Victorian Artists Society
Melbourne boasts a colourful history of arts clubs and societies. One of the oldest is the Victorian Artists Society (VAS), which was established in 1870 as the Victorian Academy of Arts. Its founding members included landscape painter Louis Buvelot, winemaker Hubert de Castella and painter, etcher and police magistrate J.A. Panton. In 1873 they secured a Crown land grant on Albert Street, upon which was constructed a small bluestone studio.The studio was subsumed by the current, two-storey American Romanesque style premises, built in 1892. According to Heritage Victoria, the building represented a conscious shift away from the traditional European architectural influences of the Classical and Gothic styles, towards those of the New World. Its symmetrical facade, comprising a central entrance flanked by pavilion wings, has been completely restored to its original grandure. Today, the VAS premises incorporate four galleries, members' rooms, administrative offices and an art school housed in the original bluestone studio. Complementing the annual exhibition program is a growing permanent collection of works by artists and VAS members past and present. The Society's roll call features prominent Australia artists like Frederick McCubbin, Max 'Molly' Meldrum and Arthur Streeton. Dame Nellie Melba was elected an Honorary Life Member in 1914.
Location: 430 Albert Street, East Melbourne
