Samples from the National Art Collection to be displayed |25 October 2014

A selection of works from the National Art Collection will be on display in an exhibition on Monday at the National Art Gallery in Victoria.

The National Art Collection, a collection of art works contributed by various artists and private art collectors, was initiated in the mid-80s by the former director of the department of culture under the Ministry of Education, Flavie Jackson, who appealed to the artists to donate one painting from each exhibition organised for them by the department of culture at that time.

Many artists such as Leon Radegonde, Donald Adelaide, Marc Luc, Andre Woodcock, Peter Pierre-Louis, Jacques Vidot, Michael Adams, Egbert Marday, Gerard Devoud, Emmanuel d’Offay, Christine Chetty, and others contributed art works. Later the department of culture started purchasing paintings from recent artists such as Bernard Pool, Jude Ally, Steve Marie, Marie-May Marie and George Camille.

The paintings on show in this exhibition do not display the works of all the artists, and a selection had to made, bearing in mind several constraints of space, size of works, and other considerations. This is important for artists to understand because the organisers have not simply excluded artists without a valid reason.

Many donors have contributed to the National Art Collection and only some of the works are on exhibit. This is because the organisers are unable to show everything.  Among the donated works from Dr Guthauser and Michel Le Tellier we see some paintings from Africa and others from Switzerland because the individuals who donated the works have assembled their collections from their own art environment, thereby making the National Collection more diverse and more interesting from the point of view of a spectator.

There will also be a new collection of historical portraits donated by Madame Alexandra Azais based on individuals from the early modern History of Seychelles, which will eventually be accommodated in the new National Museum of History.

Contributed