Peter Paul Rubens Constantine investing his son, Crispus, with command of the fleet 1622. Gift of James Fairfax, 1993 | The acquisition and care of the permanent collection and the presentation of exhibitions are the Gallery's core activities.
The collection is distinguished by its holding of Australian art, one the finest in the world, its outstanding Asian collection and the Yiribana Gallery, the largest permanent exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in the world.
In recent years the Gallery has acquired, through gifts and purchases, valuable additions to its European, international, photographic and contemporary collections.
The curatorial and professional staff, many of whom are leaders in their fields, are committed to sharing their skills and experience with the public and with the professional and academic communities. They contribute to further knowledge and understanding of Australian and international art through publications, exhibitions, lectures programmes and the presentation of the collection.
Curatorial staff are also responsible for the exhibition programme and building and managing the collection. In the past 15 years the Gallery has curated and presented a number of landmark exhibitions, among them Gold of the Pharaohs (1988), Guggenheim (1991-92), Gauguin and the Pont Aven (1994), Arthur Boyd (1994), Classic Cézanne (1998) and Michelangelo to Matisse (1999).
Important works have been added to the collection in this period, including Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's Three bathers, Edgar Degas' After the bath, John Olsen's Five bells, Agnolo Bronzino's Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in armour, Yu Shaozhi's Poem in Cursive Style, Peter Paul Rubens' Constantine investing his son Crispus with command of the fleet, Kano Eino's classical Japanese six-fold screens, Three friends and contemporary Aboriginal artist Ginger Riley Mundawalawala's Limmen Bight River country.
The care of the collection is undertaken by the conservators whose speciality is in the documentation, preservation and restoration of artworks including paintings, works on paper, sculpture and framing. |
