National Gallery of Victoria

The NGV currently occupies two distinct architectural sites. NGV International, located at 180 St Kilda Road, was designed by the architectural firm Grounds Romberg Boyd, who won the commission in 1959. The building opened in 1968 on the site of Wirth's Park. In 1997, a major redevelopment was proposed, and a fundraising drive launched in 2000 secured $15 million from private donors alongside government funding to modernize the ageing facility. The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia opened in 2003 at Federation Square, providing a dedicated space for Australian art. A third site, The Fox: NGV Contemporary, is planned to open in the future to serve as Australia's new home for contemporary art and design, with the design competition winner announced in March 2022.

The NGV's collection encompasses over 76,000 works, including European, Asian, Oceanic, and American art, as well as Australian art, fashion, textiles, photography, and decorative arts. The Asian art collection began in 1862, just one year after the gallery's founding. The Australian collection features significant Indigenous art and works by prominent Australian artists, bolstered by the 2004 donation of works by Dr. Joseph Brown. The gallery holds one of the world's largest collections of engravings and woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer in its Prints and Drawings department. Notable highlights include the largest and most comprehensive range of artworks in Australia, with strong holdings in old masters, Greek vases, Egyptian artefacts, and historical European ceramics. The gallery also established the first curatorial department dedicated to photography in an Australian public gallery in 1967.

As Australia's oldest and most visited gallery, the NGV plays a pivotal role in the nation's cultural landscape. It is renowned for hosting large-scale exhibitions that attract record attendances, such as 'Melbourne Now' in 2013, which drew over 753,000 visitors, and the NGV Triennial, a major celebration of contemporary international art and design. The gallery has been the site of significant historical events, including a public debate in 1883 over the display of a female nude portrait and the theft of a famous painting in 1986. The institution's commitment to public access is demonstrated by its free entry policy and its extensive educational programs. The NGV also publishes a bi-monthly magazine and continues to expand its reach through new initiatives and future developments like The Fox.