English
WELCOME TO THE NGV
The National Gallery of Victoria is Australia’s favourite gallery. The extensive NGV Collection is recognised amongst the world’s best, and is proudly displayed across two venues – NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. NGV International houses the Gallery’s collections of international art and is open 10am–5pm, daily. NGV Australia is home to the Australian art collection – including works by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities – and is open 10am–5pm, daily. Entry to the NGV Collection is free; however entry fees may apply to special exhibitions.
NGV INTERNATIONAL 180 ST KILDA ROAD MELBOURNE
Houses an extensive collection from Europe, Asia, America, and Oceania.
General entry is free
Open daily 10am–5pm
Open 1–5pm Anzac Day
Closed Christmas Day
THE IAN POTTER CENTRE: NGV AUSTRALIA FEDERATION SQUARE
The home of Australian art, presenting Indigenous and non-Indigenous art from the colonial period to the present day.
General entry is free
Open daily 10am–5pm
Open 1–5pm Anzac Day
Closed Christmas Day
HOW DO I GET TO NGV INTERNATIONAL?
Public Transport
Trams
Swanston Street/St Kilda Road trams (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 16, 64, 67, 72) travel past NGV International. Alight at the Arts Precinct stop.
Trains
Alight at Flinders Street Station and walk across the bridge past the Victorian Arts Centre.
By Car
Parking is available in the Victorian Arts Centre car park located beneath NGV International. Enter from Sturt Street, Southbank, accessed from St Kilda Road/Southbank Boulevard and Alexandra Avenue/City Road.
Taxis
A taxi rank is located across the road from Federation Square outside Flinders Street Station.
HOW DO I GET TO NGV AUSTRALIA?
Public Transport
Trams
Flinders Street trams (70, 75, City Circle) and Swanston Street/St Kilda Road trams (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 16, 64, 67, 72) travel past Federation Square. Alight at the Flinders Street stop and enter via Federation Square.
Trains
Flinders Street Station is adjacent to Federation Square.
By Car
Parking is available at the Federation Square Car Park. Enter at the corner of Flinders and Russell Streets, or from Batman Avenue (Exhibition Street extension – City Link)
Taxis
A taxi rank is located across the road from Federation Square outside Flinders Street Station.
BOOKED GROUP TOURS FOR NGV INTERNATIONAL & NGV AUSTRALIA
Guided tours of selected exhibitions at both The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia and NGV International are available, by arrangement. Booked tours that may be requested include:
- tours of special exhibitions
- collection tours
- tours in foreign languages
- audio described tours
- Auslan interpreted tours for the deaf and hearing impaired
- “Art & Memory” tours
New to the NGV’s Access programs is the ‘Art & Memory’ program designed specifically for those people living with dementia in residential or day care as well as individuals living in the community and their carers. These interactive tours offer participants an opportunity to enhance their quality of life through mental stimulation, communication and social engagement. Guided tours are conducted on weekdays. They are 45 minutes in duration and should be booked two weeks in advance. Group sizes are limited to between 10 and 25 participants.
Book a Tour
By phone
Phone 03 8620 2340 (7days, 10am-5pm)
Please have the following details ready: group numbers, desired date, ideas as to the nature of the tour (collection area etc)
Email
tour.bookings@ngv.vic.gov.au
COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS | INTERNATIONAL ART
Pablo Picasso
In January 1937 Picasso had been asked by representatives of the Spanish Republican government to paint an enormous mural for the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exhibition in the coming summer. On 26 April 1937, while Picasso was at work on this commission, German planes – acting in concert with General Franco – bombed the Basque city of Guernica for 3 hours, levelling it to the ground. Picasso’s shock at this massacre of Spanish civilians contributed to his creation of the great Guernica mural.
The Weeping Women compositions of late 1937 belong to what have been termed the ‘postscripts’ of Guernica. The common stark motif in these disturbing images, that of a woman’s grief laid bare for public scrutiny, derived from the figure at the far left of the Guernica mural – a woman who screams uncontrollably and attempts vainly to escape the bombing, grasping her dead child to her chest.
Pablo PICASSO
Weeping woman (1937)
oil on canvas
55.2 x 46.2 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased by donors of The Art Foundation of Victoria, with the assistance of the Jack and Genia Liberman family, Founder Benefactor, 1986
IC1-1986
© Pablo Picasso/Succession Pablo Picasso. Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia
Andy Warhol
Warhol purposely sought an alternative to the emotionally charged paintings of the Abstract Expressionists by adopting a commercial, handsoff approach to art. In this eerie, self-portrait, produced just a few months before his death in February 1987, Warhol appears as a haunting, disembodied mask.
Andy WARHOL
Self-portrait no. 9 1986
synthetic polymer paint and screenprint on canvas
203.5 x 203.7 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of the National Gallery Women’s Association, Governor, 1987
IC3-1987
© Andy Warhol/ARS, New York. Licensed by VISCOPY, Sydney
GIAMBATTISTA TIEPOLO
The Banquet of Cleopatra was purchased directly from Tiepolo’s Venice studio in early 1744, by Count Francesco Algarotti, for Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. A member of the Court of Saxony, Algarotti presented the king in 1742 with ‘a project to arrange accurately the Royal Museum at Dresden’. As part of this project, he proposed the acquisition of a small selection of modern paintings to balance the old masters already in the king’s collection.
Mark Rothko
Although Untitled (Red) is moderate in scale, its brilliant colour chords invite the envelopment of the viewer’s senses. Rothko’s overlapping blocks of pigment seem to oscillate in constant motion, while the predominant hue – red – is elementally emotive.
Mark ROTHKO
Untitled (Red) (1956)
glue, oil, synthetic polymer paint and resin on canvas
209.5 x 125.3 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of the Helen M. Schutt Trust, Governor, the Commonwealth Banking Corporation, Fellow and The Signet Group, Fellow, 1982
EA1-1982
© 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/Licensed by Viscopy, 2011
Sugiura Noriyoshi
Sugiura Noriyoshi was born in northern Japan and studied engineering in Osaka. After graduating his desire to create three-dimensional forms with natural materials led him to study traditional bamboo-weaving techniques. Sugiura’s engineering studies distinguish his sculptural creations through a complex geometric formation of zigzagging struts that create an atmosphere of structural strength from lightweight material.
SUGIURA Noriyoshi
Void (2014)
(Kokū 虚空)
bamboo
65.0 x 70.0 x 36.0 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by Baillieu Myer AC and Sarah Myer, 2015
2015.500
© Noriyoshi Sugiura
COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS | AUSTRALIAN ART
Magaret Preston
Margaret Preston was the leading advocate of modernism in Sydney during the 1920s and 1930s. She believed that Australian artists should find inspiration in Australian subjects, and often painted Australian flowers.
Margaret PRESTON
Flannel flowers 1938
oil on canvas
122.0 x 91.6 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
The Joseph Brown Collection. Presented through the NGV Foundation by Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE, Honorary Life Benefactor, 2004
2004.209
© Margaret Preston/Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia
Henry Burn
Henry Burn’s image is recognisable today, albeit in a very changed form. On the right you can see St. Paul’s Church, built between 1850 and 1852 but demolished in 1885 in order to erect the current St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Henry BURN
Swanston Street from the Bridge 1861
oil on canvas
71.8 x 92.2 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of John H. Connell, 1914
754-2
RONNIE TJAMPITJINPA
The artist represents Tingarritjarra, a large swamp where a large group of Tingarri men made camp and performed ceremonies before travelling eastwards.
Ronnie Tjampitjinpa
Tingarri Dreaming at Tingaritjarra 1993
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
122.4 x 152.6 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of The Hon. Justice David Angel through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2006
2006.13
© Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency
WAKARTU CORY SURPRISE
The artist represents her birthplace, Tapu. It is sandhill Country with many rockholes, where she grew up and both her parents died.
Wakartu Cory Surprise
Tapu 1995
synthetic polymer paint on paper
(96.0 x 148.0 cm) (image)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of The Hon. Justice David Angel through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2007
2007.344
© Wakartu Cory Surprise/Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia
John Brack
With its parade of monochromatic commuters leaving work after a long day in the office, Brack’s iconic depiction of city life in 1950s Melbourne is recognisable and relevant more than sixty years later.
John BRACK
Collins St, 5p.m. 1955
oil on canvas
114.8 x 162.8 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1956
3302-4
© Helen Brack
DINING NGV INTERNATIONAL
DINING NGV AUSTRALIA
NGV Design Store
At NGV International
St Kilda Road
+61 3 8620 2242
Open daily 10am–5pm
Open 1–5pm Anzac Day
Closed Christmas Day
NGV Design Store
At Federation Square
NGV Australia Federation Square
+61 3 8662 1543
Open daily 10am–5pm
Open 1–5pm Anzac Day
Closed Christmas Day
All Abilities Access
The NGV is committed to access for all. Please visit the Information Desks for details of Access programs, Companion and Carer support, hearing loops and Braille signage. Guide dogs and other registered assistance dogs are welcome. The NGV is fully wheelchair accessible. Wheelchairs are available from the Information Desk at both galleries.
Access Services
All Abilities and Access Tours
The NGV has a range of Access Tours including Audio Describing, Auslan Interpreted and Art and Memory tours. Designated Access days are organised for particular exhibitions and special viewings and tours can be arranged.
For more information please phone 03 8662 1555 or book online.
See all access tours
Art & Memory tours
New to the NGV’s Access programs is the Art & Memory program designed specifically for those people living with dementia in residential or day care as well as individuals living in the community and their carers.
For more information please phone 03 8662 1555 or book online.
Language Tours
National Gallery of Victoria Voluntary Guides offer tours in languages other than English.
Education Programs for Students with a Disability
NGV Schools is committed to providing inclusive programs to suit all students. Please discuss your students’ needs with our Educators prior to booking.
Bookings please phone 03 8620 2340 (12-5pm weekdays) or email edu.bookings@ngv.vic.gov.au
Wheelchair access
Wheelchairs are available free of charge from the Information Desk at both NGV International and NGV Australia. We advise booking a wheelchair prior to your visit, please phone: 03 8620 2222.
Wheelchair access is available in our Auditorium, Theatre, Studios and Education Theatres as well as throughout the gallery spaces.
Companion and Carer Support
Companion Card holders can obtain free access to NGV programs. We accept Companion Cards registered in Victoria and from other states.
Traveller’s Aid
Traveller’s Aid Offer mobility equipment hire, buggy and personal guidance service. Please visit one of the following locations to arrange collection.
Southern Cross – 7am – 10pm daily
03 9670 2072
Flinders Street – Sun to Thur 8am-8pm, Fri and Sat 8am-10pm
03 9610 2030
Note: Buggy Service at Southern Cross can be arranged to collect travellers from Vline train and take you to the equipment.
Getting Here
You can catch buses, trams or trains to NGV International on St Kilda Road and to The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square.
There are a variety of public transport options available for people with limited mobility. Visit the Melbourne City Council website for information about Getting around Melbourne.
Parking
For access to The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, there are two Accessible car spaces on each level of the Federation Square car park.
Street parking for people with appropriate permits are located at the corner of Degraves Street and Flinders Street, on Flinders Lane between Elizabeth Street and Exhibition Street and outside the Arts Centre.
For access to NGV International, there are Accessible parking spaces on St Kilda Road in front of the Gallery.
Entering NGV Buildings
Ramps
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia; The Russell Street extension is the best entry point for wheelchair access.
Lifts
Lift access to The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is available from the Federation Square Plaza. It arrives at the automatic doors, located at the Gallery’s entrance through the Federation Square atrium. Escalators are also available.
Lift access to NGV International is available from the Arts Centre underground car park. It arrives at the front entrance of the NGV.
Moving Around NGV Buildings
Lift, Ramp and Escalator Access
There is a lift inside NGV International, with access to each floor and ramps are also provided throughout the building. Escalators are also available.
Please note there is no down escalator at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia.
Wheelchair access
Wheelchairs are available free of charge from the Information Desk at both NGV International and NGV Australia. We advise booking a wheelchair prior to your visit, please phone: 03 8620 2222.
Wheelchair access is available in our Auditorium, Theatre, Studios and Education Theatres as well as throughout the gallery spaces.
Hearing Loops
Hearing Loops are available in the Clemenger BBDO Auditorium at NGV International and in the Theatre at NGV Australia.
Signage
All statutory signage includes Braille and raised letters for our vision–impaired visitors.
Guide Dogs and other registered assistance dogs
Guide Dogs and other registered assistance dogs are welcome at the NGV, in the gallery spaces and to all programs.