The National Gallery of Victoria Travelling Scholarship

Established in 1887, the National Gallery of Victoria Travelling Scholarship shaped the creative development of generations of Australian artists. Conceived by NGV Director George Folings by just over twenty-five years after the Gallery’s opening in 1861, the scholarship reflected the Trustees’ belief that firsthand experience of works by European Old Masters was a fundamental part of an artist’s education.

Awarded every three years to students studying painting at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School (also known as the National Gallery School), the three-year scholarship granted a stipend to study at art epicentres across Europe. To enrich the new gallery’s growing collection, recipients were originally required to complete and gift to the gallery three works: a replica of an Old Master painting, a nude study, and an original composition.