Works from the Permanent Collection
The Vicky Fayle: Permanent Collection Gallery
Our permanent collection is undergoing conservation and assessment due to the impacts of the recent flood. We will keep you updated with the progress.
The selected portraits demonstrate the reach in the permanent collection of Lismore Regional Gallery, with early portraits to more recent ones. Old Morris by Edward Watson is the first portrait acquired by the gallery, it entered the collection as the winner of the Lismore Art Prize in 1954. More recently the gallery’s portrait prizes including Lismore Living Treasure (1999-2003), Northern Rivers (2010-13), and Hurford Hardwood (2015-present), combined with the general fascination many artists have with the human face, have extended this strength in the collection. These works showcase diverse approaches to portraiture and are connected by the capacity of portraits to say something about the sitter, which exists beneath the surface.
The beginning of Lismore Regional Gallery’s collection followed a similar pattern to that of many regional galleries in Australia. In 1953, a group of residents, with an interest in the arts, banded together forming an Art Trust. The group was led by former Mayor Ray Granger, and leading businessmen such as a local radiologist Dr. William Pook who aimed to create a gallery and collection that would be representative of Australian art. In 1954, Lismore City Council granted the trust the use of the Trench building at 131 Molesworth Street, where the gallery was located prior to 2017, and the collection grown immensely since.
From these early beginnings the collection holds over 1,200 works, acquired primarily through kind donations by individuals. Time is also something many people have given, including Friends of the Gallery and other volunteers. The Vicki Fayle Gallery is named after Vicki Fayle who sadly passed away in 2013. A generous and dedicated individual, Vicki donated countless hours cataloguing the collection. This exhibition of portraits has been brought together by Jacquie Connolly, Collection and Exhibitions Volunteer.
The Hannah Cabinet
In 2020, the gallery acquired its first destination piece which is now on permanent display, The Hannah Cabinet by Geoffrey Hannah OAM. The exterior of this magnificent piece is a sight to behold, but it is another thing to be taken on a journey through its many doors and drawers, and to hear the stories of the timbers, stones and marquetry.
The film on display hints at what is inside, but if you would like to see more, we invite you to attend one of the presentations by Geoffrey Hannah or his students.
These presentations regularly take place at 11am every Wednesday, and 11am on the fourth Sunday of the month. Bookings are essential.
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