.html). Other Photography collections in public galleries are: The Art Gallery of New South Wales, est.1975 (see: http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/photography/); Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) started their collection in 1987 where works are housed as art of the Contemporary Australian Art collection
^ Mark Strizic: A Journey in Photography information National Portrait Gallery Travelling Exhibitions site http://www.portrait.gov.au/site/exhibition_subsite_strizic4.php
^ Ely, Deborah History of Photography, 01 June 1999, Vol.23(2), p.118-122
^ Cox, Leonard B. The National Gallery of Victoria, 1861-1968: The Search for a Collection. Melbourne: The National Gallery of Victoria; Brown Prior Anderson Pty Ltd, 1971
^ Zdanowicz, Irena. Albrecht Dürer in the Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria. National Gallery of Victoria, 1994.
ISBN 9780724101696.
^ "NGV to showcase its William Blake collection" (25 March 2014), Arts Review. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
^ Knell, Simon. National Galleries. Routledge, 2016.
ISBN 9781317432425, p. 104.
^ Justin Murphy; Susan Cram (19 September 2004). "Stolen Picasso". Rewind (ABC TV). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
^ "NGV to Restage 1968's Groundbreaking Exhibition 'The Field'", Daily Review (14 March 2018). Retrieved 17 April 2018.
^ Creative Victoria. "Melbourne Winter Masterpieces". creative.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
^ "Arts Victoria – Melbourne Winter Masterpieces".
^ "Guggenheim Collection: 1940s to Now". NGV. 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
^ "Guggenheim leaves Melbourne". Entertainment Depot, Australia. 8 October 2007. Archived from the original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
^ "Art Deco". NGV. 2008. Archived from the original on 14 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
^ "Record-Busting Van Gogh Draws Over 110,000 Tourists To Victoria". Retrieved 1 August 2017.
^ Cunningham, Melissa. "Starry final night for Van Gogh and the Seasons at National Gallery of Victoria". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
^ "Van Gogh works draw record crowds to NGV". 9 News. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
^ "Melbourne Winter Masterpieces". Creative Victoria. Government of Victoria. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
^ "NGV Media". NGV. 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
^ "NGV Media". NGV. 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
^ Neutze, Ben. "The NGV's Triennial is the gallery's most-visited exhibition ever". TimeOut. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
^ Plant, Simon. "NGV Triennial exhibition reaches record 1 million visitors". news.com.au. News Corp. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
^ Noonan, Andie. "Melbourne to build largest contemporary art gallery in Australia". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
^ Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch and Emily McCulloch Childs, The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art (4th edition), Aus Art Editions & Miegunyah Press, 2006, p. 458.
^ "Tony Ellwood, Director of the National Gallery of Victoria | NGV". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to National Gallery of Victoria. |
- Official website
- Egyptian objects in the National Gallery of Victoria
- Contact Information for the National Gallery of Victoria
- Video: Artscape – The NGV Story (Part 1), (Part 2)
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