PAINTING MEMORY: From the collection

Free exhibition

Featuring 36 outstanding paintings from the Newcastle Art Gallery collection, PAINTING MEMORY: From the collection celebrates the forgotten and unknown secrets behind some of the Gallery’s most beloved works of art. These paintings evoke stories about their origins, their creators and their memories.

This exhibition presents favourite works of art that explore the history of painting in Australia and features key paintings such as Brett Whiteley’s Summer at Carcoar 1977, William Dobell’s Portrait of a Strapper 1941, Grace Cossington Smith’s Trees c1927 and Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s Summer storm 1992. As highlights of the collection they demonstrate the Gallery’s ongoing commitment to building its significant holdings of Australian art.

Nationally recognised as one of the finest public collections in Australia, the Gallery collection began in 1945 when Dr Roland Pope, an ophthalmic surgeon from Sydney, promised the bequest of his art collection of 123 works of art to Newcastle - conditional upon the construction of an Art Gallery. In 1957 ‘Newcastle City Art Gallery’ opened on the second floor of the War Memorial Cultural Centre. From there the collection has grown over the years, moving into the current Gallery building in 1977 through the support of the Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation, the Newcastle Art Gallery Society, and the benefaction of countless individuals, artists, and the community.

Each painting is accompanied by text that explores the painting’s memory and how the work of art entered the collection, drawing upon research by the Newcastle Art Gallery Guides and Gallery staff. Using their knowledge and passion for art, their research helps provide a link between the Gallery and its visitors, enabling the community to further engage with the city’s collection.
 

Related Documents
Extended captions (pdf)

Take a Virtual Tour

Recorded in January 2018, PAINTING MEMORY has been documented in a 3D showcase as an interactive and educational online resource. Developed in partnership with local immersive media company Evolv3d Media, the 3D showcase uses technology similar to Google's Street View, providing a high-definition walk-through.

The 3D showcase works with all major browsers, including Firefox 4 or later, Chrome 9 or later, IE 11 or later, with Windows 8 or later, Opera 12 or later, Safari 5.1 or later, with OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion or later.

Navigation Help

Using your mouse: click and drag to look around and click on the pale rings on the floor to move from location to location. You can also use the scroll on your mouse to zoom in and out. Red circles indicate extra information, click on them to see extended captions about different works of art, or to access exhibition catalogues or videos. Green circles indicate access information, including the location of lifts and amenities. 

Using the dashboard controls: you can also use the dashboard, at the base of the screen. Press the play button to take a tour at the touch of a button, press the forward or back arrows to move through the tour one view at a time, or the plus or minus icons to zoom in or out. 

More help and navigation tips: There is also a help option in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

Banner image: Robert JACKS Kentish fire and heavy boots 3 1983/2001  oil and wax on linen 196.7cm x 295.1cm Purchased 1983 Newcastle Art Gallery collection courtesy the artist