The state of Victoria's art

By JENNIFER GRIMWADE

Most of Victoria's fine art galleries showcase local talent and house reputable collections of Australian art.

Built on the wealth of the goldrush, the galleries in Ballarat and Bendigo are substantial, and both have had grand facelifts.

Dating back to 1884, the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery is the oldest regional gallery in Australia. And thanks to the recent major extension, it is now Australia's biggest regional gallery. What's more, the Ballarat Gallery rivals many state collections of early and contemporary Australian paintings.

The rejigged gallery is designed so visitors can appreciate the development of Australian art housed in architecture corresponding to the period of the works. A tour of the gallery starts with European and early colonial paintings, including Eugen Von Guerard's oil painting of the Ballarat Goldfields 1884.

Many Ballarat couples choose to marry alongside the gallery's Heidelberg works, especially A Love Story, a 1903 oil by E. Phillips Fox depicting a lady in lace, lounging in a hammock, reading a book.

Thanks to the renovations, many works from the 1930s and 40s have been brought out of storage, including Josl Bergner's City Lane.

But the most impressive addition to the Ballarat Gallery is the contemporary wing linking the original gallery to the heritage site in Camp St. And Peter Corlett's sculpture, Sue, of a nude woman, in the window overlooking Muir St, has the residents gossiping.

The expansive contemporary space is large enough for the gallery to hang its outstanding modern works by highly regarded artists such as Hickey, Possum, Arkley and Larwill.

The impressive new Ian Potter Foundation Gallery is designed for travelling, contemporary exhibitions. Since opening, it has shown David Larwill's major exhibition, Stuff That Matters. Considering Larwill's recent meteoric rise in the art world, this is a real coup for any regional gallery.

In the late 1800s, the Ballarat Gallery had an art school and studios. Today it is again part of an emerging arts precinct, including the adjacent Visual Arts School and the Performing Arts School.

Ballarat's most famous exhibit is the Eureka flag. It has a commanding presence in the purpose-built Eureka gallery, especially designed as a contemplative place to reflect on the significance of Australia's only civil uprising.

The history of the goldrush is portrayed at the recently renovated Bendigo Art Gallery too. Highlighting various artists of the goldfields, the gallery has temporary exhibitions of its sizeable and unique collection of works from the 19th century.

Although primarily Australian, Bendigo also has the interesting Dr J.A. Neptune Scott bequest of French paintings including Theodore Rousseau and Alfred Sisley.

Dating back to 1890, the Bendigo Art Gallery features the decorative arts. Its best-known exhibit is an exquisite Meissen vase encrusted with ornate flowers, fruits and figures. This grand German porcelain piece was a gift from Czar Alexander III to the great botanist Baron Ferdinand von Mueller.

Bendigo is home to Arthur Boyd's marvellous enamel painting of Leda and the Swan on the front of a Kelvinator refrigerator. Other memorable works are Jeffrey Smart's oil on canvas, the Calabrian Service Station, c 1979, and Emily Kngwarreye's Kame Colour 11, 1995.

Like Ballarat, Bendigo has just undergone considerable renovations. Opened in 2001, the Sydney Myer Work on Paper Gallery is a fitting addition, considering the first Myer store was in Bendigo.

The brand new Sculpture Gallery is highly commended as it literally opens the gallery to the general public. At the back of the gallery sitting in Rosalind Park everyone can enjoy looking at the five graceful marble sculptures displayed behind a wall of glass.

Adjacent to the sculpture gallery and opening onto an attractive terrace is a cafe, so now the back of the gallery is as appealing as the recently restored front of the gallery.

The setting of the Benalla Art Gallery is equally enchanting, even though this gallery did not open until 1975. A modern building, it overlooks the Broken River, an appropriate setting for its numerous paintings of flowers, gardens, and women and children.

On a much smaller scale than Bendigo and Ballarat, Benalla is highly regarded in the art world and renowned for the Ledger collection, which like the gallery's classics, contains numerous Australian female painters.

The earliest woman represented in the Ledger collection is Adelaide Ironside, the first Australian-trained expatriate artist. Other well-known Australian female artists on show here include Margaret Preston, Grace Cossington Smith and Joy Hester.

Benalla is Kelly country and it is apt the Benalla Art Gallery has the costume designs for the Elizabethan Theatre Trust's 1956 production of Ned Kelly.

On the other side of the state, in the heart of some of the best merino-producing country, the Ararat Gallery focuses on contemporary fibre and textiles. And like all the other regional galleries, this small space nurtures local talent such as Anne Molony.

Finally, way out west but not to be missed, is the extremely well-directed Horsham Regional Art Gallery housed in the former art deco municipal offices. Opened in 1983, Horsham specialises in photography and has more than 800 images from the 20th century.

Horsham is home to one of the best collections in the state, that of Mack Jost, a Horsham son and an internationally acclaimed concert pianist. Obviously his eye for art was as talented as his ear for music.

The gallery has produced a book on these paintings, and it alone is worth the long trip to Horsham. Looking at the large colour prints, you learn many of the artists represented are Victorians, painting local scenes, which are often as pretty as a picture, just like Victoria's regional galleries.

* Other galleries worth visiting are in Mildura, Mornington, Geelong, Hamilton and Castlemaine.

Tourism Victoria

Visit Victoria

Case notes

When to go

During the summer months (December-February) the average temperature is 35C. In winter (May-August) the temperature is nearer 13C.

Getting there

There are many hotel and flight deals, starting from around $900 a person for three nights. For the independent traveller, return flights from Auckland start from $700 plus taxes - but cheaper deals may be available.

Getting around

Metropolitan Melbourne has an efficient network of trains, trams and buses and just one ticket allows you to travel on all three services. Tickets can be bought from vending machines at train stations and on any tram or bus. Hire cars are plentiful.

Things to do and see

Apart from museums, art and culture, consider a tour of some of Victoria's 200 wineries at 20 wine regions across the state. Victoria's claim to originality is the high country - snow-capped peaks which provide plenty of opportunity for skiing.