General News
25 November, 2024
Wimmera masterpieces heading home
Twenty-one Wimmera artworks held by the National Gallery of Australia, ranging from paintings to furniture, will return to the region for the next two years.
The collection will be a reflection of Wimmera landscapes interpreted across various mediums and periods of Australian art since the 1800s.
The loan will comprise paintings, works on paper, photographs and furniture by some of Australia’s most revered artists including Arthur Boyd, Sidney Nolan, John Olsen and Arthur Streeton.
The exhibition will open at Horsham Regional Art Gallery (HRAG) on March 8 next year and run until early 2027.
Gallery director Lauren Larkins said HRAG was excited to share the cross-section of artworks with the community, highlighting the expansive and detailed landscapes of the Wimmera through the eyes of significant artists.
“The exhibition 'View From Here: Highlights from the National Gallery Collection' will serve to showcase the national significance of works made in our region and celebrate the rich source of inspiration for artists that is the Wimmera landscape,” Ms Larkins said.
Ms Larkins thanked the National Gallery of Australia for allowing the gallery to be a part of "this important initiative".
She said the collection in Canberra held more than 155,000 "artworks of great beauty and cultural value", 98 per cent of which were in storage at any given time.
The cost of transporting, installing and insuring works in the national art collection so that they can be seen in regions such as the Wimmera for extended periods is funded by the federal government through Australia’s new national cultural policy, Revive.