The Benalla Art Gallery art collection spans three centuries of Australian art, from the early 19th century to the present day. The collection includes paintings, sculptures, works on paper, decorative arts and furniture reflecting European trends of the late 19th and early 20th century.

This historical colonial and European influence of traditional styles and subjects in art is evident in a selection of paintings, prints and drawings from the Ledger Bequest with key works by Conrad Martens, Eugene von Guerard, Louis Buvelot and Charles Rolando. The collection includes works from the Australian impressionist period by John Russell and E. Phillips Fox, and has a strong representation from the Heidelberg School, including Impression for Golden Summer by Arthur Streeton and works by other notable painters of the time such as Tom Roberts, Walter Withers, Clara Southern and Frederick McCubbin.

The Benalla Art Gallery holds an incredible range of traditional and contemporary Indigenous artworks that survey the diversity, richness and complexity of the Aboriginal people and their traditions. The collection features works in a variety of media including painting on bark and canvas, sculpture, textiles, weaving, photomedia, printmaking and installation. Included in the collection are works by leading artists such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra, Anatjari Tjakamarra, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, Tommy McRae, Albert Namatjira, Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula, Rover Thomas, Gloria Tamerre Petyarre, Gordon Bennett, Brook Andrew, Destiny Deacon, Leah King-Smith and Fiona Foley.

Benalla Art Gallery’s collection of modern and contemporary artworks from the 20th and 21st century includes painting, photography, sculpture, prints and drawings. The collection traces the development of modern and contemporary Australian art from the Melbourne and Sydney moderns, the Heide circle, abstraction and figurative Australian art though to postmodernism and the present day. The Benalla Art Gallery is committed to building a significant collection of contemporary Australian art.

In 2019, with thanks to funding and assistance awarded through the State Government, the Benalla Art Gallery participated in Creative Victoria’s Regional Digitisation Roadshow. The program aimed to make Victoria’s public collections available to art lovers around the globe. As part of this program, Benalla Art Gallery worked with professional photographers, collections staff and conservators to document the Benalla Art Gallery collection, and began to make it accessible online. This project has been furthered thanks to AMaGA’s Regional Gallery Digitisation Project through the Working for Victoria program, and the Ledger Charitable Trust.

We invite you to search our online collection.

In 2022, Benalla Art Gallery undertook a Significance Assessment of its Collection, supported by the Community Heritage Grants program. The Assessment examined the Collection beyond financial value, and assessed the historical, artistic, and community significance of the collection.

The Benalla Art Gallery again received Community Heritage Grants funding in 2024 to engage the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation to undertake a comprehensive Preservation Needs Assessment. This detailed review examined the condition of the Collection, exhibition environments and storage areas, and delivered a prioritised set of conservation recommendations.

Informed by this Assessment, the Gallery secured further Community Heritage Grants funding in 2025 to undertake conservation treatment of four significant works: Nu Speak Tower by Jan Senbergs; Joe Byrne exhibited at Benalla by Albert Tucker; The Barwon by Louis Buvelot; and Fabric Fantasy byAnnemieke Mein.

Vanessa Kowalski, Head of Conservation at Grimwade Conservation Services, explained that conservation works “included laboratory testing, surface cleaning, stabilisation of vulnerable areas, and conservation-standard rehousing to ensure the long-term preservation of each artwork.”

Rochelle Armstrong, Acting Assistant Director, the Community Heritage Grants program, said “Benalla Art Gallery is an excellent example of an organisation that has progressed through all three stages of the recommended CHG journey. It is fantastic to see the outcomes they have achieved, and to gain deeper insight into their collection, as well as their commitment to its long term care and accessibility for future generations.”

Eric Nash emphasised the vital role of the grants program; “The Community Heritage Grants program supports not-for-profit organisations to care for locally owned but nationally significant collections. This funding is essential in helping Benalla Art Gallery preserve and share our Collection—just as it does for custodians of important collections across Australia.”

The Community Heritage Grants program is funded by the Australian Government through the Office for the Arts, in partnership with the National Library of Australia, National Archives of Australia, National Film and Sound Archive, and the National Museum of Australia.