acquisitive prize, with the winning artworks being
presented to the Maitland City collection. One of the
gallery’s treasured works is the winning entry of the
1966 Maitland Art Prize, the iconic painting Legend
IV, 1965, by John Coburn.
In 1975, Brough House in Church Street, Maitland
was refurbished to become the first gallery space
for the new Maitland City Art Gallery. The MRAG
Collection continued to grow through purchases
made by the art gallery and the Gallery Society,
winning entries from the Maitland Art Prize, and
gifts from the community and benefactors. Artworks
acquired into the collection over that period include
works by renowned Australian artists such as William
Dobell, Margaret Olley, George Baldessin, Charles
Blackman, Brett Whiteley and Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri.
In 2003 the gallery moved to High Street and
became known as Maitland Regional Art Gallery. In
2005 MRAG’s collection took on a new direction
as a result of a new collection policy which was to
focus on collecting works on paper. Since then the
MRAG Collection has grown from 700 artworks
to more than 4,000 artworks, due to discerning
acquisitions by the gallery’s Cultural Director Joe
Eisenberg as well as donations. Artworks acquired
since 2005 include works by Sidney Nolan, Tim
Storrier, James Gleeson, Martin Sharp, Salvatore
Zofrea, John Olsen, Euan Macleod, Suzanne Archer,
Alan Jones, Ken Whisson, Adrian Lockhardt, Judy
Watson, Gloria Petyarre and Lloyd Rees.EXHIBIT A
18 artist