Title

Supporting the national collection: Gordon and Marilyn Darling.

Venues

National Gallery Of Australia (1 August 2026 – 28 February 2027)

Date

(2026 – 2027)

Summary

Multi-artist exhibition. Located: Australia (ACT). Prints

Curator

DeCourcy, Elisa

Web address

https://nga.gov.au/exhibitions/supporting-the-nat…

Country of context

Australia

Abstract

Supporting the national collection: Gordon and Marilyn Darling.

Bringing a selection of work from the Ntaria/Hermannsburg school of watercolour painting into conversation with contemporary First Nations and Australian prints, Supporting the national collection: Gordon and Marilyn Darling draws on the National Gallery’s singular works on paper collection to celebrate themes of intimacy and connection which vein across works on display.
The year 2026 marks 40 years since the late Gordon Darling AC CMG finished his term as the first Chair of the National Gallery Board. In his address at the opening of the National Gallery in 1982, Darling observed that the ‘challenge facing our young Gallery is to […] assemble a worthy collection’. Supporting the national collection takes stock of and celebrates this vision, drawing from an extensive and ever-evolving collection that has been acquired with the support of Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC.
Established in 1989, the Gordon Darling Australia Pacific Print Fund has supported the development of a collection of more than 8,000 works on paper at the National Gallery—highlights from which feature in this exhibition. In addition, since 2017, the Darlings have generously gifted and supported the acquisition of watercolours from Ntaria/Hermannsburg artists, including Western Arrarnta artist Albert Namatjira.
Supporting the national collection brings together a selection of these works of art under the guiding themes of intimacy and connection. Selected works reveal an intimacy in the act of self-portraiture and engagement with Country and place. They also illuminate connections between three generations of artists, evidenced in references to each other's works within artwork titles, and within the works themselves.
The exhibition shows a Namatjira watercolour alongside the work of his mentor, Rex Battarbee, and places them in the context of Western Arrarnta artists such as Kumantjai H Pareroultja and Irene Mbitjana Entata, who engage with and extend Namatjira’s artistic legacy. From this point of departure, the themes of intimacy and connection are explored through significant artists in the Gordon Darling Australia Pacific Print Fund, including John Brack, Cressida Campbell, Barbara Hanrahan, Lonnie Hutchinson, Frank Hinder, Bea Maddock, Ngadjon/Mamu artist Danie Mellor, Gija artist Queenie McKenzie and John Wolseley.

[National Gallery Media, 2026].

Last Updated

11 Aug 2026