Decorative Arts

 

Jun Kaneko 'Untitled triangle Dango' 2004 stoneware, glazed, Collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Acquired with the assistance of Raphy Star, © Jun Kaneko 2005 Jun Kaneko Untitled triangle Dango 2004 stoneware, glazed, Collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Acquired with the assistance of Raphy Star, © Jun Kaneko 2005 see this work in Transformations

Introduction | Essay | Support

The National Gallery of Australia began building a decorative arts collection very early in its history, and its presence is now well established with a dedicated department encompassing the Australian and international collections. 

The Gallery has significant holdings of Australian colonial decorative arts, which provide a solid foundation for charting the development of decorative arts and design in this country.  In particular, collections of ceramics, metalwork and furniture are well represented from this early period.  Latterly the focus has been on acquiring more contemporary works, in line with the resurgence of interest in the crafts from the early 1960s.  In 1980 the Australian Crafts Board collection was given to the National Gallery, and this collection, together with more recent acquisitions, has allowed the artistic progression of work by several leading Australian craft practitioners to be clearly shown.  Examples of this can be seen in the Gallery’s collection of ceramics by Milton Moon, Alan Peascod, Les Blakebrough and Mitsuo Shoji, glass by Nick Mount and Klaus Moje, jewellery by Marion Hosking, Susan Cohn, Helge Larsen and Darani Lewers, amongst others.

The international decorative arts collection was established with the purchase of the Ballets Russes costumes in 1973.  The Gallery has continued to acquire the work of leading designers and craft practitioners who have influenced design and the decorative arts since the late nineteenth century.  Important acquisitions of ceramics, glass, metalwork and textiles represent the major art movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – Design Reform and the British Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau and Jugendstil, the Vienna Secession, the Bauhaus and Art Deco.  Later twentieth century works are also being acquired, and the scope of collecting is being expanded to encompass developments in new media and technology within the craft and design field.  

 

New acquisition highlights

 

Related exhibitions

By appointment: Norman Hartnell's sample for the Coronation dress of Queen Elizabeth II
Changing hands: the crafts revival in Australia 1965–1985
Chihuly: masterworks in glass
Dressed to Kill
Everyday art: Australian folk art
Federation: Australian art and society 1901–2001
From Russia with love: costumes for the Ballets Russes 1909–1933
Hard edge: geometry in design
Material culture: aspects of contemporary Australian craft and design
Secession: modern art in Austria and Germany 1890s–1920s
Stage fright: the art of theatre
Techno Craft: the work of Susan Cohn
Transformations: the language of craft
Transparent things: expressions in glass
Vivienne Westwood: 34 years in fashion

Recent publications
all works are National Gallery of Australia publications unless otherwise stated

Building the collection Pauline Green, editor, 2003
Material culture: aspects of contemporary Australian craft and design Robert Bell, 2002
Transformations: the language of craft, Robert Bell editor, 2005

for more National Gallery of Australia publications visit the library catalogue online