Mark Staniforth 
Waverley Park Homestead Named First South Australian Venue
The National Trust of South Australia (Willunga Branch), in partnership with the National Gallery of Australia, are delighted to announce that Waverley Park Homestead is the next venue to host an artwork from the National Collection as part of the Australian Government’s Sharing the National Collection initiative. The Sharing the National Collection initiative sees regional cultural institutions and galleries across Australia host long-term loans from the National Collection.
Waverley Park Homestead is the first, and currently the only, South Australian gallery to partner with the initiative. The loan from the National Collection is:
Kathleen Sauerbier – Jetty ramp and Howe’s fishing lookout c. 1935,
oil on canvas, 52.5 h cm, 65.5 w cm, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 2012 © Estate of the artist. (Main picture)
“South Australia was my home for over a decade, and it is with great excitement to announce the state’s first loan under Sharing the National Collection to Waverley Park Homestead. The initiative will see Kathleen Sauerbier’s work return home to the greater Willunga region, where the post-Modernist artist spent time, nearly 90 years after its creation.” National Gallery of Australia Director, Nick Mitzevich said.
“We are very excited to bring this beautiful artwork by Kathleen Sauerbier home to the place where it was painted. We sincerely thank the Minister for Arts, The Honourable Tony Burke, and the staff at the National Gallery of Australia, for establishing the Sharing the National Collection program that recognises the unique, rich meanings that nationally significant works can hold at the local level. South Australia enjoys a rich artistic heritage, which is exemplified in this artwork.” Dr Paddy O’Toole, Chair of the Willunga Branch of the National Trust of South Australia said.
The artwork is part of the Know My Name: Willunga exhibition. This collection tells the story of female artists who lived or painted in the greater Willunga Basin district since the 1900s. This includes works from the Willunga Branch collection and loans from artists and art collectors across South Australia.
A South Australian local, Kathleen Sauerbier is a pre and post war Modernist artist whose works have been shown at major galleries and in private collections across Australia. Sauerbier’s works depict Willunga landscapes, portraits and still life moments, inspired by local beaches and scenery.
The Know My Name: Willunga exhibition runs from Sunday 28 July 2024 and will be on display for three months.
Kathleen Sauerbier’s painting will remain on display for two years.
Background
About Waverley Park Homestead
Waverley Park Homestead is in the McLaren Vale wine region. It is a heritage-listed building leased by the National Trust (SA) from the City of Onkaparinga that was built in mid 1840s. It was built for important local farmer and politician, Thomas Smith Kell. Today, the venue is used as a volunteer run art gallery and event venue for the Willunga community.
23 St Peters Terrace, Willunga
Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 1pm and 4pm
About the National Gallery of Australia
Situated on Lake Burley Griffin in Kamberri/Canberra, the National Gallery is Australia’s national visual arts institution dedicated to collecting, sharing and celebrating art from Australia and the world.
Home to the most valuable collection of art in Australia, the national collection comprises over 155,000 works of art, including the world’s largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. Our significant collection represents the whole of Australian art, modern art worldwide, particularly from Europe and America, and art from across Asia and the Pacific.
The collection includes some of the finest examples in Australia of French Impressionism, Dada and Surrealism, the Russian avant-garde, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art.
Sharing the National Collection
In January 2023, the Australian Government’s launched Revive – the national cultural policy with this launched the Sharing the National Collection initiative. This program demonstrates the Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to sharing world class art with regional communities across Australia.
The National Gallery of Australia has received $11.8m over four years to get more art outside of city centres and into regional Australia. This investment covers transport, install, marketing support and insurances to empower regional communities access to the national art collection in multi-year lease agreements.
Read more on Sharing the National Collection here: https://nga.gov.au/national-gallery-on-tour/sharing-the-national-collection/
Read the NGA medie release here: https://nga.gov.au/about-us/media/media-releases/2024/Artwork-returns-Willunga/
See also: sauerbier – Aldinga Village Voice
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