A stunning array of Modernist paintings, many never before shown in Australia, is coming to northern Victoria this winter – including a work by Salvador Dali that prior to this was hung on a bathroom wall.
Starting in May, Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) will host Facing Modernity: Degas to Picasso from Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.
and Josie Robertson through the Auckland Art
Gallery Foundation, 2023
Fifteen of the works were a philanthropic gift from New York-based collectors Julian Robertson (1932-2022) and Josie Robertson (1943-2010) to Auckland Art Gallery in 2023.
Prior to their donation, they were part of the Robertsons’ private collection at their home in New York.
Auckland Art Gallery’s senior curator Dr Sophie Matthiesson says the Robertsons adored New Zealand and had a lot of precious family memories of the place.
“They had very romantic memories of New Zealand, a lot to do with family, but they had bought up bits of land all over and created golf courses, vineyards, all sorts of things, and then they were spending a lot of their money on very quiet philanthropy… and funding rewilding programs.”
Over the course of their marriage, the Robertsons amassed an incredible collection of art, buying mainly based on what they liked.
“Everything they had went onto their walls. At Shepparton they’re going to use some of the beautiful photographs of the home with the Légers and Picassos and things hanging everywhere, sculptures all among the comfortable Manhattan Upper East Side apartment that overlooked Central Park.”
The couple were aware they could have donated their collection to the Metropolitan or MOMA but both already had strong holdings of 20th century modernist work.
A stunning bronze sculpture by Degas will be on show, as well as superb paintings by a who’s who of 20th-century masters. The Dali, for example, she says, is a prime example of his skill. “There’s nothing slapdash about it. This is one of the furphies about Dali, that he was some sort of buffoon and glib or shallow. But this sort of painting completely reverses that perception.”
and Josie Robertson through the Auckland Art
Gallery Foundation, 2023
Other high-profile names featured include Pierre Bonnard, Auguste Rodin, Georges Braque, André Derain, Paul Gauguin, Barbara Hepworth, Fernand Léger and Henri Matisse.
It’s an opportune time for SAM to host the show, given two of our major regional galleries are closed for redevelopment. Bendigo Art Gallery is spending $45 million and is set to open its doors in early 2028, while Ballarat will reopen in late 2026.
SAM had its own six-year $50 million redevelopment, reopening in 2021, which has enabled it to host such a significant exhibition.
Matthiesson says we’re witnessing a renaissance in regional Victoria, which she describes as “the future proofing of these institutions, the modernising of them, so that they’ll be there for 100 years”.
Facing Modernity: Degas to Picasso from Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is at Shepparton Art Museum from May 23–September 20.
The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.
