Bridget McDonnell Gallery prepares for another festive season of fine art

One of Carlton’s longest-running art traditions returns this December, with Bridget McDonnell Gallery set to unveil its annual Christmas Exhibition – a much-loved showcase featuring 100 works, all priced under $2000.

Now in its 40th year, the exhibition has become a staple of the local arts calendar, attracting collectors, art lovers and curious newcomers who value original, high-quality works at accessible prices.

The show opens on Friday, December 5 from 6pm to 8, and will run until December 23 at the gallery’s Faraday St home.

Gallery founder Bridget McDonnell said the Christmas Exhibition had endured for decades because of the sheer breadth and calibre of work on display.

The exhibition spans more than two centuries of Australian and international art.

“I am on the lookout all year for early pictures that are interesting and good value for the Christmas Exhibition and buy from all over the country. I also have a colleague in England who has been supplying me with interesting pictures for over 40 years.” McDonnell said. These days I am also selling works for the second and third time as I sell for the children and grandchildren of my original buyers. So, we are on the lookout for discerning collectors or buyers with empty walls.”

Among this year’s highlights are works by prominent Australian artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A serene monotype, Tranquil Morning by Tom Garrett (1879–1952), captures the quiet beauty of a landscape in soft tonal layers. Ellis Silas’s Boats, Venice 1930, a coloured-pencil work on tinted paper, offers a richly detailed glimpse of the famous floating city. Hall Thorpe’s famous woodcut Crocus and Snowdrops and another titled Forget Me Nots were bought from a Christmas exhibition in the 1990s and now the owners are downsizing and brought them back. Also included are works by Celia Perceval, Lucy Boyd and Charlotte Boyd, three artists featured in the current exhibition The Hidden Line, Art of the Boyd Women that has just opened at Bundanon.

The exhibition’s opening night has become a relaxed end-of-year tradition for the gallery’s loyal following. Join the mailing list and receive an invitation if you would like to attend.

Open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 5.30pm and Saturdays from 12pm to 5pm when there is an exhibition on.

Bridget McDonnell Gallery continues to champion fine Australian paintings, drawings and prints from 1800 to the present day.

More information is available at bridgetmcdonnellgallery.com.au •