Exceptional Bequest to the National Gallery of Australia - by IdeelArt

Apr 6, 2015

Works by several of Australia's most famous abstract artists have been included in a $8 million bequest made by a Canberra art collector.

Alan Boxer, an economist by trade, accumulated an incredible collection of Australian art from the 1950s until his death, last June. In his will, he left instructions for 19 of the paintings to be donated to the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), dailytelegraph.com.au reports. The calibre of the works prompted NGA director Gerard Vaughan to call it "an exceptional bequest".

The collection includes 'Experience in Summer no.2' (1964) by Stanislaus Rapotec - who according to independent.co.uk was 'an exponent of abstract expressionalism'. There are also works by Roy De Maistre, who many consider to be the first Australian artist to use 'pure abstraction', and Elwyn Lynn, who's 1964 'Winterfield' will be finding a permanent home at the gallery.

Another inclusion is 'Childhood by the Seaport' (1965) by John Olsen, an artist who has been labelled an abstract painter but describes his work as "an exploration of the totality of landscape".

Mr Boxer had a close relationship with the NGA over the years and in his retirement, even volunteered as a guide. His collection also 'fills major gaps' at the gallery, with important works by Charles Blackman and Sidney Nolan.

Speaking to visual.artshub.co.au, Vaughan said: "Alan Boxer's taste and connoisseurship were known and respected during his lifetime and it is heartening to know that he will be remembered in perpetuity through his munificent bequest to our National Gallery."

More about this on the National Gallery of Australia's website.

Photo credit: National Gallery of Australia, John OLSEN "Childhood by the seaport", 1965