Castlemaine Art Museum

Castlemaine Art Museum

1931 Art Deco facade of the Castlemaine Art Museum photographed in 2017
Castlemaine Location within Victoria
Former name	Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum
Established	9 July 1913 (1913-07-09)
Location	12-14 Lyttleton Street, Castlemaine
Type	Art Museum
Accreditation	Australian Museums and Galleries Association
Key holdings	Frederick McCubbin, Heath Paddock, Hawthorn 1886 & Golden Sunlight 1914; Tom Roberts, Reconciliation 1886-87; E. Phillips Fox, Bathing Hour c.1909; Dora Meeson, In a Chelsea Garden 1913; Penleigh Boyd, Winter Calm, Frankston 1920; Russell Drysdale, Desolation 1945
Collections	Tonal Realism; Bookplates; Black and White Illustration; Women Artists; Modernist Prints; Castlemaine History, Places and People
Collection size	2,000+ artworks and 4000+ historical artefacts
Visitors	9,573 (2018/19 year)
Founder	Anna Mary Winifred Brotherton (1874-1956)
Executive director	Naomi Cass
President	Craig Mutton
CEO	Nell Fraser
Chairperson	Craig Mutton
Curator	Livia Kenney
Architect	Percy Meldrum
Owner	Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum Trust
Employees	1 Full-time, 5 Part-time, 40 volunteers
Public transit access	VLine Bendigo-Swan Hill Line, Castlemaine Railway Station
Website	https://castlemaineartmuseum.org.au

Castlemaine Art Museum is an art gallery and museum in Castlemaine, Victoria in the Shire of Mount Alexander. It was founded in 1913. Its collection concentrates on Australian art and the museum houses historical artefacts and displays drawn from the district. It is governed by private trustees and managed by a board elected by subscribers and provided with state and local government funding and support from benefactors, local families, artists and patrons. It is housed in a 1931 Art Deco building constructed for the purpose, heritage listed by the National Trust.

History

The founding of Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum was preceded by four other public regional galleries in the state of Victoria: Ballarat in 1884, Warrnambool in 1886, Bendigo in 1887 and Geelong in 1900, but its significance by comparison was that it was in a small town, not a regional city like its forbears.

A cultural precedent had been established when the town opened a Mechanics Institute in 1855 which included a library; and numbers of artists, including S. T. Gill, Samuel Calvert, George French Angas, and early photographers Antoine Fauchery and Richard Daintree, had visited to document the swarming goldfields.

Castlemaine Past and Present

The Castlemaine Progress Association's display of items of a 'novel and interesting nature', Castlemaine Past and Present, the town's first major exhibition, running 18–20 August 1910, celebrated the commercial, civic and cultural achievements of the town with "a collection of geological specimens and curios from the Government collection," photographs of historical interest, maps, furniture, applied art, books and artefacts, as well as landscapes by local artists intended to "popularise our town as a resort for artists and painters."

The committee included a "special feature" of "modern art, the only stipulation being that works of art as well as all other exhibits must relate in some way to Castlemaine or its district," and called for "historical curios, weapons, maps, manuscripts, medals, trophies, or any other article of local significance." An early supporter was Elioth Gruner. The exhibition thus established the principle of collecting of Australian art and of looking locally, for works connected to Castlemaine in some aspect, in contrast to a policy of concentrating on British and European art that was pursued by most Australian galleries of the period, in particular the National Gallery of Victoria purchases in Europe by L. Bernard Hall through the Felton Bequest.

Public meeting

Two years later, in October 1912, the first solo exhibition of paintings by a local resident, Elsie Barlow, wife of a Castlemaine police magistrate, was held in the reading room of the Mechanics Institute, raising hopes "that the Castlemaine public will have the same opportunity in this matter as is afforded to the Melbourne public, which now-a-days is rarely without an Art Exhibition."

Subsequently, a meeting at Barlow's home on 9 July 1913 proposed the creation of a permanent gallery for Castlemaine and approached the Mayor to "affirm the advisability of establishing a Museum and Art Gallery in Castlemaine" at a public meeting of Mayors and Councillors from Chewton, Maldon, Metcalfe, Newstead and Mount Alexander with Col. Davies, Secretary of the Bendigo Art Gallery, Mr A T Woodward Director of the Bendigo School of Arts, Mr Bernard Hall, Director of the National Gallery of Victoria, Trustees of the National Gallery and Museum and the Old Pioneers Association, and with support of the local High School committee.

Winifred Brotherton, who took the minutes, emphasised the imperative of establishing a museum in which to preserve the heritage of the town, and the museum was later to be given her name in her honour.

Colonel Davis spoke from the experience of Bendigo Art Gallery where he was secretary, advising not to expect government funds such as they had received as the grant was only £2,000 to be divided amongst all the arts organisations, but to secure donations of pictures, be prepared to go into debt, and make use of loans from the National Gallery of Victoria. The housing of the gallery was considered and proposals included the cooking classroom of the Technical High School, the Market Building, the Town Hall, and the School of Mines.

Realisation

The gallery became a reality when Bertha Leviny of Buda homestead provided use of a room in a shop in Lyttleton St. for one year free of charge, and Bendigo Art Gallery offered a loan of paintings. A loan exhibition of 30 works in the Stock Exchange Room of the Town Hall launched the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum on 24 October 1913. Significant exhibitors who made donations of their work included Harold Herbert and Jessie Traill.

When the gallery moved into the room offered by Leviny in Lyttleton St., more donations were made, and loans by artists including Alexander Colquhoun, and by the National Gallery of Victoria which contributed Franz Courtens' Morning, David Wynfield's Death of the Duke of Buckingham," Robert Dowling's Sheikh and His Son Entering Cairo; Hermann Eschke's Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight; Cave Thomas' Canute Listening to the Monks at Ely; and Louis Buvelot's Summer afternoon, Templestowe.

The 1914 annual report recorded 30 memberships and a collection of 23 pictures with others on loan and a balance of £75. Initial opening hours in 1914 were daily from 3 to 5 p.m., and Wednesday and Saturday evenings from 7.30 to 9.30, changed later to weekdays 10 am-12 pm and 2-5 pm, and Sundays 2-5 pm.

Unknown photographer (1917-1930) Castlemaine Post Office from Lyttleton St

The next home of the gallery and museum, by June 1915, was in the rooms above the Castlemaine Post Office which it rented for £1 per annum, and where it remained until 1931 in three well-lit rooms: two small ones, and one measuring 9 by 5.5 metres (30 by 18 ft) which served as the main gallery. Nevertheless, the Victorian Government rejected their grant application of 1915 because the Gallery's tenure of its premises was not secure. Electric lighting was added in 1927.

The facility, proved popular, with attendances rising from 800 in 1920 to 3,600 in 1923. Many in 1928 came for a series of talks by John Shirlow intended to boost interest in the Gallery. Artists too were noticing it, as The Age reported in November 1923;

'Tis said that the reputation of this gallery is such that every artist of note throughout Australia has heard of the little gallery which so cherishes and encourages the work of Australian men and women that a renaissance of effort has been brought about among Australian painters.

The insurance value of the collection rose in 1925 to £2,000, with a further 37 paintings gifted in 1926 by, among others, Arthur Streeton, George Coates, Dora Meeson, Jo Sweatman, and A.M.E. Bale, etchings by Martin Lewis, and purchases including The Dark Horse by George W. Lambert, and The Coming Storm by Blamire Young, as reported by Lieut. Col. Francis S. Newell, then President of the Castlemaine Art Gallery in Art in Australia of December 1926. Newell also commented on attendance by 5,248 visitors; "When it is remembered that the population of this town is about 7,000, the progress of this gallery is remarkable. The committee has now purchased a site for a new building, but more funds are needed before the project can be carried out."

Building

The Higgins Gallery of the Castlemaine Art Museum showing the concealed skylight, with a 2014 display of Modernist Australian art. Shona Nunan sculpture (right), Jeffrey Smart painting (left)

Since 17 November 1983 Castlemaine Art Museum is classified by The National Trust (revised: 3 August 1998), which notes its significance as;

… an exceptional building in its intent and execution and … historically important as one of the earliest examples of the "modern movement" in provincial Victoria.

A building fund was set up in 1923 using a donation of £100 by Sir John and Lady Higgins. A site in Templeton Street was purchased for £1200 but later sold to acquire the present block in Lyttleton Street in 1927 for about £300. That year in a visit to Castlemaine the Hon George Prendergast enabled a deputation to seek a grant to augment the building fund, to which he offered £1000 on the basis of £1 for every £2 raised locally. Walter J. Whitchell promised £500 for the building fund should the balance be found when the fund held only £760 and building was costed at £3,500 so an appeal for funds from the public was launched at the onset of the Depression. Nevertheless, £3,250 was raised in only six weeks from private individuals and companies the Bank of Australasia, Ball and Welch and Bryant & May.

Architect Percy Meldrum, who trained in the United States presented to a reluctant management committee a "modern and artistic" design for the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (as it was then named) in an American Art-deco style.

The main gallery walls and those of both additional gallery spaces were naturally and indirectly lit from the concealed windows of a saw-tooth roof above suspended ceilings. The entry steps were Harcourt granite, the parapet of Malmsbury bluestone, and Barker's Creek slate paved the forecourt, on which rest two planters by Michael O’Connell decorated with panels in a sympathetic style. A "Jazz" style frieze decorates the parapet, front wall and tympanum over the central front door, itself recessed behind ornate wrought-iron grille gates. The symmetrical facade includes a bas-relief in artificial stone featuring a female figure that symbolises Castlemaine surrounded, on the right, by two attendant gold-miners of the past, and artist and sculptor at left. It was designed and carved by H. Orlando Dutton (1894-1962), an English artist working in Melbourne.

Opening of the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum in 1931

Builder Frank Pollard completed construction between June 1930 and April 1931 for the Gallery and Museum's official opening, free of debt, It consisted of a main gallery 19.5 by 7.3 metres (64 by 24 ft) for the display of oil paintings, behind two smaller galleries for prints and water-colours flanking the entry, each approximately 7 by 6 metres (23 by 20 ft) and with the museum in the basement with storerooms. on the 18th of that month by the Governor of Victoria Lord Somers at a ceremony conducted in front of a crowd at the entrance to the Gallery that flowed across the street. It was reported as far away as Canada that

In opening the art gallery, in the presence of a very large gathering, Lord Somers said that he had been amazed at seeing a gallery and a collection so fine. He did not suppose that a gallery of those dimensions would be found in a town of that size anywhere else in the British Dominions. Extraordinary enthusiasm must have been shown to make the gallery possible.

Additions

By 1938 space proved insufficient for special exhibitions and to accommodate the program of public galleries lending artworks and circulating exhibitions amongst them. At Castlemaine that necessitated dismounting the existing collection and storing while a temporary exhibition was on display. The burgeoning collection posed storage problems; in 1942 Sir John Higgins' bequest of his pictures, china, glassware and furniture,could not be housed and the committee was forced to make plans for extensions to be part-funded by his sister Catherine's bequest of £5,000. However it was not spent due to war and post-war impediments to building.

1960

Impetus for a new extension did not gather until 1956, when the possibility of an internal paved courtyard for sculpture was considered. But only in 1959 was decision reached to complete the project though the cost had risen to £16,000, beyond the means of the Gallery. The Bolte ministry promised a subsidy on a pound for pound basis and in late 1960 the adjacent Presbyterian Church donated a strip of land for driveway access to the rear of the building, enabling work to commence. The resulting Higgins Gallery was opened on September 23, 1961, by Dr Leonard Cox, Chairman of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria, and it included storerooms, work areas, and shelving and sliding racks for storage of artworks.

1973

A third space for special and temporary exhibitions was funded by a gift of $12,500 from the Stoneman Foundation after which it is named, and a State Government grant of $26,000 and was opened by Premier Rupert Hamer on 14 September 1973, on the occasion of the Gallery's sixtieth anniversary.

1987

Renovations and additions completed since include a storeroom and workspace areas were added in 1987 and named the A & B Sinclair Building Extensions, after inaugural Director Beth Sinclair and her husband, and were opened by the Hon Race Matthews MLA, Minister for the Arts. This renovation included an extension to the Museum below, named the Percy Chaster Building for his bequest to the gallery.

2000

Grants from the Department of Communication, Technology and the Arts were distributed by the Federal government for the Centenary of Federation in 1999, denounced by some commentators as pork-barrelling, from which Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum received $2,000,000 for upgrades and redevelopment by architect Allom Lovell. The 1973 addition at the rear of the building was gutted and turned into the temporary exhibitions gallery with international museum standard climate and lighting controls, and security systems enabling Castlemaine to borrow major national and international works and travelling exhibitions. The high vaulted ceiling naturally lit via UV-fitered skylights has a hidden shutter system to permit blacking out for exhibitions that require artificial lighting only. An artificially lit small prints and drawings gallery is, since 2020, set aside for CAM's Orbit program; a series of exhibitions by artists who live and work in Central Victoria. Other works included a conservation studio for the treatment and restoration of works of art and historical documents, renovation of the Gallery and Museum shop, and a substantial mezzanine at the rear of the building for new offices, and a research library, the latter named after A. G. Lloyd-Stephenson whose bequest added substantially to its collection of art books. During these year-long renovations the Gallery and Museum were temporarily relocated to the Gallery's old quarters above the Post Office. Completed in late 2000, the extensions were opened on 6 October by the Hon Peter McGauran, Federal Minister for the Arts and Centenary of Federation.

Collection

Museum Collection

The museum, housed in the basement, presents the history of Castlemaine and its region in objects, maps, models, photographs and prints, including a large group of hand-coloured lithographs from watercolours by S. T. Gill; pithy vignettes of life on the goldfields. Historical glassware and ceramics, much brought to Castlemaine by its European immigrants, extends from the Roman era. Local fauna is represented by taxidermy specimens. Items of Victorian-era fashion are also displayed, and arts and crafts is represented in early-to-mid century enamelware and silver.

Gallery

The gallery has always specialised in Australian art as the gallery's constitution stipulated in 1913, emphasising "... the cultivation of a taste for the Fine Arts by the collection and exhibition of works of especially Australian Artists..." Accordingly, at its opening in 1931 it held 155 pictures, 26 added only the year prior, and the total predominantly Australian, and now the collection spans the periods Colonial, Impressionist, Early Twentieth Century Modernism, Mid-Century and beyond, and Contemporary.

Earlier artists include Louis Buvelot, Fred McCubbin, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Violet Teague, May Vale, Walter Withers, David Davies, Rupert Bunny, Max Meldrum, John Russell, Hugh Ramsay, Clarice Beckett, A.M.E. Bale, Arthur Lindsay and John Longstaff.

Modernists include Margaret Preston, Roland Wakelin, Russell Drysdale, Fred Williams, John Brack, Albert Tucker, John Perceval, Clifton Pugh, Lloyd Rees and Roger Kemp. More contemporary painters include Rick Amor, Ray Crooke, Peter Benjamin Graham, Robert Jacks, Jeffrey Smart, Ian Armstrong, and Brian Dunlop.

Significant examples of the work of Christian Waller (née Yandell) who studied painting at Castlemaine School of Mines in 1905 are held in the museum with photographs and information related to other members of the Yandell family.

Indigenous art

Indigenous art is progressively being transferred from the Museum to the walls and display cases of the Gallery, and its collection is being actively expanded. In 2019 Tiriki Onus, of Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung heritage and University of Melbourne Associate Dean Indigenous Development and Head of the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development, became the premier First Nations appointment to the CAM Board. The Art Museum's Strategic Plan released in 2019 and current until 2023 declares;

During the life of this Plan, CAM will consult with Traditional Owners towards increasing its engagement with and relevance for Traditional Owners and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and audiences.

Portraits of Australian artists

Portraits of Australian artists by Australian photographers Max Dupain, David Moore, Richard Beck, Jack Cato, Pegg Clarke, Connie Christie, Sonia Payes, Michel Lawrence, Joyce Evans, Mina Moore, Jacqueline Mitelman and Olive Cotton and others form another specialist concentration in the collection initiated by previous Director Peter Perry.

Funding

Lack of funds has historically handicapped the Gallery's acquisitions of significant works of art and it relied on donations, such as Billy McInnes's large canvas Ploughing and etchings by Norman Lindsay given by Sir Baldwin Spencer, and Dame Nellie Melba's gifts of a portrait of her father David Mitchell by Hugh Ramsey and Frederick McCubbin's Golden Sunlight. Locals contributed to special subscription funds in order to secure desirable works unlikely to be donated, as they did in 1925 for Charles Wheeler's The Last Ray. In 1916 an annual state government grant of a mere £30 ($2,836.00 value in 2020) was " ... to be spent on pictures, and pictures only." By 1937 this had been raised to £100, with the municipality contributing only £6. In 1980, former Director Perry wrote in complaint to James Mollison of the National Gallery of Australia objecting to one of its purchases at auction when both galleries were the only bidders beyond $11,000 for Margaret Preston's 1925 Still Life, which went to Canberra for a record price of $17,000. Perry felt the richer rational gallery should have withdrawn to let the work through to a less prosperous smaller institution. In 1987 Minister for the Arts, Race Mathews, announced minor capital grants incuding $60,000 approved to enable the Castlemaine Art Gallery to extend its storage space. The Gallery and Museum was a recipient ten years later of part of $2.5m through the state government's Victoria Organisations Funding program, shared with seven other arts institutions.

Management

Volunteers administered and managed the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum for the first six decades of operations, on one occasion having to close for lack of a caretaker. In 1962, the requirements of the Regional Galleries Association of Victoria necessitated the appointment of professional staff. This transition to being a managed cultural organisation was handled largely by Beth Sinclair (1919–2014) who, when she moved to Castlemaine in 1953, was introduced to the Gallery by her husband Alec who was on its committee. Using her background in secretarial work she volunteered to catalogue works and organize the office systems. In 1963 Castlemaine hosted a meeting of the Victorian Pubic Galleries Association, and in May, Sinclair was able to announce that Castlemaine had secured its rating was one of four 'A' class regional galleries and would retain its government funding.

Sinclair was appointed the Gallery's first Director in 1969, and was the first woman to be a public gallery director in Australia. She was rigorous in her management of the collection and the daily running of the Gallery, and established a network of individuals and organisations all over Australia for purchases and loans of artworks and a regular schedule of exhibitions. A significant acquisition of contemporary art, made in her first year as Director, was Fred Williams' Silver Landscape, painted 1968 In 2000, after her retirement in 1975 and in celebration of the extensive renovations Sinclair donated her personal collection of Australian art, including watercolour landscapes by R. W. Sturgess, works by Rick Amor, E. W. Syme and other painters, which was presented in the inaugural exhibition The Beth Sinclair Donation of Australian Art in the new temporary exhibitions gallery.

When Sinclair retired, and on her recommendation after he and his twin brother John, who had been collecting since their teens, held a 1974 exhibition of their collection of Australian paintings, the committee appointed Peter Perry as the next Director, the youngest in Australia, into the role he was to serve for thirty-eight years before his retirement in 2014. He was assisted by curators Loretta Zilles (1986–1995) and Kirsten McKay (1995–2014). Perry introduced musical recitals in the Gallery, and talks with presenters including James Mollison, then director of the National Gallery of Australia, and Dr. Eric Westbrook, then Director, Ministry of the Arts, for a champagne brunch talk on appreciation and enjoyment of art.

List of Directors

• 1969 to 1975: Beth Sinclair
• 1975 to 2014: Peter Perry
• 2014 to 2017 Jennifer Kalionis
• 2019: Naomi Cass (Director, CAM Renewal)

Renewal

Due to lack of funds, the Art Museum faced a forced closure on 11 August 2017, but was saved by a donation of $250,000 by an anonymous couple and by fundraising efforts amongst local supporters. Naomi Cass, previously director of the Centre for Contemporary Photography, was appointed Director, CAM Renewal, in 2019, reopened the gallery after some refurbishment in November, and in December launched the Strategic Plan for Castlemaine Art Museum 2019-2023 — connecting people through Art, History and Ideas In the 2019-20 financial year the budget returned to surplus.

Outreach

In 2019 CAM commenced a pilot inclusivity program to engage with three communities impeded in attending and enjoying CAM; First Nations young people, people with disability, and young people at risk. Participants were recruited through Nalderun, the Mount Alexander Shire Disability Advocacy Group, the local hospital and local school teachers. Ideas were received concerning solutions to increasing accessibility and relevance.

Len Fox Painting Award

The Len Fox Painting Award is the Castlemaine Art Museum $50,000 biennial acquisitive award is among the richest in the nation, and is awarded to a living Australian artist to commemorate the life and work of Emmanuel Phillips Fox, the uncle of Len Fox, partner of CAM benefactor Mona Fox.

Associatons

CAM is a member of the Public Galleries Association of Victoria and is accredited by the Australian Museums and Galleries Association.

Exhibitions

19 March–25 June 2017 exhibition of John Nixon's EPW in the Stoneman Gallery of Castlemaine Art Museum

• 1913, 22–25 October: Loan Exhibition, Castlemaine Town Hall
• 1914, October: Fifty Medici Society coloured photographic reproductions of Old Masters 14th–19th century, on loan from Bendigo Art Gallery
• 1963, July: Junior Art Prize
• 1963, 1 September: Prints '63, Studio One Printmakers
• 1963, November: Exhibition of Religious and Applied Art
• 1975, 24 March–15 November: Arts Victoria Statewide Festival
• 1975, 15 August–22 September: The Meldrum School
• 1976, 16 May - 27 June: Self portraits
• 1976: Reginald Sturgess, 73 works
• 1977, 13 Apr–1 May: The Callow Collection: Watercolours by Constable, Turner, Cox, Rowlandson and Sandby
• 1977, 11 September-30 October: A.M.E. Bale
• 1978, 5-31 March: The Leviny Family, an early craft family of Castlemaine: silver, jewellery, design, embroidery, enamelling
• 1978, 22 August–4 September: TRIBAL AND TRADITIONAL TEXTILES. The 1978 National Gallery of Victoria Travelling Exhibition
• 1978, 1-29 October: The Colquhouns: a creative and productive familyColquhoun, Alexander, 1866-1941; Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (1978), The Colquhoun family : [exhibition] Castlemaine Art Gallery 1st 29th Oct, the Gallery, retrieved 22 September 2021{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)</ref>
• 1978, November: Fibre craft work by local artisans
• 1979, to 3 June: Art metal craft by S. J. Ellis, craftsman and teacher
• 1981, to 10 May: Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum 50th Anniversary: Royal Doulton Ceramic Ware
• 1981, 19th July–23rd August: FIVE AUSTRALIAN EXPATRIATES: Bunny, Coates, Longstaff, Meldrum & Quinn
• 1982, 24 March–2 May: Twenty years of acquisitions, 1962-1982
• 1982, 12 August–5 September: E. Phillips Fox and Ethel Carrick: An Exhibition of Impressionist Landscapes
• 1983, June: Frater and Shore: Pioneer Modernists
• 1983, 18 September–23 October: Polly Hurry, 1883-1963 : a retrospective
• 1984, to 1 April: Works by Edward B. Heffernan
• 1984, 1 November–2 December: Russell Drysdale
• 1986, to 7 December: R. W. Sturgess, Watercolorist 1892-1932
• 1987, 20 September–25 October: Harley C. Griffiths, 1908-1981
• 1987, December: Central Victorian Sculptors
• 1988, September: Selection from 30 years of acquisitions
• 1988, 29 October–4 December: Miles Evergood, 1871-1939 : retrospective
• 1990: Trefor Prest
• 1990, November: Aspects of France: the Australian Artists View, 50 works by Australian artists from John Peter Russell to Lloyd Rees
• 1990, to 2 December: Annemieke Mein: Textiles
• 1991, 14 July–11 August: Rupert Bunny's Landscapes of the South of France
• 1991, November: Nature's Inspiration: Arts in the Garden
• 1992, to 3 May: A history of horticulture in Castlemaine and district
• 1992, 13 July–20 August: Completing the picture : women artists and the Heidelberg era
• 1992, 20 September – 25 October: The Art of Christian Waller
• 1992, 31 October - 6 December: Harold Herbert, Watercolours 1918-44
• 1993, March-April: Religion in the Goldfields
• 1993, 18 June–17 July: Wendy Stavrianos
• 1993 to 29 August: Ray Taylor: Ceramic Artist
• 1993, to 12 September: Greg Stirling: Enchanted Wood
• 1994, to 2 October: Charles Bush: Self Portraits 1936–1986
• 1994, 29 October-4 December: John Dent : retrospective 1973-1993
• 1995, 5 March–30 April: Australian Women Printmakers 1910–1940, curated by Kirsten McKay of the Castlemaine gallery, touring exhibition
• 1997, 12 October - 23 November: Australian artists influenced by Rembrandt
• 1998 Janet Goodchild-Cuffley, Women of History
• 1998, 9-30 August: Achievement Through Art, Student Art Exhibition Regional Tour, works of students in Years 4-10
• 1999, to 11 April.: The Private Eye A Foreigner's Power of Observation: contemporary artworks by Vicki McConville sourcing the cultural and historical archives of Central Victoria
• 1999, 24 April–4 May: Ian Armstrong Retrospective
• 2000, 4 October – 10 December: The Beth Sinclair Donation of Australian Art
• 2001, 24 March to 29 April: Fraser Fair retrospective
• 2002, 6 April - 19 May: Martin Lewis : stepping into the light
• 2003: David Tatnall, Seeing the Forest for the Trees
• 2003, 29 March-4 May: Highlights from the Stuart R. Stoneman art collection
• 2004, 1 May–6 June: As time goes by: Prints by Marc Clark
• 2006, 4 March–2April: Eric Thake 1904 - 82: Works from the Permanent Collection
• 2006, 2 April–28 May: Australian Printmaking, 1960s to the Present Day.
• 2008, 5 April–18 May: Deborah Klein: Out of the past, a survey of works 1995-2007
• 2009: Jack Courier (1915-2007) : lithographs
• 2010, 11 September–3 October: Annette Edwards ... a lifetime of mark making.
• 2010, 13 November—19 December: Mount Alexander Shire artists represented in the permanent collection
• 2011, 15 January—27 February: Imagining the Orient: A National Gallery of Victoria Touring Exhibition
• 2011, 18 June—24 July: Douglas Watson (1920-72) Works from the Permanent Collection
• 2011, 18 June—24 July: Victor Majzner: Location watercolours from Australia and Overseas
• 2011, Touring exhibition Scottish painters in Australia
• 2012, 14 January—26 February: Peggy Shaw: A Retrospective
• 2012, 10 March—29 April: Ray Pearce: Bite
• 2012, 5 May—24 June: Max Middleton: Painter of Light
• 2012, 1 July—29 July: Richard Crichton: PROFILE, Selected Works
• 2012 , 4 August—2 September: Jeff Makin: Drawings
• 2012, 9 September—28 October: John Borrack: Selected Paintings and Drawings 1970-2012
• 2013, 5 January—3 February: Director's Choice: Thirty-eight years of collecting
• 2013, 9 February—10 March: R W Sturgess (1892–1932) Works from the Permanent Collection
• 2013, 16 March—26 May: Barry Singleton: A Survey from Public and Private Collections and an Exhibition of Current Work
• 2013, 16 March-26 May: Mediterranean Summers: Australian Artists along the French and Italian Coast
• 2013, 1 June—28 July: Rick Amor, from Study to Painting
• 2013, 3 August–15 September: A collective vision : prints from the Castlemaine Art Gallery permanent collection 1970-2013 : a selection of works from the 1970s to 2013 celebrating the role of artists, collectors and benefactors
• 2013, 21 September—10 November: Shimmering Light: Dora Meeson and the Thames
• 2013, 16 November—31 December: 2013 Len Fox Painting Award
• 2013, 3 November—9 December: Ray Stanyer and Ellen Hansa- Wither shall I wander?
• 2013, 23 November—15 December: The Art of Jock Clutterbuck
• 2104, 1 January—23 February: Acquisitions
• 2014, 1 January—23 February: Dorothy Braund 1927-2013: Gouaches from the Permanent Collection
• 2014, 2–21 August: Ray Hearn: A Survey 2004 – 2014
• 2014, 1 Mar–13 Apr: Wayne Viney, Singular Impressions
• 2014, 26 Apr–1 Jun: Ann Geroe: Ceramics Survey
• 2014, 3 May–7 Jun: Jennie Stewart: Works on Paper
• 2014, 7 June–27 July: Dean Bowen Day by Day – Paintings, Sculpture, Prints and Drawings
• 2014, 02–31 Aug: Ray Hearn: A Survey 2004 – 2014
• 2014, 02–31 Aug: Peter Wegner: 1000 Years- 10 Drawings of Centenarians
• 2014, 6 Sep–26 Oct: Ludmilla Meilerts Retrospective
• 2014, 2 Nov–14 Dec: Bill Meyer: Nurturing the Place
• 2015, 15 January—19 April: Ginger Riley: The Boss of Colour
• 2015, 28 February: Catherine Pilgrim. Making history: Hidden world of the Leviny women.
• 2015, 13 March—22 March: Patrick Pound: The Museum of Holes
• 2015, 2 May—28 June: EARTH, FIRE AND WATER: 50 years of shaping the elements. Ceramics from the Castlemaine Art Gallery & Historical Museum permanent collection.
• 2015, 2 May—28 June: Recent Drawings: Christine Hooper
• 2015, 4 July - 23 August: "Jeremy Barrett: Survey Exhibition"
• 2015, 29 August—18 October: Inking Up | Rona Green, Deborah Klein & Clayton Tremlett
• 2015: 31 Oct–31 Dec: David Moore: Glimpses of Chewton
• 2015: 31 Oct–31 Dec: Women of Gold
• 2016, 15 Jan–15 Apr: Ben Quilty: After Afghanistan 2016
• 2016, 30 Apr–30 Jun: Bill Henson: Landscapes
• 2016, 10 Jul–15 Aug: Clayton Tremlett: Beard and Influence
• 2016, 21 Aug–25 Sep: Slipstitch
• 2017, 15 Jan–26 Feb: Michael Doolan: World Without World
• 2017, 15 Jan–26 Feb: Minna Gilligan: Groove is in the Heart
• 2017: 19 Mar–25 Jun: John Nixon: EPW
• 2017, July 15–22 Oct: Gifted: The Kohane and Moore donations of Australian studio ceramics
• 2017/18, 11 November —5 February: Daughters of the Sun: Christian Waller and Klytie Pate
• 2019, 8 June—1 September: 2019 Len Fox Painting Award
• 2019/20, 6 December —1 May: Experimental Print Prize
• 2020, 27 —29 November: the Way-the Water-the Walk (Reserved for the Convenience or Pleasure of the People)
• 2019/20, 11 October —11 October: The Unquiet Landscape
• 2020/21, 1 May —9 March: Cast Recast : Damon Moon
• 2020/21, 17 May —9 March: Janina Green in conversation with the Collection
• 2020–2022, 31 May–1 Jan: From the Land: Peter Banjurljurl (Jinang), Batumbil Bararrwanga (Gumatj), Gabi Briggs (Anaiwan and Gumbangier)and Arika Waulu (Gunai and Gunditjmara), Alvin Darcy Briggs (Yorta Yorta, Taungwurrung), Blackgin (Wurundjeri), John Hunter Kerr, Nonggirrnga Marawili (Madarrpa, Yithuwa), Malalakpuy Munyarryan (Wanggurri) Baluka Maymuru (Manggalili, Belang group), Lorna Fencer Napurrula (Warlpiri), Betty Kuntiwa Pumani (Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara), Charlie Marabinyin, Ginger Riley Munduwalawala (Marra), Tashara Roberts (Dja Dja Wurrung, Yorta Yorta), works by unknown makers from the Castlemaine Art Museum, Mulkun Wirrpanda (Dhudi-Djapu, Dha-malamirr), Yumitjin Wunumurra (Dhalwangu, Narrkala)
• 2020/21, 23 Nov–24 November: Cloudy – a few isolated showers: Lyndell Brown and Charles Green, Mira Gojak, Katrin Koenning, Vipoo Srivilasa, Will Ashton, Ros Bandt, W Rubery Bennett, Lina Bryans, Ernest Buckmaster, Rupert Bunny, Louis Buvelot, Murray Griffin, Hans Heysen, Frederick McCubbin, W B McInnes, Dora Meeson, Robert Vere Scott, Vipoo Srivilasa, Munuy'gnu Marika (Rirratjigna), Naminapu #2 Maymuru (Mangalili), Edwin Stocqueler, R W Sturgess, Verey & Co, Roland Wakelin.
• 2020/21, 26 December —31 January: Kylie Banyard - Holding Ground, Orbit Gallery
• 2021, 19 March–19 September: James Henry: 18 Families
• 2021, 19 March—17 October, #Perempuan 2021 – Contemporary Indonesian Art
• 2021, 19 March—2 May: Harry Nankin - The Fall, Orbit Gallery
• 2021, 4 February—7 March: Ilka White - here now, Orbit Gallery
• 2021–2022, 19 March–17 February: Melinda Harper: In Conversation with the Collection
• 2021, 6 May—30 May: Minaal Lawn - 173 Forms, Orbit Gallery
• 2021, 10 June—4 July: David Frazer - Wood Engravings, Orbit Gallery
• 2021, 8 July—22 August: Orbit: Tashara Roberts - Your Skin My Skin, Orbit Gallery
• 2021/22, 13 November-28 February: 2021 Experimental Print Prize
• 2022, 12 March—13 June: Len Fox Painting Prize 2022

Publications

• Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (1953), Castlemaine Art Gallery and Museum, The Gallery, retrieved 22 September 2021
• Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (1973), Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, retrieved 22 September 2021
• Bale, A. M. E. (Alice Marian Ellen); Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (1977), A.M.E. Bale : Castlemaine Art Gallery, 11th September-30th October, 1977, Castlemaine Art Gallery, retrieved 22 September 2021
• Hurry, Polly; Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum; McClelland Gallery (1983), Polly Hurry, 1883-1963 : a retrospective, Castlemaine Art Gallery, retrieved 22 September 2021
• Perry, Peter (1986). R.W. Sturgess, water-colourist, 1892-1932. Beth Sinclair. [Castlemaine]: Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum. ISBN 0-9598066-3-6. OCLC 21594920.
• Evergood, Miles; Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum; Jewish Museum of Australia; Carrick Hill (Springfield, S.A. : House) (1988), Miles Evergood, 1871-1939 : retrospective, Castlemaine Art Gallery & Historical Museum, retrieved 22 September 2021
• Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (1991), A catalogue of Australian ceramics, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, ISBN 978-0-9598066-5-6
• Herbert, Harold B.; Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (1992). Harold B. Herbert watercolours, 31 October - 6 December, 1992. Castlemaine Art Gallery & Historical Museum. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
• Bush, Charles; Davies, June; Palmer, Jock; Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (1994), Charles Bush : self₋portraits 1936-1986 : Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, 3 September-2 October 1994, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, ISBN 978-0-646-19872-9
• Dent, John (1994). John Dent : retrospective 1973-1993 : Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, 29 October-4 December, 1994. Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum. Castlemaine, Vic.: The Gallery. ISBN 0-646-21117-X. OCLC 35831072.
• McKay, Kirsten; McKay, Kirsten; Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (1995), Women printmakers 1910-1940 : in the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Musuem, ISBN 978-0-646-23161-7
• Armstrong, Ian; Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (1999), Ian Armstrong restrospective 1941-1998, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, ISBN 978-0-9587299-1-8
• Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (2001). Fraser Fair : a retrospective. Peter Perry. Castlemaine: Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum. ISBN 0-9587299-3-X. OCLC 935586136.
• Lewis, Martin (2002). Martin Lewis : stepping into the light. Kirsten McKay, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum. Castlemaine, Vic.: Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum. ISBN 0-9587299-4-8. OCLC 155794636.
• Stoneman, Stuart R., 1927-2002, (collector.); Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, (host institution,) (2003), Highlights from the Stuart R. Stoneman art collection, Castlemaine Art Gallery & Historical Museum, retrieved 22 September 2021{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
• Courier, Jack; Stocky, Catherine; Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (2009), Jack Courier (1915-2007) : lithographs, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, retrieved 22 September 2021
• Perry, Peter W.,(author.); McKay, Kirsten, (author.); Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, (host institution.) (2011), Scottish painters in Australia, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, ISBN 978-0-9807831-3-1 {{citation}}: |author1= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Singleton, Barry (2013). A retrospective exhibiton of ceramics from 1970-2013 by Barry Singleton : Castlemaine Art Gallery. 16.03.2013-26.05.2013. Ray Hearn, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum. Castlemaine. ISBN 978-0-9807831-6-2. OCLC 1004506372.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)