“UNE has around 1200 artworks, just over half of which are on display at any given time at various locations around the University. Some of these artworks are too fragile or light sensitive for long-term display. However, they are works of value and significance in artistic, creative, and historical terms. These are our “hidden” or “unseen” gems. They contribute their own chapter in the story of UNE.
The connection between art and education was always present in higher education in Armidale. It was recognised that students in the bush did not have access to the same cultural facilities as the city universities. As a regional education centre, there were philanthropists happy to donate art to the Teacher’s College, New England University College and UNE.
Robert Madgwick, back when he was warden of New England University College, and before he was a Sir, believed that education was more than knowledge and that an appreciation for beauty and art helped develop what he described as “a greater sense of responsibility towards those things which really matter.
This was why he was delighted to receive a collection of works from James McGregor in 1948. Interestingly, the main stumbling block in this post-war time, was being able to obtain sufficient petrol rations for the delivery truck to make the return trip from Sydney to Armidale.
You will see the name James MacGregor a number of times as you walk through this exhibition. He was a wool merchant who moved to Sydney in the early 1900s. He was also an art collector and a trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales for over twenty years. He was an acquaintance of Howard Hinton and the story goes that McGregor originally meant to donate to the Teachers College but Hinton advised that institution already had a benefactor so he would be best to look elsewhere. Fortunately, he looked to the NEUC.
And that is why we now have the works by Nora Heysen, Arthur Streeton, Hilda Fearon and Norman Lindsay. And let’s not forget the work by Thea Proctor, that great Australian modernist painter and printmaker (who was born in Armidale). Her Le Coq d’Or - is a stunning work on silk that is a celebration of the Ballet Russe, a blend of colour, light, stage, and dramatic tension.
Philanthropy is the cornerstone, the lifeblood, of this collection. Mary and Elsie White of Saumarez, Raymond Beazley, Chandler Coventry were all donors. But artists have donated works as well.
Hans Heysen donated his Red Gum sketch to the Armidale Teachers College, because as he wrote to the Principal, Mr Newling in 1936, “I am quite in sympathy with your object, and think the idea of placing good paintings…in the schools an excellent one, to inculcate a love for good painting. I would like to contribute … one fairly large black and white charcoal drawing - framed”. Again, it was the issue of freight, this time cost that had to be overcome.
Colleen Mitchell who is on display on the western wall was a lecturer in Arts Education at UNE in the 1980s, and she donated Show Movement in 1994, because she wanted “to allow teacher trainees a greater exposure to the visual language.”
Stan Rapotec donated his work The Awesome Durham in 1980. Rapotec was a tutor at some of the UNE summer schools that ran throughout the late 60s and early 70s. Students came to Armidale from all over to attend short courses in painting, ceramics, theatre, and music. It was a vibrant time for education at UNE and these artworks are a tangible reminder of this part of UNE’s cultural legacy – one that helped enhance artistic practice in regional areas.
I would like to thank a few people who made this exhibition possible. First and foremost, to Jennifer Taylor, Registrar and Collections Manager at NERAM, who is working part-time in the UNE Art Collection this year. She brought this exhibition to life, curated, collected, and transported it. Belinda and Rachael, for making space for us in the NERAM exhibition schedule this year. Finally, to Michelle Arens who was the UNE Art Curator for many years, whose carefully documented provenance, allowed me to understand the stories and connections that sit behind this wonderful collection.
