More about Art Gallery of South Australia
Works at Art Gallery of South Australia
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The Art Gallery of South Australia started in the back rooms of a library.
The Art Gallery of South Australia is one of three most important art museums in South Australia, and the second most important collection in all of Australia, after the National Gallery of Victoria. The Gallery boasts some 38,000 works, and 800,000 visitors a year.
It was officially founded in 1881, opened by the 15-year-old future King George V, who visited Australia as part of his naval training. The current building, considered one of the historic city of Adelaide’s most beautiful landmarks, dates back to 1900.
The Gallery had a bout of good luck in 1898, when preeminent Australian society figure, Sir Thomas Elder, bequeathed a sizable fortune to help expand the collection. Among other things, Elder introduced camels to Australia, imported from India to assist his business interests in the dry, desert climate.
Partly owing to Elder’s contribution, the gallery now has one of Australia’s premiere assortments of British masters, from classical painters like van Dyck, Lely, Ramsay, Gainsborough and Joseph Wright of Derby, to Pre-Raphaelites like Rossetti and Waterhouse. There are also such international masters as Goya and Rodin. Dead white dudes not your thing? No worries mate! The collection also features Indigenous Australian art unequaled almost anywhere else in the world.
Other selling points are a museum restaurant with gourmet cuisine, local Australian wine, and a chic ambience, perfect for posh events such as weddings and business cocktail parties. So, if you’re in Adelaide, stop by the Art Gallery of South Australia for some good art, good eats, and a daytime wine buzz!
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Here is what Wikipedia says about Art Gallery of South Australia
The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of almost 45,000 works of art, making it the second largest state art collection in Australia (after the National Gallery of Victoria). As part of North Terrace cultural precinct, the gallery is flanked by the South Australian Museum to the west and the University of Adelaide to the east.
As well as its permanent collection, which is especially renowned for its collection of Australian art, AGSA hosts the annual Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art known as Tarnanthi, displays a number of visiting exhibitions each year and also contributes travelling exhibitions to regional galleries. European (including British), Asian and North American art are also well represented in its collections.
The director, Rhana Devenport ONZM, is due to leave the position in July 2024, having served her six-year-contract.
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