Shire of Northam Art Collection
The Shire of Northam art collection started in 1952 when Sir Claude Hotchin presented 33 Australian original works of art to the people of Northam. His aim was to encourage art and culture in Western Australia and to enable people living away from the city to enjoy art in their own districts.
Following the initial bequest of the Hotchin collection, pieces have been either donated to the collection, purchased by the Shire of Northam as the winning piece of the annual Northam Art Prize acquisitive art awards, or purchased by Council. Today the Shire of Northam art collection consist of more than 140 pieces by both local and well-known artists and represent a wide range of styles and mediums.
Sir Claude Hotchin was an important art collector and benefactor of public galleries in Western Australia. He believed that ‘good pictures are things of beauty and character.’ He always enjoyed visiting art galleries and resolved to purchase as many Australian paintings as he could afford. He began collecting seriously in 1937, his preference was for Australian pastoral landscapes.
He was active in hosting art exhibitions at various venues and in 1947 he opened the Claude Hotchin Art Gallery in Perth. In 1948 he inaugurated the Claude Hotchin Art Competition for Western Australian artists which was awarded annually until 1973. He was a member of the Arts Council of Australia, a trustee of the Perth National Gallery and W.A. Chairman of the Arts Section of the Commonwealth Jubilee celebrations.
In 1972, he bequeathed $10,000 to the Art Gallery of Western Australia which they used to establish the Sir Claude Hotchin Art Foundation and between 1948 and 1977 Hotchin donated an estimated two thousand original paintings to galleries, hospitals, shire councils and other public institutions throughout the State in an effort to 'stimulate art appreciation'.
Art Collection Gallery
The Claude Hotchin Bequest :
3. 'Frosty Morning' by Robert Richmond Campbell (1907-72)
4. The Valley of the Murray by Verners Linde
6. 'Mother and Child' by Kathleen O'Connor
7. The Chittering Valley by Allon Cook
14. River Mists by Edward Kimpton
15. The Little White Church by Max Ragless
17. Autumn on the Tumut River by Dudley Parker
18. Bay of Islands by Audrey Greenhalgh
19. Roleystone by Ernest Philpot
20. The Old Malthouses by Francis Roy Thompson
22. In the Shade of the Trees by Herbert Gallop
25. 'Autumn Morning, Hume Hwy Yass' by Gordon Elsing
26. Golden Valley by Robert Johnson
27. 'Bellkracana Flinders Range' by Travis Webber
33. Black Butts by Howard Barron
37. Green Valley by George Benson
39. Deserted Beach by Arthur Merric Boyd Snr.
40. Quiet Moorings by Marshall Clifton
41. Picnic Spot by Kenneth MacQueen
42. Scene Near Berwick by Rah Fizelle
44. 'Old Melbourne' by Leith Angelo
45. Towards Henty by Thomas Bone
46. The Silver Lining by Cyril Lander
47. Fishing Party by Percy Ivor Hunt
49. Light and Shadow by James Goatcher
51. Dinghy by Portia Bennett
52. Spring Offering by Ellen Chappell
53. To the Quarry by Mollie Flaxman
Shire of Northam Art Prize Acquisitions:
11. Flowers and Eucalyptus by Judy Lambert
12. Winter Time - York by Harold R Pride
38. 'A Touch of Spring' by Helen Sounness
54. Avon in Flood by Doug Irvine
55. 'My Tangled Garden' by Marlene Page-Sorrin
56. Pemberton Blues II by Drewfus Gates
57. 'Salt Pan' by Tim Williams
59. Almond Blossom by Georgie Dwyer
66. Female Redtailed Black Cockatoo by Cherrie Stott
67. 'Laying the Line - 1903' by Phillip Doncon
70. 'South to the Cape' by Ian R. Hill
71. 'The Horse Race' by Anne Ashman
72. 'City Life' by D Hodges
73. Late Afternoon Storm by Jane Kos
74. 'The Avon at Spencers Brook' by T Brian Aylwood
78. Shadow on the Grass Tree by Jeanette Lewis
84. 'Old Dorson's Cottage' by Nicholas Anthamasoff
86. Untitled by Helen Sounness
90. Waiting for the Cobbler by Drewfus Gates
92. 'Memories of the Past' by Marlene Page-Sorrin
107. 'Hidden Secrets' by Vicki Sangster
118. "Outback Moses"- Jack Charles by Graham Smith
144. 'So Many Happy Ever Afters' by Tanya Jaceglav
Other Donations & Acquisitions:
8. Upper Reaches of the Seine by Will Ashton
16. Bartolime Carmona Riding Bodgeguero by Frank Pash (Print)
21. Portrait of Hon. George Throssell MLA
24. ARG Hawke by Alex Risco
28. Industrial Extracts by by Peter Rohan
29. Wittenoom Gorge by Peter Rohan
30. Karri Forest by Peter Rohan
31. York Looking North by Peter Rohan
32. Breakfast by Edward Barron
34. Misty Mornings by Peter Rohan
48. Olgas Central Australia by Walter Ebatarinja
50. 'St Saviours AD 1862' by Peter Rohan
58. Buckland by Don Lobban
60. 'The Old School East Northam' by Margaret Shenton
61. Northam in April, Devon England by Alice Paterson
62. Marlene's House by Craig Boulter
63. 'The Late K F McIver MLA' by D’Hange Yammannee
69. The Piper Calls the Tune by Christine Elaine Hunt
79. Northam Group Tapestry by Beth Byfield
85. 'Early Light - Toodyay' by Maureen Wells
87. Lake Gwellup by Heather Jones
88. 'Countryside at Northam' by Dulcie Armstrong
89. Beach Scene by Paris
93. 'The First Church of Northam' by Alice L Paterson
96. George Throssell, artist unknown
100. Untitled by Terry Maitland
102. Queen Elizabeth II Portrait by Baron
103. Life Force by Anne Ashman
105. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
112. Reproduction of WA Syndicate who Discovered the Eastern Goldfields
113. Fitzgerald Street Northam early 1900's, Historical Photograph
114. Avon Bridge Hotel 1938, Historical Photograph
117. Bernard Park Northam by Chris Nixon
119. 'The Residency Northam, 1904' by F Batty
120. Still Life Fruits by Pam Northey
145. Wardong and Manidj by Kirk Garlett
146. Ballardong Boodja by Bradley Kickett