About Us
ABOUT THIRD DRAWER DOWN
"To create is to be." - Abigail Crompton
ABOUT HEIDE
Set on sixteen acres of parkland along the Yarra River in Melbourne, Heide Museum of Modern Art, or Heide as it is affectionately known, is one of Australia’s most important cultural institutions. Once a significant gathering place for the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, the property became a dairy farm in the nineteenth century before evolving into a hub for Australian modernist art and writing after it was purchased by art patrons John and Sunday Reed in 1934.
The Reeds opened their home to the most progressive artists of their era, including Sidney Nolan, Albert Tucker, Joy Hester, John Perceval, Charles Blackman, and Danila Vassilieff—all now celebrated figures in the canon of Australian art. Nolan’s famous Ned Kelly series, a national icon, was painted in the dining room of the Heide farmhouse during 1946-47. Four decades later, in 1981, the Reeds fulfilled their long-held dream of opening Heide to the public as a gallery and park.
Continuing the spirited legacy of the Reeds and the artists they championed, today Heide works to inspire creative talent, collaborating with emerging and mid-career artists as well as celebrating those who have made major contributions to Australian and international art. The museum is especially committed to the significant representation of women artists in both its exhibition program and collection.