Newcastle Art Gallery — Attraction in Newcastle-Maitland

Nationally recognised as one of the finest public collections in Australia, Newcastle Art Gallery holds over 6,400 works of art and the quality and breadth of its collection makes it a significant cultural asset for the city.

In 1945, Dr Roland Pope, an ophthalmic surgeon from Sydney, promised the bequest of his art collection of some 123 works of art to Newcastle, conditional upon the construction of an art gallery to house them. Pope's bold promise was fuelled by a passionate belief that a steel city could have the best art gallery in the country. His collection was held in storage for 12 years awaiting the Gallery's opening, which came in 1957, when 'Newcastle City Art Gallery', as it was then known, opened on the second floor of the War Memorial Cultural Centre, adjacent to the gallery's current home.

Led by director Andrew Ferguson, a purpose built Gallery was constructed in the mid-1970s and officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Friday 11 March 1977. Proudly, Newcastle Art Gallery is Australia's first purpose built regional Gallery. Applauded as a model for medium-sized galleries, it has an innovative floor plan and hanging system. Further, the building is also an important example of early 1970s architecture with its geometric forms and brutalist aesthetic. Newcastle City Council's architect Brian Pile was the innovate designer of the present-day brutalist building.

The collection reflects the history of Newcastle as the eighth largest city in Australia. Established in 1804 as a penal settlement, and the earliest works in the Gallery's collection are by convict artists. Joseph Lycett's paintings of early Newcastle, or Coal River as it was known in the early nineteenth century, give central prominence to Nobbys headland, the quintessential feature of Newcastle harbour. Lycett's early views of Newcastle also document the Indigenous inhabitants of the region, namely the Awabakal and Worimi people, whose lands spread north of the Hunter River and south to encompass Lake Macquarie. You can find more information about the collection in the Collection pages.

Newcastle is now the largest coal exporting port in the world; a proud working class city with a rich colonial, maritime and industrial history. The presence of industry and the mandate to meet the cultural needs of a working class city resulted in substantial donations including the Nagano Japanese ceramics collection, which derives its name from Shigeo Nagano - former chairman of Nippon Steel. This collection paved the way for subsequent donations of Japanese ceramics including a landmark gift of the avant-garde Sodeisha collection.

In the early years, the Gallery’s first director, Gil Docking, procured the donation of key works including William Dobell’s Portrait of a strapper 1941, described by the artist as one of his finest portraits. Another former director David Thomas, procured the works of early Modernists including Grace Cossington Smith, Margaret Preston, Roland Wakelin and Jack Noel Kilgour among others, and his scholarship on Rupert Bunny resulted in exceptional purchases and donations.

The establishment of von Bertouch Galleries in 1963 (the city’s first commercial gallery) greatly enhanced the cultural life of Newcastle. Anne von Bertouch introduced many significant artists to Novocastrian audiences. Her stable included Arthur Boyd, David Boyd, Lloyd Rees, Judy Cassab, Margaret Olley, Donald Friend and John Coburn. Her quest to make Newcastle the 'art capital of Australia' was furthered in 2003 when she bequeathed her own private collection...

They had a Nolan on display - but not the one with square helmets on Australian heroes; a Whiteley, laughing raucously at the establishment, but not in the way that that curly haired fellow usually did; a Rupert Bunny, painting roses in that turn of the 'last' century fashion; an Olley still life as you might expect - this was the exhibition Floriana - proof that any artist (with the exception of our Margaret) needs to master flowers and plants before they paint the good stuff. Newcastle art gallery is a promising art space with the look and feel of a public gallery - sadly it's a little on the small side but the space gets bigger as you figure out more about the art. The upstairs was filled with strange sculptures that appeared to spend too long getting in their own way with their perceptions of importance. Worth a visit for the Olsen on the ceiling. Friendly staff, well stocked gift shop. Free public wi-fi,...

I have been visiting the art gallery for the last 40 years. Taking all of my adult children there for a cultural experience. If Newcastle wants to encourage more tourists to the area. We need a larger art gallery complete with coffee shop and hands on art for the children. Art shouldn't only be about standing and looking. It should be about the senses. Newcastle has a lot to offer. Perhaps some of our local artists could hold classes. People would love to see how...