castlemaine art gallery and historical museum

What a little gem this gallery is! Many of my favourites artists, McCubbin, McKinnes, Preston, Roberts, Streeton, etc are represented here and I had a very pleasant hour here. Well worth it!

Castlemaine Art Gallery has always been an enjoyable place to visit, and now with a vibrant and young new director, the place is taking on a welcome new vibe, with the implementation of new exciting and innovative exhibitions and musical events. The old collection is also being given a new look with different groupings which highlight familiar works and others from the archives coming to the fore. Make sure you allow time for a visit.

We really enjoyed seeing this collection, it can be done in one go and includes some good Australian art then we looked at the museum downstairs which was really interesting.

I love the gallery because of the older paintings,disappointed that the painting of the Queen Mother as a girl was in storage, they gave me a photo card of the painting to ease my disappointment:)

This collection of Australian impressionists is way better than you could expect from a little country gallery. Rivals Bendigo, Ballarat & Melbourne. Funded by a bequest early on, and astutely bought when the painting were reasonably priced by a knowledgable committee. A changing gallery of temporary exhibitions reflects Castlemaine's vibrant artistic scene.

There are some real gems in this tiny Art Gallery, 19thC artists, sculpture, furniture, modern art and interesting objects. included in the entry is a history museum focussing on the local goldmining history, and at the time we visited had a WW1 display which many museums will have in the lead up to the centenary of Gallipoli landings.

They had a few old treasures hanging but we should have booked ahead to make sure we could view the old classics that were not hanging at the time of our visit.

I take my daughter here regularly. Downstairs is an historical museum with lots of local information and interesting things to look at. We usually do this bit first before heading upstairs to look at the art works there. I have found that most art on display is permanent, but they do have some rotating exhibitions. The service is friendly and welcoming.

During a long-weekend stay in Castlemaine I visited the gallery + museum twice. The building has an impressive Art Deco façade. It is a short uphill walk from a main shopping street and has a few stairs at the entry, so disabled visitors would be wise to enquire ahead about access arrangements. I was told the museum (downstairs in basement and rather gloomy) receives more visits than the art gallery and there are hopes it will be expanded. I found the museum increasingly interesting as I progressed deeper into it. There are displays on a range of aspects of the area's social, construction, industrial and indigenous history. I found the decorative arts the most memorable. The art gallery (entrance level, through shop) is spacious and I liked the choice of colours for flooring, walls and trims. There are plenty of traditional Australian works dating from the early twentieth century, and when I visited there was also a retrospective exhibition of a local contemporary artist's work.

This is an art gallery and museum worth visiting - for a small gallery it has an impressive range and quality of Australian pieces. I found it very relaxing and worth putting on the itinerary. Similarly the museum (lower ground floor) gave an excellent overview of the gold rush era and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. Congratulations to the curator and team.

By chance we ventured into the Castlemaine art gallery and museum. What a surprise to find such an extensive collection of well known australian artists work exhibited. Plus the bonus of a current exhibition.The museum downstairs was set out well and gave one a good feel for the history of the area.

Really nice clean gallery with some fantastic artworks by many artists youve heard of.The museum is cool too, and you will struggle to do both in under an hour, so get a 2P park!

I wouldn't travel a huge way to visit, but this small gallery is beautiful. The collection is varied and the entrance fee is a few bucks. Certainly not what I was expecting to find in this town.

This handsome Art Deco facade designed with sculpted figures in the panel above the entrance is a draw card. The interior houses an impressive permenant collection of the Aussie impressionists. Check out the royalty of artists...Buvelot,McCubbin,Roberts and Streeton. Then you discover the pantheon of 20th century luminaries.... Bunny,Drysdale,brack Pugh....it just rolls delightfully on... kemp,Preston Williams and tucker to name my favourites. There is a brilliant collection of photographs of australian artists by photographers,like Dupain,cotton nd the wonderful,moore. This is a must visit.

This is our second visit to the Castlemaine Regional Gallery but it has an excellent collection of art from the late 1800's to current.The museum downstairs is also very well laid out and informative.It is one of the few Regional Galleries where there is an entrance fee, but worth it for the paintings alone.