Ian Potter Museum of Art

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Potter Museum of Art
Ian potter museum of art.jpg
Ian Potter Museum of Art
Established1972
LocationThe University of Melbourne, Corner Swanston Street and Masson Road, Parkville, Victoria 3010
Type Art museum
Website potter-museum.unimelb.edu.au

The Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia was established to accommodate various art and historical collections of the University. In 1972 as the University Gallery, was renamed the University of Melbourne Museum of Art in 1988, then when it was rehoused in a new building, became the Ian Potter Museum of Art. After a reconstruction it reopened in 2025. It runs an exhibition program of historical and contemporary art [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

The University Gallery was established in 1972 in the Medley Building at the Grattan Street entrance of the University on the fourth floor of the East Tower. [4]

From its early years it housed university portraits of the period 1880-1977 and material from archives and the Grainger Museum, in a collection sourced from commissions, purchases, gifts and bequests of Dr Joseph Brown, Russell Grimwade, Norman Macgeorge, and Harold Clive Disher, and the Norman Lindsay Collection, and Leonard Adam Ethnographical Collections. [5] The first catalogue of permanent holdings was published in 1971. University collections of art that were shown periodically were of Classical Antiquities and Middle Eastern material.

In 1975, the University Gallery moved from the John Medley Building to the Old Physics Building, situated south of the Union Building on Grattan Street following extensive renovation to provide three exhibition galleries, offices, and storage, which was funded in part by external donors and gifts, and designed by architect Daryl Jackson. [5] It was opened in April 1975 by Sir John Rothenstein CBE. Staff in 1975 were curator, Betty Clarke and assistant curator, Maudie Palmer AO. [6] Maureen Gilchrist in The Age while also announcing the recent opening of the gallery at Monash University, and the imminent opening of an extension to the Ewing Gallery, predicted that Melbourne University's would become "become one of the best exhibition galleries in Melbourne." [7]

University of Melbourne Museum of Art

Over 1988, additional gallery space was created in the former Physics Annexe on Swanston Street. At this point the institution became known as the University of Melbourne Museum of Art, with the Swanston Street site housing the Ian Potter Gallery and Art Conservation Centre. Meanwhile the Old Physics galleries continued regular operation. [5]

The Ian Potter Museum of Art

The University of Melbourne's art collection was officially renamed The Ian Potter Museum of Art in July 1998 when the current building opened in 1998, [8] designed by the architect Nonda Katsalidis of Katsalidis Architects. The architect project team included Bill Krotiris, Adrian Amore, Lisette Agius, Donna Brzezinski, Keiran Boyle, Kei Lu Cheong, Luisa Di Gregorio, Holger Frese, Chris Godsell, Robert Kolak, Barbara Moje, Rainer Strunz, Marius Vogl, Jackie Wagner. [9]

The Potter, as it is known locally, [1] presents a curated exhibition program of historical and contemporary art. Through its activities the Potter provides for the acquisition, maintenance, conservation, cataloguing, exhibition, investigation, interpretation and promotion of the extensive art collections of the University of Melbourne.

In 1999, the museum was awarded the Victorian Architecture Medal for project of the year by the Australian Institute of Architects and the Melbourne Prize for architecture, for the contribution of the project to the public life of the city.[ citation needed ]

Hiatus 2018–2025

The museum closed in 2018 for renovations,

2025 reopening

The Potter reopened in 2025 with the 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art exhibition. [10]

Staff and associates

Maudie Palmer AO was among several notable arts administrators, including Naomi Cass, who commenced a professional career at the University Gallery. Palmer worked from 1975 to 1981 as assistant director/curator. [6] Part of her remit was its Grainger collection. [11] During this period, she promoted living artists, and developed curatorial approaches that combined scholarly rigour with public engagement. [12] [13]

Others associated with the Museum are Charlotte Day, Rose Hiscock, Judith Ryan AM, [14] Shanysa McConville, Samantha Comte, Hannah Presley, Alisa Bunbury, Isabella Hone-Saunders, Rebecca Hall, Dr Kyla McFarlane among others.

Selected exhibitions

References

  1. 1 2 "The Ian Potter Museum Of Art". Visit Victoria. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  2. ↑ Ian Potter Museum of Art (1998), Potter, The Museum, ISBN   978-0-7340-1400-9
  3. ↑ Smith, Katherine (5 April 2013). "New Director of Ian Potter Museum of Art". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. 1 2 Gilchrist, Maureen (18 September 1974). "Art". The Age . p. 2.
  5. 1 2 3 Marginson, Ray; Sloggett, Robyn (November 2009). "'High drama and .. comedy' Developing the cultural collections of the University of Melbourne". University of Melbourne Collections, Issue 5, (5): 12–21. ISSN   1835-6028.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  6. 1 2 Germaine, Max (1979). Artists and galleries of Australia and New Zealand. Sydney : New York: Lansdowne Editions. p. 580. ISBN   978-0-86832-019-9.
  7. ↑ Gilchrist, Maureen (19 March 1975). "Art boost in university gallery plan". The Age. p. 2.
  8. ↑ "The Ian Potter Museum of Art, Attraction, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia". Visit Victoria home. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "Street Credentials". architectureau.com.
  10. ↑ Benjamin, Roger (5 June 2025). "The Potter Museum of Art relaunches with the outstanding 65,000 Years, a Short History of Australian Art". The Conversation . Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  11. ↑ Palmer, Maudie (1978). Objects, documents and pictures to reflect upon : selected from the Grainger Museum and the Archives Collections of the University of Melbourne. Melbourne: University Gallery, University of Melbourne. ISBN   9780868390574.
  12. ↑ Palmer, Maudie; Print Council of Australia (1978). Prints and drawings : John Dent, Fraser Fair, Rafael Gurvich, Michel Kemp, Greg Moncrieff, Peter Rosman, John Scurry, Fran van Riemsdyk. Melbourne: University Gallery, University of Melbourne.
  13. ↑ Palmer, Maudie; Leveson, Sandra (1977). Sandra Leveson survey exhibition 1967-77. Melbourne: University of Melbourne University Gallery. OCLC   215112692.
  14. ↑ Langton, Marcia (2025). Langton, Marcia; Ryan, Judith (eds.). 65,000 Years: a Short History of Australian Art (1st ed.). La Vergne: Thames & Hudson Australia Pty, Limited. ISBN   978-1-76076-516-3.
  15. ↑ Gilchrist, Maureen (12 June 1974). "Art". The Age . p. 2.
  16. ↑ Gilchrist, Maureen (10 July 1974). "Art: Realism, both old and new". The Age. p. 2.
  17. ↑ "Advertisement 'Arts Victoria 75'". The Age . p. 21.
  18. ↑ "Advertising". The Age . 19 June 1976. p. 17.

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