Pieces from Gallery collection see outside light

THE temporary front wall hoarding in place at the Bendigo Art Gallery View Street building site has been adorned with a selection of reproductions of historic and contemporary portraits from its collection.

Works chosen for The People’s Gallery: Portraits from the Collection were inspired by the Gallery’s founding motto, Ad delectationem Populi per Artem Pulchram: For the delight of the people through beautiful art.

Spanning 150 years of art, the selection is said to celebrate the humanity at the heart of all creative endeavour.

Gallery director Jessica Bridgfoot said the display features many of the Gallery’s most beloved portraits.

“These are the works we know visitors travel to see throughout the year, such as Thomas Sheard’s evocative The Arab Blacksmith (c. 1900) and Allan Ramsay’s King George III (c.1761),” she said.

“Presenting these works on the perimeter of the building site is a way we can continue to share our treasured collection, and is one of a series of activities we have planned while the Gallery is closed.”

Portraits by Australian artists including Tom Roberts, Sidney Nolan and Hugh Ramsay are featured alongside contemporary works by artists such as Gordon Bennett, Abdul Abdullah, Patricia Piccinini and Yvette Coppersmith.

Curator Emma Busowsky said the installation offers insight into changing societal values as well as artistic innovations throughout history.

“Portraiture has been an enduring form of art since antiquity, used to commemorate notable individuals, to represent the stories of ordinary people from all walks of life, and to powerfully explore identity,” she said.

“The display also features many works by artists local to our city and region, including Donna Bailey, Andrew Goodman, and Pia Johnson.

“Bendigo artist Lauren Starr’s dramatic portrait of her daughter, Midas’ Daughter II – Golden Still Life (2022), winner of the 2022 Bluethumb Art Prize, is another of the works featured.”

The multi-million dollar Gallery refurbishment is the largest-ever civic infrastructure project to be led by the City of Greater Bendigo, and will include a second-level exhibition space, a learning centre, a theatrette and a Traditional Owner Place of Keeping for Dja Dja Wurring cultural materials.

For updates on upcoming creative workshops and pop–up events along View Street, visit my.bendigoartgallery.com.au.