Lovely framing by balustrade of curved stairway at historic Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the most important public gallery in Sydney and one of the largest in Australia. The Gallery's first public exhibition opened in 1874. Admission is free to the general exhibition space, which displays Australian art (including Indigenous Australian art), European and Asian art. A dedicated Asian Gallery was opened in 2003. In 1883 John Horbury Hunt, an architect in private practice, was engaged by the Gallery's Trustees to design a permanent gallery. Though Hunt submitted four detailed designs in various styles between 1884 and 1895, his work came to nothing apart from a temporary building in The Domain. With raw brick walls and a saw-tooth roof, it was denounced in the press as the "Art Barn". Newly appointed Government Architect, Walter Liberty Vernon, secured the prestigious commission over John Horbury Hunt in 1895. Vernon believed that the Gothic style admitted greater individuality and richness 'not obtainable in the colder and unbending lines of Pagan Classic.' The Trustees were not convinced and demanded a classical temple to art, not unlike William Henry Playfair's Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, opened in 1859. Vernon's building, housing eight daylight lit courts, was built in four stages. The first stage was commenced in 1896 and opened in May 1897. By 1901 the entire southern half of the building was finished. Vernon proposed that his oval lobby lead into an equally imposing Central Court. His plans were not accepted. Until 1969 his lobby led, by a short descent from the entrance level, to the three 'temporary' northern galleries designed by Hunt. In 1909 the front of the Gallery was finished and after this date nothing more was built of Vernon's designs. In the 1930s plans were suggested for the completion of this part of the Gallery but the Great Depression and other financial constraints lead to their abandonment. In 1871 the collection started with the acquisition by The Art Society of some large works from Europe such as Ford Madox Brown's Chaucer at the Court of Edward III. Later they bought work from Australian artists such as Streeton's 1891 Fire's On, Roberts' 1894 The Golden Fleece and McCubbin's 1896 On the Wallaby Track. S10N_356
Lovely framing by balustrade of curved stairway at historic Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the most important public gallery in Sydney and one of the largest in Australia. The Gallery's first public exhibition opened in 1874. Admission is free to the general exhibition space, which displays Australian art (including Indigenous Australian art), European and Asian art. A dedicated Asian Gallery was opened in 2003. In 1883 John Horbury Hunt, an architect in private practice, was engaged by the Gallery's Trustees to design a permanent gallery. Though Hunt submitted four detailed designs in various styles between 1884 and 1895, his work came to nothing apart from a temporary building in The Domain. With raw brick walls and a saw-tooth roof, it was denounced in the press as the "Art Barn". Newly appointed Government Architect, Walter Liberty Vernon, secured the prestigious commission over John Horbury Hunt in 1895. Vernon believed that the Gothic style admitted greater individuality and richness 'not obtainable in the colder and unbending lines of Pagan Classic.' The Trustees were not convinced and demanded a classical temple to art, not unlike William Henry Playfair's Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, opened in 1859. Vernon's building, housing eight daylight lit courts, was built in four stages. The first stage was commenced in 1896 and opened in May 1897. By 1901 the entire southern half of the building was finished. Vernon proposed that his oval lobby lead into an equally imposing Central Court. His plans were not accepted. Until 1969 his lobby led, by a short descent from the entrance level, to the three 'temporary' northern galleries designed by Hunt. In 1909 the front of the Gallery was finished and after this date nothing more was built of Vernon's designs. In the 1930s plans were suggested for the completion of this part of the Gallery but the Great Depression and other financial constraints lead to their abandonment. In 1871 the collection started with the acquisition by The Art Society of some large works from Europe such as Ford Madox Brown's Chaucer at the Court of Edward III. Later they bought work from Australian artists such as Streeton's 1891 Fire's On, Roberts' 1894 The Golden Fleece and McCubbin's 1896 On the Wallaby Track. S10N_356