Collection

Claire Souter
Face (1990)

June Bird Nglala
Woman Dancing (1990)

David Kerr
Bark Ark (1990)

Riddoch Art Gallery has the largest collection of visual art in regional South Australia and is continuing to add to that collection through the generosity of private, government and corporate donors as well as the continuing generosity of the Friends of Riddoch Art Gallery.

The gallery holds three separate collections (Institute Collection; Rodney Gooch Collection of Indigenous Art from Utopia; Riddoch Art Gallery Collection) totaling approximately 1000 pieces of artwork. The Acquisition Policy focuses on four main areas; Art of the Region; Art by Artists of the Region; Art in Wood; and Contemporary Australian Art dating from the 1960s.

The Rodney Gooch Collection

In 1998 the Riddoch Art Gallery received a major gift, a significant collection of Aboriginal art donated by Rodney Gooch, comprising of over 200 original artworks by the artists of Utopia, Central Australia. This magnificent gift represents the entire art making practice of the artists of Utopia, north east of Alice Springs from the late 1970’s to 1998.

Paintings, sculptures, batik fabrics, coolamons and other artefacts by many of Australia’s well-known Aboriginal artists are included in the collection including works by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Ada Bird Petyarre, Lyndsay Bird, Kathleen Petyarre, Gloria Petyarre, Ronnie Price, Paddy Jangala, Billy Petyarre and Mary Kemarre. Also, emerging artists Hazel Kngwarreye, Hilda Bird, Janet Kngwarreye, June Bird and Audrey Kngwarreye amongst others.

The Rodney Gooch collection also includes a series of black and white photographic portraits of the artists by Nicholas Adler.