The greater proportion of works come to the collection as gifts or bequests but works are purchased using funds from private patrons, the Hamilton Art Gallery Trust Fund and the Annual Council Allocation for Acquisitions. Donations to the Gallery are tax deductible and the Gallery is a participant in the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program which enables tax deductibility for approved gifts to the collection. Details are available by contacting the Gallery.

The Gallery has an emphasis on collecting contemporary metalwork, factory and studio glass and works on paper as well as developing our broader collections of Australian, European and Asian art. Active collecting continues in the spirit and breadth of the Herbert and May Shaw Bequest upon which the Gallery was founded and within the confines of the Gallery’s Acquisition Policy.