The Collie Art Gallery have successfully attained grant funding to go towards new software and professional restoration of part of their collection.
The Lotterywest grant they were successful in attaining comprises of $3,763.00 which is part payment for a software database system which will enable the gallery to efficiently catalogue art works that come into the gallery, keep a historical record of artists' business activities with the gallery and it will also help to catalogue and maintain the Collie Shire's Collection.
The rest of the grant is $27,025 which will go towards part payment for professional restoration of some of the Claude Hotchin collection by art restoration company, Guest Fine Arts.
Some of the works are in a fragile state and the company will be able to carry out essential repairs and restoration work on some oil paintings.
Claude Hotchin was a hardware merchant who made his fortune during WWII. He was a prolific art collector and philanthropist, with bequests of paintings running into the thousands throughout the state.
From 1947 to his death in 1977, Sir Claude bequested thousands of paintings to country shire, metropolitan hospitals and universities.
He also started up the Claude Hotchin Art Prize in 1948 with eligibility for entry restricted to WA artists.
He would buy the winning entries and this contributed to the collection that he would then bequest to local shires.
The majority of the art works in his collection were from Australian and Western Australian artists.
