1938

In 1938, the James Hugh McPhillimy Gallery was opened by then-Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, and was named after James Hugh McPhillimy, an avid Geelong Gallery supporter whose personal donation underpinned the successful construction of the new wing. 

The establishment of the J H McPhillimy Gallery shifted Geelong Gallery’s main entrance from Johnstone Park to its current location on Little Malop street. 

1938 also marked Geelong’s centenary, with the city of Geelong being established in 1838. The 1938 Geelong Centenary Art Competition celebrated the occasion. 

The winner of this competition was Australian artist Fred Leist, for his work Pergola. Leist was an accomplished landscape and portraitist who learnt plein air painting techniques whilst studying under Julian Ashton in Sydney in the 1890s. Here Leist’s skilful rendering of dappled light and shade is in full effect as he captures two stylishly-clad women escaping the heat of the day.