From simple beginnings, the National Collection over the years has gathered and exhibited artwork of Guyana’s best artists
Guyana’s national gallery of art, officially known as the National Collection, is housed at Castellani House, the name given to the building in honour of its designer and builder Cesar Castellani.
The art collection’s unofficial beginnings developed in the 1950s when public subscription was mustered to purchase a Denis Williams painting, “Human World”.
Its official start came in 1962, when the National History and Arts Council was established, which began to acquire works of art by Guyanese artists. The council acquired important pieces for the fledgling collection, but since it had no actual gallery, many pieces were held in various government buildings and in Guyana’s foreign embassies.
After a change in government in 1992, it was realized that the then-disused residence would make a good home for the national collection, so on May 24, 1993, it was designated the home of the National Collection and renamed Castellani House.
With this move, the collection at last gained a permanent site and space in which its pieces could be displayed. Everley Austin was appointed first curator in 1994, who was then succeeded by Elfrieda Bissember in 1996. After Bissember’s departure, Ohene Koama was appointed Curator (ag).
The National Collection is now managed by the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture Youth and Sport, and has grown to over 1,200 pieces of fine art by major and lesser-known Guyanese artists.
The collection encompasses work from early Guyanese masters such as E.R. Burrowes, Vivian Antrobus and Hubert Moshett, to the second generation that includes Denis Williams, Stanley Greaves, Ron Savory, Donald Locke and others who followed them.
It also includes other artists who contributed to the visual imagination of Guyana over the years – major names such as Aubrey Williams, Philip Moore, Gary Thomas, and others, including contemporary names such as Winslow Craig, Bernadette Persaud, George Simon, Oswald Hussein and many others.
Containing many artistic treasures, the National Collection is a symbol of Guyana, an invaluable resource, and a priceless national asset. (Text based on “Panorama: A Portrait of Guyana. Images from the National Collection of Guyana”)
