UWA Art Collection
The University of Western Australia Art Collection
The University of Western Australia Art Collection is a nationally significant university art collection and one of the most important public art collections in Western Australia. Established in 1927, the Collection comprises more than 3,000 works, including paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures.
Its strong holdings of Australian modernist paintings by well-known artists such as Dorrit Black, Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd, Joy Hester, Sidney Nolan and John Perceval is a legacy of the University’s commitment to the acquisition of contemporary Australian art, which remains a core principle of the Collection.
The Collection is cared for by the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, who share it with UWA’s community through exhibitions, campus display, and student learning opportunities.
History
The UWA Art Collection has been built through the generosity of its many donors, starting with the University’s first Chancellor, Sir John Winthrop Hackett. The Hackett Bequest enabled Professor Walter Murdoch, the foundation Professor of English, to purchase the first artworks for the University while travelling in Europe in 1927. In 1949 the University began collecting in earnest after Margaretta Moody donated 65 artworks in memory of her sons, who had been killed in World War II. Her donation included paintings by Clarice Beckett, George Coates and Walter Withers . In the same year, Captain David Bunny donated a major painting, Au bord de la mer (1898), by his uncle, Rupert Bunny, depicting a statuesque nude woman, possibly Psyche or Venus from Greek mythology, at the edge of a tranquil lake surrounded by nymph-like figures.
Samuel Furphy, the son of author Joseph Furphy (who wrote under the pseudonym Tom Collins), donated £500 in honour of his father, creating the Tom Collins Memorial Fund. Murdoch’s successor, Professor of English Allan Edwards, advocated for the fund to be used for the acquisition of contemporary paintings, leading to the purchase of twelve works by Sidney Nolan in 1953. Despite wide condemnation and criticism of the paintings at the time, they are now recognised as important examples of Australian modernism and have been loaned to numerous national and international exhibitions.
Further donations from Furphy enabled the acquisition of works by Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd, Guy Grey-Smith, John Perceval, Fred Williams and others, the first significant examples by these artists an Australian university art collection, and some of the first in any Western Australian collection. In the 1950s, these artists were young, at the forefront of Australian art, and their work was challenging to general audiences, but it gradually became evident that the University was building a vibrant and significant collection through perceptive purchases.
Erica McGilchrist, Hero resting on his laurels, 1962, oil and mixed media on paper on board, 90.2 x 130 cm , The University of Western Australia Art Collection, Tom Collins Bequest Fund, 1964
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Early exhibition in the Undercroft Gallery, c. 1974
Rose and Joe Skinner, who founded Skinner Galleries (1958-1974), gave much of their extensive collection to the University in the 1970s and 1980s. They had shown many of the artists represented in the Tom Collins group, and their gift brought depth to the post-war holdings of the Collection with the addition of 70 artworks by Blackman, Boyd, Ray Crooke, Ian Fairweather, Leonard French, Samuel Fullbrook, George Haynes, Nolan, Passmore, Williams and others. It has been one of the most important and valuable donations of artworks ever made to the Collection.
The Collection grew eight-fold from 235 works at the end of 1969 to 1,900 artworks at the end of 1989 and was exhibited around campus and in the undercroft of Winthrop Hall, which was converted into Undercroft Gallery (1973-1990). In 1983 UWA graduate Albert Maller offered the University a major donation for a project in memory of his wife, Ruby Rose Maller and it was agreed to be used for the development of a dedicated gallery building, which would become the first purpose-built university art museum in Australia. The Friends of the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery formed in 1984 and assisted in raising funds for the new building while making further donations to the Collection. The Lawrence Wilson Foundation generously gave the building campaign a one-million-dollar donation with additional support from the Robert Holmes à Court Foundation and the Westpac Banking Corporation. Lawrence Wilson was the principal donor and after whom the gallery is named, Wilson attended UWA and was keen to support a major project at the University. Designed by Western Australian architect, Gus Ferguson, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery opened in July 1990 with a survey from the UWA Art Collection.
Since the opening of Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, the University has continued to acquire artworks, both by donation and purchase by modern and contemporary Australian artists such as Brenda L Croft, Simryn Gill, Carol Rudyard, Imants Tillers and Howard Taylor. The strength of the Collection is Australian and Western Australian art from the 1950s to the present day. The Collection currently houses over 3,200 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, installations and video artworks.
Since the opening of Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, the University has continued to acquire artworks, both by donation and purchase by modern and contemporary Australian artists such as Brenda L Croft, Simryn Gill, Carol Rudyard, Imants Tillers and Howard Taylor. The strength of the Collection is Australian and Western Australian art from the 1950s to the present day. The Collection currently houses over 3,200 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, installations and video artworks.
Opening exhibitions in the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, July 1990, including Send more paint!: Australian art during the Second World War (touring exhibition of the Australian War Memorial) and Highlights of the Permanent Collection. (With UWA Art Collection works visible by Dick Watkins, Sidney Nolan, Howard Taylor, Lindsay Carter, Isaac Walter Jenner, J J Hilder, George Pitt Morison, Rene Collot D’Herbois, J W R Linton and Jean Appleton.) photo by John Austin.
Donation of Artworks
Some of the greatest artworks in The University of Western Australia Art Collection have been donated by generous individuals.
If you are considering donating an artwork, please send an image of the work, together with the name of the artist, the title of the work, its date, medium, dimensions and provenance to [email protected]
The curatorial team will then consider the proposed gift to ensure it aligns with our Collections Policy and any subsequent recommendation must be endorsed by Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery’s Operations Committee and approved by its Advisory Board.
Artworks can also be donated under the Cultural Gifts Program, which entitles the donor to a tax deduction for the market value of the gift as determined by the approved valuers for the Cultural Gifts Program. Such donations must be endorsed by Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery’s Operations Committee and approved by its Advisory Board.
For further information, see the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program
Please note we are unable to authenticate or value artworks.
Bequests
If you are considering leaving an artwork or a financial donation in your will, we encourage you to contact [email protected] for a confidential discussion to ensure that your wishes can be enacted. Gifts of works of art will be assessed in line with the University’s Collections Policy to ensure the artwork fits within the appropriate areas of collection.
For further information, see bequests.
Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property and Copyright
The Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery is committed to respecting the artistic and intellectual property rights of others.
This website comprises and contains materials and works which are protected by copyright and other proprietary rights. These rights may be held by individuals or entities other than, or in addition to, the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery. The Gallery respects and acknowledges Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property, and acknowledges the University's Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property Protocol.
The Gallery has taken all reasonable efforts to ensure that the communication of the content on this website (including images, text and audio) is done with the full consent of the copyright owners or their agents. Where known, all works of art displayed on this site are accurately described and attributed with the creator's name. If there is any inaccuracy, please contact the Gallery at [email protected]
The Gallery retains all rights, including copyright, in data, images, software, documentation, text, and other information contained in this website. You are welcome to send questions or requests for publication of the Gallery's works to [email protected]
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These terms and conditions are bound by the laws of Western Australia.