Discover one of the great art collections in the country
Visitors to the New England Regional Art Museum in Armidale will be able to discover one of the great art collections in the country when over 100 works from The Howard Hinton Collection are put on permanent display in February.
The new exhibition HINTON: Treasures of Australian art will be officially opened by Mr Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Trustee of the Margaret Olley Art Trust and former Director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales on the evening of Friday 16 February 2018 at NERAM.
HINTON: Treasures of Australian art will include iconic works by well known Australian artists such as Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Margaret Preston, Elioth Gruner, Julian Ashton and Norman Lindsay presented in a large-scale salon hang with that illustrates the work and lives of the artists and that of the donor Howard Hinton OBE (1867-1948).
“The story of the Howard Hinton Collection is one of the greatest acts of philanthropy in Australian art history,” said Robert Heather, Art Museum Director. “Between 1929 and his death in 1948 the retired shipping company director Howard Hinton bought and donated over 1000 artworks to the newly built Armidale Teachers’ College while he lived in a rooming house in the North Sydney suburb of Cremorne.”
“While the Armidale Teachers’ College was in operation these great artworks were hung on the walls of lecture theatres, offices, libraries and hallways throughout the building, often providing the first ever experience of the visuals arts to generations of young students from throughout rural and regional New South Wales.
“Howard’s great legacy is one of the most significant art collections in the country, which is now housed at the New England Regional Art Museum and it is our aim to tell the story of his great generosity as well put these magnificent artworks on permanent display for our visitors.”
The refurbishment of NERAM’s East Gallery space to display these artworks was made possible through the generosity of donors across the New England district who gave over $65,000 towards NERAM’s Building Improvement Fund as well as a donation of $25,000 from the Margaret Olley Art Trust and $6,000 from the Friends of NERAM.
“The gallery spaces required updating and modernising to present the number of works in this exhibition and was made possible by our generous local donors who got behind the project as well as the philanthropic support of the Margaret Olley Art Trust,” said Mr Heather. “The works included recladding the walls, removing natural light from the space and new security and lighting.”
“Over the past thirty years NERAM has curated large and small exhibitions from The Howard Hinton Collection as a core element in its program, however there is always a demand to see more of these works on display,” he said. “The planned permanent display of a dense salon-style hang of over 100 key works as well as an audio-visual about Howard Hinton, his life and times will help us to meet this demand and provide a memorable artistic experience for our visitors.”
“Our aim is to create an iconic destination exhibition here that will attract visitors from around Australia interested in the arts, history and culture and provide them with an opportunity to discover the leafy university city of Armidale and its other attractions.”
The exhibition will open to the public and be on permanent display in the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) in Armidale from 10.00am on the morning of Saturday 17 February 2018.
To find out more about opening hours and public programs visit the NERAM website or Facebook page.
HINTON Factsheet 1 – About the Howard Hinton Collection
HINTON Factsheet 2 About exhibition
Image:
Tom Roberts (1865-1931)
Mosman’s Bay 1894
oil on canvas
Gift of Howard Hinton 1933
The Howard Hinton Collection
New England Regional Art Museum
