Walter Liberty Vernon

[taixyz1992]

By the time the site was agreed upon in 1895, James Barnet had retired, and the new Colonial Architect, Walter Liberty Vernon (1846–1914), was given the assignment. As a temporary measure, John Horbury Hunt, a private architect, had designed a small brick structure to temporarily house the collection, which was built in 1885. This building was dwarfed by the new gallery when it opened in 1897 and remained to the rear of the new gallery until it was demolished in 1969 to make way for new extensions. Although the majority of Vernon's buildings are in the Arts and Crafts style, the 1897 building was built in the classical tradition. The Gallery's design was conservative and was the penultimate example of the neo-Greek temple as a portico for a major public institution in Sydney.[1]
The first two picture galleries were opened in 1897 and a further two in 1899. A watercolour gallery was added in 1901 and in 1902 the Grand Oval Lobby was completed. Outside the building, the names of old grand masters are emblazoned upon the front facade. In the panels beneath, bronze relief sculptures symbolise the contribution to art by four civilisations - Roman, Greek, Assyrian and Egyptian. On the main facade two remain empty, on the others all are empty.[1]
In 1958 a new "Art Gallery of New South Wales Act 1958" was passed and the Gallery's name was reverted to The Art Gallery of New South Wales. In 1968 the New South Wales Government decided that the Gallery would be extended and form a major part of the Captain Cook Bicentenary celebrations. As a result, the "Captain Cook wing" is built and opened to public in November 1970.[2] The new gallery space provided five stories behind the original classical façade, increased the racking space to 1.25 linear kilometres, included a new café, a sculpture courtyard and administrative offices.[3] Grey toned rough concrete was used to "blend" with the sandstone of the old building.
As part of the Bicentenary celebrations in 1988, a further eastern extension doubled the size of the Gallery.[2] Both extensions were the responsibility of Government architect Andrew Andersons.[2] More recently, as part of the "Open Museum" project, sculptures have been positioned along the entry road and on 23 October 2003 a new Asian Arts wing was opened.


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