Turn of the century: 1900 to 1920

Walter Withers, A breezy day off Point Henry, 1901

H. Septimus Power, A shell-swept road, c1920

George Bell, Nude, 1910

Although the colonial predilection for British and European art remained strong during the early decades of the twentieth century, a significant proportion of the Geelong Gallery's acquisitions comprised Australian art works. The prohibitively high cost of purchasing and transporting paintings and sculpture from Britain meant that only the occasional work could be bought, while the comparatively less expensive Australian works were more within the Gallery's means. British art continued to be well represented through the loan collection and numerous gifts.

As a fledgling collection, it was largely through pleas for support that many of the early gifts were donated. The majority of the Australian pieces were by contemporaneous artists, both local and from Melbourne, who had some personal connection with the Gallery. The Gallery trustees were also looking for, and accepting, works with a local theme. These arrived as landscapes and as historical paintings, most notably Fawkner and his press and Buckley acting as interpreter at Indented Head, both painted in 1901 by Melbourne artist, William Blamire Young. The paintings of this period collected by the Gallery were largely influenced by the Heidelberg School of artists, many of whom were teaching the growing number of young art students. The impressionistic technique and Australian subject matter characteristic of the work of this older generation were by now well established. Mindful of appealing to a wider populace, the conservative trustees were not inclined to acquire works that would create controversy.

As well as the work of this new generation of Australian artists, the Gallery collected works by expatriate artists who elected to remain in the major art centres of France or London after studying at the various art schools there.

Also of great interest was the resurgence of the print medium. The Gallery dedicated a separate area for the display of etchings, engravings and lithographs by the leading printmakers of the day.

The Gallery continues to develop its representation of the art of this period and has formed a significant body of works that includes those whose reputations have stood the test of time as well as the less well-known.