Founded in 1957, Hamilton Art Gallery would not exist were it not for the generosity of a local grazier, Herbert Buchanan Shaw who left an impressive collection of artworks to the City of Hamilton together with ₤6,000 to build a gallery to house them.  Considered to be one of the major arts bequests of the 20th century, the Shaw Bequest included 781 items of exquisite English and European silver, glass, porcelain, miniatures, oriental ceramics, paintings, furniture and objets d’art.

This generous bequest reflected the collecting interests of Herbert and his wife May who lived at ‘Kiama’ near Hamilton.  In the early 1900s Herbert had inherited the property from his father and in 1923 married May McPherson of the McPherson family of ‘Invergowrie’ in Hawthorn.  May’s father, Sir William McPherson, had been Treasurer of Victoria (1919-1926) and Premier (1928-1929).  Due to his business acumen May had the use of ₤1 million during her lifetime and this together with Herbert’s substantial holdings during a period of great pastoral wealth allowed them to travel and collect. 

The original collection seems to have been jointly formed by Herbert and May from the time of their marriage until May’s premature death in 1943.  During their lifetime, they put together an outstanding collection which they acquired from many sources.  They had purchased extensively when travelling abroad, also at auction – Joel’s or special sales such as that of Sir Keith Murdoch or Lady Fraser, from quality dealers in Melbourne e.g. Joshua McClelland Print Room, Mr. Meares of Connoisseur Galleries and others.  When they had become widely known as collectors, dealers would let them know of pieces that came their way which they felt would fit in with their collection or just be of interest to them.  For the 14 years following her death Herbert continued to build the collection apparently with the concept of a gallery for Hamilton in mind.

What actually happened to the collection was probably a little wide of Herbert’s original intention. As there were no children, twenty-eight pieces went to nieces and nephews and his Trustees arranged for what ended up being 781 ‘lots’ to be selected for the Hamilton collection.  This selection was done by the retired Director of the National Gallery of Victoria Darryl Lindsay, Melbourne auctioneer Leonard Joel, and antique dealer Archie Meares.  An additional 970 lots (which included the domestic furnishings) were sold at their home and a further 326 lots were sold in Melbourne all by Leonard Joel.

The 781 ‘lots’ that did arrive at the Gallery are of outstanding quality and staggering in their diversity.  Most of the acquisitions were made from reputable dealers in a trade that serviced gentlemen collectors and the combined judgment of dealer and buyer generally served to keep the quality high.  The bequest was received with few details and research on the provenance continues until this day.  This research still leads to discoveries that reinforce the richness of the bequest.