The National Gallery Victoria holds the distinction of being the oldest public art museum in Australia. Founded in 1861, the Gallery has a long history and currently has a collection of more than 76,000 works of art from all the four corners of the globe.
National Gallery Victoria: International and Ian Potter Centre
The National Gallery Victoria, or NGV as it is affectionately called, occupies two buildings. The NGV International is along St Kilda Road, just a short distance away from Flinders Street train station, and The Ian Potter Centre is even closer, along Flinders Street at Federation Square.
The NGV International features arts from around the world while the NGV at the Ian Potter Centre focuses on Australia art in its various forms like paintings, sculpture, photography, drawings and prints.
What to See the National Gallery Victoria
NGV International
The NGV International building has as much character as the collection it holds. From the exterior, it looks like a fortress surrounded by a moat. The building was built in 1968 and reworked in the 2000s.
One of its most striking features is the waterwall that faces out to St Kilda Road. This was relocated to its present day position in the recent renovations. Both the waterwall and the moat make use of rainwater that is collected on the roof of the building. The rainwater is fed into underground water tanks and pumped through a treatment plant into the moat.
The waterwall has its own separate water holding tank and treatment plant where the water is treated before being pumped up to the top of the glass where it falls down and back into the holding tank.
As the home of the NGV’s international collection, it has a lot of time and eras to cover.
The Ground Level of the NGV International has two galleries that can house changing exhibitions. There is also a cafe as well as a design store. Go through the central Federation Court and you will arrive at the Great Hall with a its grand stained glass ceiling.
One end of the First Level houses the Asian Collection with art from China, India, Korea, Japan and South east Asia. The other end of the First Floor covers art from Britain and Europe from the 13th to the 17th Century.
There is also a Tea Room serving scones on the First Floor.
The Second Level of the National Gallery Victoria continues with art from Britain and Europe from the 16th to 18th Centuries. It also houses the display of the NGB’s International Collection from the 19th and 20th centuries. Amongst the artists whose works are on display are Picasso, Pissaro and Monet, as well as names like John William Waterhouse and Turner.
One room that is not to be missed is the Salon. Painted red, it is set up to display countless paintings hung from wall to ceiling. These include the much loved work “Anguish”.
The Third Level is where a small Contemporary Collection can be found.
Watch a walkthrough of the National Gallery Victoria below:
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
At the Ian Potter Centre, the Ground Level provides a space for changing exhibitions, along with an NGV Cafe and Design Store.
Past a Mezzanine Floor, Level 2 holds the art museum’s permanent Australian Art collection. This stretches from the 19th Century to the 21 Century.
Level 3 has a gallery that hosts changing exhibitions throughout the year.
How Much Does it Cost to Enter into the National Gallery Victoria?
Entry to the general galleries at both the National Gallery Victoria International and the National Gallery Victoria Australia is free. However, specific admission charges may apply for the temporary exhibitions.
Learning Resources at the NGV
The National Gallery Victoria also provides a wide range of learning resources for kids, teens as well as teachers and students. There are also online course that focus on art history and the linkages of contemporary issues with art.
More about these learning resources can be found here.
What’s On at the NGV
The best way to find out the latest information on temporary exhibitions currently taking place at both the NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is to go on to the NGV website here.
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