Preserving the past, enriching the future: Hugh Williamson's legacy

• 14 March–24 August 2008
• Free Entry
• The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

Craig Gough
born Australia 1938
Yarra icon 1987
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
197.4 x 365.8 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
The Hugh Williamson Collection of Paintings of Melbourne, commissioned by The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of The Hugh D. T. Williamson Foundation, Founder Benefactor, 1987
© Courtesy of the artist

A new exhibition opening at the National Gallery of Victoria will celebrate the legacy of Hugh Williamson, one of the Gallery’s most important benefactors.

Born in Ballarat in 1901, Hugh Dean Thomas Williamson was a bank manager who rose to the position of chief executive officer of ANZ Bank, a position he held from 1954 until his retirement in 1961. During his working life he maintained a keen interest in the stock market. This was to provide him with significant personal wealth and following his death, in 1986, was to form the financial basis of the Hugh D. T. Williamson Foundation.

Williamson’s involvement with the NGV began in the early 1960s when he was appointed treasurer of the Arts Centre Building Committee which oversaw the building of the NGV and the Arts Centre complex. In 1985, shortly before his death, Williamson met with the then Director, Patrick McCaughey, to discuss supporting the NGV in other ways, including the establishment of an acquisition program.

Following his death in 1986, the Hugh D.T. Williamson Foundation was established to support a range of community and cultural pursuits amongst these the acquisition of works relating to Melbourne and its environs. Since then, the NGV has acquired or commissioned a total of 66 works for the permanent collection. Many of them are key works in the NGV Collection.

Major acquisitions made possible by the Hugh Williamson Foundation, and represented in this exhibition, include Tom Roberts’ By the Treasury, Arthur Streeton’s Princess & Burke & Wills, and Stephen Bush’s Early morning – Kingsway. The most recent commission through the foundation was Jon Cattapan’s The Melbourne panels.

Other artists represented in the current exhibition include Robert Clinch, John Gollings, Mandy Martin, Anne-Marie Beattie and Gareth Sansom.

The Hugh D.T. Williamson Foundation also has a connection to Ballarat, and the exhibition includes a group of works from the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery which has also acquired significant works for their collection through the generosity of the Foundation.

NGV Curator of Australian Art Exhibitions, David Hurlston says: “The works in this exhibition highlights the history of our city, its people and the talent of its artists. The acquisition and commissioning of works of art relating to Melbourne is a most important part of the collection and one that Melburnians and visitors alike will enjoy.”

Dr. Gerard Vaughan, NGV Director, said: “Hugh Williamson was not only an extremely generous man, he was also a man of great vision. If he were alive today I think he would be very pleased with what has been achieved through his assistance and indeed very proud of the work of the Trustees of the Foundation.”

“The Foundation has been a wonderful and consistent supporter of the NGV, most particularly with assisting us to acquire views of Melbourne. The Foundation is efficiently run and has the rare and special attribute of being able to make a decision when the need is there,” said Dr. Vaughan.

In addition to the acquisition program, the Hugh D.T. Williamson Foundation has also made a significant contribution to the conservation department at the NGV, ensuring the long-term preservation of works in the collection. In 2006, the Foundation established the Hugh D.T. Williamson Conservation Fellowship program, offering recent graduates the chance to work closely with NGV Paintings Conservators.

Preserving the past, enriching the future: Hugh Williamson’s legacy will be on at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia from 14 March until 24 August 2008 and at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery from 15 December 2008 until 18 January 2009.

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