AGWA Historical
AGWA's Historical works are currently off display. You can view an online tour of the most recent display.
Norma McDonald Spirit drawn 2008. Oil on Belgian linen,80.0 x 120.0 cm. The State Art Collection, The Art Gallery of Western Australia. Purchased through the Sir Claude Hotchin Art Foundation, The Art Gallery of Western Australia Foundation, 2008. © Norma MacDonald, 2008.
Your State Art Collection
The State Art Collection is Western Australia’s greatest visual art asset. Since the first work of art was purchased in 1895, the AGWA Collection has grown into the finest public art collection in Western Australia of more than 18,000 works. One of the Collection's key strengths is its holdings of works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and its representation of Western Australian art and artists. Twentieth-century Australian and British paintings and sculpture are also a particular strength. Each year, the Collection grows by 150-400 works, largely through the generous support of AGWA’s Foundation Members and private donations.
Like many art museums worldwide, we can only display a fraction of Gallery holdings at any time. You can view the State Art Collection online. With the generous support of an anonymous donor kickstarting the project, we have recently undertaken the ambitious task of digitising the entire Collection. This is an ongoing digitisation project with new images added regularly. Our aim is to make it accessible to all – Western Australians in regional and remote areas, students, families, researchers, and visitors around the world – from our Gallery to your phone, home or classroom.
Re/Collections
Re/Collections: a suite of exhibitions reimagined to celebrate works in the WA State Art Collection. As Western Australia’s greatest visual art asset, the prized Collection aims to empower visitors to understand the world — old, new, unknown — creatively. Re/Collections is an extension of this objective. Expertly curated, the exhibitions have been woven together to create a rich tapestry of cultures, states, moments, and ideas, both here at home and farther afield. Far from the conventional chronological displays of the past, Re/Collections allows audiences to consider, reconsider and consider again.
