Gibson and The Arts in Australia
Gibson actively supported many Australian arts organisations. He was director of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust at its foundation in 1954, as well as being its Victorian chairman from 1955 to 1967, and president from 1968 to 1971. The Trust was instrumental in the foundation of major Australian arts institutions including Opera Australia, orchestras in Sydney and Melbourne, and the National Institute of Dramatic Arts.
Gibson was variously trustee, treasurer and deputy chairman of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in the period 1956 to 1964. The NGV was Australia's oldest public gallery, its acquisitions largely funded by the massive but dwindling Felton Bequest. Gibson was one of several new faces brought to the Gallery's board at a critical time: the Victorian government had announced a decision to build a new National Gallery in Melbourne, and governance of the existing institution was undergoing significant upheaval. Gibson was reported to be "always a man of strong opinions", bringing a robust and blunt character to some of the meetings of the Gallery's trustees. The trustees were concerned that the substantial resources of the institution's rich Felton Bequest were not being applied effectively to ensure the representation of contemporary schools of art in the Gallery's collection.
Seeking to directly support the NGV, Gibson financed the purchase of works by and for the Gallery, as well as making his personal collection available for exhibition. He provided a donation in 1962 allowing the NGV to purchase the Clement Meadmore sculpture Duolith III. Gibson purchased Tom Roberts' major painting Coming South, for $20000, presenting it to the NGV in 1967. A selection from Gibson's extensive personal collection was presented as an NGV exhibition in 1969.
Gibson played many other roles in the arts, through societies of artists, of collectors, and through boards of which he was a member as a result of his involvement with the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. These included Deputy Chairman of the Melbourne Theatre Company from 1960 to 1968.
He was a foundation member of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) in 1955, and co-founded the Society of Collectors of Fine Arts.
Read more about this topic: Aubrey Gibson
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