1914
In 1914, the Geelong Art Gallery Association lost another prominent member and advocator: James Whitley Sayer, the mastermind behind every event and exhibition thus far.
Horace Frank Richardson, former Mayor of Geelong, requested that a life-sized oil painting of Sayer be hung in Geelong Gallery to commemorate his legacy and his tremendous efforts in bringing about the construction of the permanent site—which he unfortunately did not live to see.
The foundation stone of the G M Hitchcock Memorial Art Gallery was laid in this year by the Honorable William Alexander Watt, Premier of Victoria. After 18 years of campaigning and fundraising, construction of Geelong Gallery finally commenced.