The Australian reports on Ann Lewis donating more than 100 works and $500,000 in cash:
Arts figures were full of praise for Dr Lewis yesterday after the announcement that she was donating about 130 works by leading Australian contemporary artists to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney and the Newcastle Region Gallery.
At the MCA for the announcement was NSW Premier and Arts Minister Nathan Rees, who congratulated Dr Lewis and said they shared similar tastes in Aboriginal art.
Mr Stokes attended in his role as executive chairman of the Seven Network, one of the major sponsors of the MCA. He said Dr Lewis had been one of the nation’s “premier collectors” for the past half century.
“As a result, her collection is without peer,” he said.
The articles continues to describe the works donated by Dr. Lewis:
From her collection of about 500 works, Dr Lewis donated 70 works to the Museum of Contemporary Art. They included works by artists Rosalie Gascoigne and Rosemary Laing, as well as leading indigenous artists Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Paddy Bedford and Gloria Petyarre. Dr Lewis also donated $500,000 to the museum’s new building fund.
She donated more than 60works by artists including Robert MacPherson and Bronwyn Oliver to the Newcastle Region Gallery.