Shire of Narrogin to present works from the Carol and Peter Taylor Collection in September

The Shire of Narrogin has announced it will present works from the Carol and Peter Taylor Collection at a curated exhibition titled Living and Working on the Land in September.

Comprised of more than 100 paintings, etchings and drawings, the significant collection was donated to the Shire by Peter Taylor in 2015 and has not been shown since 2016.

Exhibition curator and art historian Dr Diana McGirr said being able to work with the collection amassed by Mr Taylor’s late wife Carol in secret and stored in a sewing room on the couple’s Wheatbelt farm was a special experience.

“I hadn’t heard of the collection until I was approached to curate the show so I rapidly did some homework,” she said.

“I visited Narrogin in January and again in April when Ned Crossley and I went through the collection undertaking a bit of a visual audit and it was quite an eye opener.

“There are some standout works — it’s quite superb, it is a genuinely valuable and appealing collection.”

Paintings from the Hermannsburg School feature in the collection alongside work from regional artists and one of Australia’s best-known landscape painters Hans Heysen.

“There are some really well-known national figures represented,” Dr McGirr said.

“Harald Vike is very well known and Henri Van Raalte — he’s been described as one of the best printmakers of his time in Australia.”

Dr McGirr said the Carol and Peter Taylor Collection provided an important snapshot of place and Australian art history.

“Carol really built an incredible collection,” she said.

“There’s a lot of depth, not only did Carol support regional artists but she was buying works of significant national importance and I’m thrilled to be able to work with a collection of this quality.”

Living and Working on the Land will be on display at NEXIS from September 6 until October 14.