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One of the world’s most famous artworks – Meules, milieu du jour [Haystacks, midday], 1890 by Claude Monet – is on display at the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre from today, as part of the National Gallery of Australia’s Sharing the National Collection initiative.
The $174 million masterpiece by French Impressionist Monet was officially welcomed to the region with a special ceremony at the award-winning regional gallery in Murwillumbah today.
Meules, milieu du jour [Haystacks, midday] will be on display until October 2025. Long revered as Monet’s most exquisite series, the Haystack paintings are remarkable for the range of light and weather conditions portrayed. These stacks of wheat stood in a field behind the artist’s house at Giverny, in northern France. From the late summer of 1890 until winter 1891, Monet painted these haystacks at least 25 times. It was the changing effects of light, rather than the stacks themselves, that fascinated him.
The painting is one of five works to be shared with the Tweed Regional Gallery from the national collection as part of the National Gallery’s Sharing the National Collection initiative. The remaining works – Natura morta [Still life]1956 by Giorgio Morandi and three by Australian artist Margaret Olley – will be shared with the Tweed from February 2024.
Tweed Regional Gallery Director Susi Muddiman OAM said this was a significant moment for regional art in Australia.
“We are extremely proud to be the first gallery in regional Australia selected to participate in the National Gallery’s exciting Sharing the National Collection initiative,” Ms Muddiman said.
“This initiative provides a rare opportunity for people living in regional areas to experience an artwork of this calibre so close to home.
“To be able to offer our visitors this additional opportunity to view an artwork of Monet’s calibre will further enhance the Gallery as a destination of choice.
“We are very grateful for the opportunity and thank the National Gallery for their support.”
Federal Member for Richmond Justine Elliot was excited to welcome a painting of such renown to the Tweed Valley.
“The Tweed Regional Gallery is world-class and so it is fitting it be selected as the first regional gallery to participate in the Australian Government’s new Sharing the National Collection initiative,” Mrs Elliot said.
“A masterpiece of this calibre, considered a jewel in the national collection, is meant to be shared and enjoyed by everyone and so I am delighted it will be shared with our community over the next two years.”
Sharing the National Collection is part of Revive, Australia’s new National Cultural Policy, with $11.8 million committed over four years to fund the costs of transporting, installing and insuring works in the national collection so they can be seen across the country for extended periods.
Alison Kubler, Member of the National Gallery of Australia Council, who travelled to Tweed for the opening, said Haystacks, midday was one of Monet’s most important paintings.
“This is a superb example of Monet’s oeuvre and as such a very important work in the national collection, much loved by visitors and members,” Ms Kubler said.
“We are so delighted to be able to share such a significant painting with a wider audience. This is a collection that belongs to Australia, and we could not be happier to see it at the Tweed.
“In the spirit of Sharing the National Collection, we are also thrilled to share other works of art with the Tweed by the great Italian painter Giorgio Morandi and the iconic Margaret Olley which shows the true depth and richness of the national collection.”
This work of art is on long-term loan from the National Gallery of Australia with support from the Australian Government as part of Sharing the National Collection.
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Activities and events for audiences of all ages will complement the artwork throughout its two-year stay at the Tweed Regional Gallery, with details to be published on the Gallery website.
Meules, milieu du jour [Haystacks, midday] will be on display to the public from 1 November 2023 until 26 October 2025. Entry remains free of charge. Group visits and tours must book via the Gallery website.
The Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre is located at 2 Mistral Road, South Murwillumbah. The Gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday 10 am – 5 pm (DST) and Apex Dining is open Wednesday to Sunday from 9 am to 4 pm.
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