The Art World Came to Us: Macquarie Galleries is a new exhibition at regional gallery, Ngununggula. We tend to think of our public art galleries and independent art spaces as the makers of art history, often forgetting the role of the commercial gallery. But it is here where artists launch the new bodies of work that often find their way into these institutions.
It is commercial galleries that provide artists with an income, allowing them to continue their practice, and in turn make the important leaps that have shaped the trajectory of contemporary art in Australia.
Macquarie Galleries in Sydney, which opened in 1925, was one such space. Over its history, it moved through the custodianship of eight directors – five of them were women.
The Art World Came to Us maps out that history through the lens of three of those women. It focuses on a 25-year period between 1938 and 1963, when Treania Smith, Lucy Swanton and Mary Turner were the Directors.
Testament to their vision in that role is walking around the gallery spaces and seeing the ‘Rolodex’ of the who’s who of Australian art history hanging on the walls. The thing to remember is that, at the time, these artists were largely unknown, or early in their careers.
The three women not only had an eye for exceptional talent – taking a punt on new artists – but they did so during a time of incredible change. As curator Megan Monte tells ArtsHub, “[These were] women at the helm of Australian art who carved out a new way of working and representing artists during a time of significant global and social change.”
They gave Jeffrey Smart and Margaret Olley their first shows, ushered in Abstract Expressionism in Australia and delivered the first exhibition of Russell Drysdale’s paintings, which redefined perspectives of the Australian landscape.
They were also a safe haven for artists overlooked by the institutions, like Grace Cossington Smith and Ian Fairweather, offering them support through exhibitions, art materials and even food parcels.
As the gallery explains, “These women were educated, cosmopolitan, competent women who managed dozens of artists and staged dozens of exhibitions annually.”
The exhibition has been in the planning since 2020, and is the work of two more young female arts professionals – the aforementioned Monte and Milena Stojanovska – who have worked tirelessly to secure over 100 loans secured from eight public institutions (no less!) and numerous private collections.
Hung chronologically, room-by-room, decade-by-decade, the exhibition is exhaustive. Over its short three-year existence, Ngununggula has formed a reputation for punching above its weight. This exhibition is another example of that, and fittingly falls on the gallery’s third anniversary. It is another connection with Macquarie Galleries, which worked tirelessly to make the gallery system less elitist.
And the exhibition
As a hang, The Art World Came to Us is tight – there is a lot of history in these rooms – but it is an incredible journey through contemporary art, and a great learning opportunity for regional audiences to see this trajectory of history in its making.
While the works are arguably not all the ‘best’ representations of these artists, per se, they offer a narrative of a chapter in time – and that has to be remembered when viewed with a critical eye.
Scanning back over these past works what stands out is their scale – making big is clearly a recent contemporary fascination. This may have been an economic choice, or that these works were more domestically scaled, and also reflected how they were moved around in the day. But they were not lacking in ambition. Quite the contrary, the level of experimentation in just the short two decades on display is mind-blowing.
These artists were at the vanguard – and what we take away from this exhibition is a renewed belief in creative energy, in community and in bold experimentation to find one’s own mark as an artist. And, in turn, the celebration of those who supported that vision.
Read: Exhibition review: Tarryn Gill: Soft, Gallery Sally Dan Cuthbert
The commercial gallery business is a tough business, and Macquarie Galleries has sustained it for eight decades. Viewing this exhibition we can’t help but feel a little grateful for that dedication – from both the directors of yesteryear, and those today still championing their female colleagues.
The Art World Came to Us: Macquarie Galleries 1938 – 1963
14 September – 17 November 2024
Ngununggula Regional Gallery in the Southern Highlands, Bowral
Free
More on the history of Macquarie Galleries
Basil Burdett and John Young founded the gallery in 1925, and John Aeneas McDonnell was another partner (1929-36). Treania Smith exhibited her first solo exhibition in 1934, and shortly after, she became the assistant to John Young. In 1938, Smith and Lucy Swanton formed a partnership and acquired Macquarie Galleries which continued until 1956. Thereafter, Smith co-directed Macquarie Galleries with Mary Killen (later Turner) (1956-76), Penelope Meagher (1966-72) and Eileen Chanin (1976-79). In 1979, Smith retired, and Eileen Chanin continued as solo Director of the Galleries. Although the premises in Rushcutters Bay closed in 1993, the Macquarie Galleries continues to operate under Chanin.
