Policy, taste or chance? – acquisition of British and Foreign oil paintings by the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 1874 to 1935

Abstract

This thesis is a critical examination of the acquisition of British and Foreign oil paintings by the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 1874 to 1935. In 1874, the NSW Parliament voted £500 towards the formation of a gallery of art. The Minister asked the NSW Academy of Art for advice and, after internal discussions, the Academy advised the Minister that the funds should be spent on watercolours. The Academy believed that £500 was insufficient to purchase oils. The Minister appointed five Trustees to administer the vote. All were members of the Academy‘s Council. They quickly appointed the first London selectors. This was the beginning of what is now the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW). When Directors were appointed they were subservient to the Trustees in the selection of works for the collection and all policy decisions remained with the Trustees. The overseas selectors and the Trustees initially agreed on purchases but over the years there were a number of disputes about the works acquired for the AGNSW leading to selectors being replaced by Advisors and travel by Trustees and staff. Another influence was the Government. The major factor was the amount of money voted for purchases but a number of Members felt that they had to right to override the choices of the AGNSW Trustees. This thesis approaches the growth of this collection from a museological and historical perspective not from an art theoretical aspect although those critics and writers who influenced the AGNSW Trustees and staff are considered along with prevailing historical, financial and administrative pressures. The research question: to what extent was the AGNSW British and Foreign oil painting collection a result of a collections policy or the tastes and choices of its Trustees, staff and advisors from 1874 to 1935 is answered by this thesis. There was no formal collections policy in the period examined and while taste played a part, the main criteria for acquisitions this period was validation by the two main art organisations: the Royal Academy in London and the Salon in Paris.