9 March – 14 April 2002

Howard Hinton 1867-1948 bequeathed his extensive art collection, which was built around his early purchase of works by Streeton, Will Ashton and Syd Long, to the New England Regional Art Museum and the AGNSW. Samuel Henry (‘Harry’) Ervin 1881-1978 and Hinton are linked due to their generous philanthropic spirit.  They also shared a love of work by artists such as Streeton and Roberts whom they both met at the Mosman’s Bay artists’ camps in the 1890s.

This exhibition aims to acknowledge the great contribution of these two collectors to Australian Impressionism through their energetic collecting and their gifts to the Australian people.

There are magnificent works by Arthur Streeton, including many views of Mosman and environs from the 1890s,Tom Roberts, Lloyd Rees, Thea Proctor, Nora Heysen, Norman Lindsay, Sir Bertram Mackennal, Sir William Russell Flint, Will Ashton, George Lambert, Elioth Gruner and more from the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, National Trust S.H. Ervin Gallery and Norman Lindsay Gallery and the New England Regional Art Museum.

Mosman Walking Tour – The artists’ camps of Mosman

In association with the exhibition, Secret Desires : The collections of S.H. Ervin  and Howard Hinton, we will visit the site of the original artists’ camp, Curlew, for a discussion on the lives of the artists during the 1890s. Meeting at the ferry wharf at Taronga Park Zoo, we will walk to nearby Sirius Cove to see where the artists lived and worked during this golden era in Australian art.

image: NORA HEYSEN  Still life (Lemons) 1933 oil on canvas NERAM