The Ballarat Fine Art Gallery - Lydiard Street, Ballarat

            The Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, located at 40 to 48 Lydiard Street, has been associated with the history of Ballarat since the town's formal inception in 1852. The gallery was constructed in 1890 on land that was originally part of the Government Camp, Ballarat's official centre of government administration during the Gold Rush days of the 1850s. It was from this larger site that troops were mustered on 2 December 1854 prior to their march on Bakery Hill to quell the Eureka Rebellion. The most significant symbol of that rebellion, the original Eureka Flag, today hangs in the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, a bequest from the family of Trooper John King in 1895. The flag, like other sites and artefacts associated with the Eureka Stockade, serves as a prominent and tangible link to one of the most celebrated and significant moments in Australia's history. 

The gallery is historically significant in its own right, as the first public art gallery to be constructed in an Australian provincial city, which is indicative of Ballarat's status as a town of great wealth and prosperity in the late Nineteenth Century. As such it is also the oldest continuously used provincial art gallery in Australia.  The idea for a public gallery in Ballarat was inspired by an exhibition of art works in Ballarat City Hall in 1884. This was followed by an allocation of two thousand pounds in 1886 for the acquisition of art and construction of the building. The notion of a fine art gallery for Ballarat was championed by James Oddie (1824 - 1911), one of Ballarat's wealthiest and most influential residents, and inaugural Chairman of the Ballarat Municipal Council (1856 - 1858). 

The Ballarat Fine Art Gallery is a substantial two storey building constructed between 1887 and 1890 in the Free Classical Style. The design for the gallery was completed by local architects Tappin, Gilbert and Dennehy.  The first stage of the building was officially opened by Alfred Deakin on 3 June 1890.  Externally, it displays a flamboyant and artistic character, symbolic of both its function as a gallery and the prosperous era in which it was constructed.  Engaged Corinthian columns on the upper level create a facade of three bays. Within each of these bays the original fenestration has been infilled. The roof is decorated with a balustrated parapet and triangular pediment, below which are the words "FINE ART GALLERY" in gilt lettering. The lower floor features rusticated pilasters, which echo the Corinthian columns of the upper. 

One of the most significant features of the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery is its collections. It contains one of the most valued collections of heritage and art objects in Australia. One of the most treasured of these is the original Eureka Flag which, although weathered and worn, stands testament to the ideals and actions of the diggers in the Eureka Rebellion. It stands as a source of intrigue, inspiration and education to all who are drawn to visit the gallery to see it. In addition to the flag, the gallery contains many fine artworks by some of the most prominent painters in Australia's history. Its exhibition spaces are graced with works by artists such as John Glover (1767 - 1849), Eugene von Guerard (1811 - 1901), Thomas Flintoff (1809 - 1891), Charles Conder (1868 - 1901), Frederick McCubbin (1855 - 1917), Tom Roberts (1856 - 1931) and Arthur Streeton (1867 - 1943).

Taken in: Australia / Victoria / Ballarat / Bakery Hill (show map)

Taken on: April 8, 2012

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Ballarat Fine Art Gallery

Ballarat Art Gallery

gallery

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James Oddie

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Ballarat

Victoria

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Lydiard Street

Lydiard St

Free Classical

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Nineteenth Century

19th Century

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Tappin Gilbert and Dennehy

Tappin Gilbert & Dennehy

Alfred Deakin

Corinthian column

Corinthian pillar

cast iron

cast iron lacework

lacework

fretwork

pagoda

fenestration

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portico

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balustrade

parapet

balustrated parapet

triangular pediment

pediment

Victorian

Victoriana

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double storey

moulding

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/3.5, 1/320 sec, 9.7mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/320)
Focal Length:	9.7mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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