What is National Gallery of Victoria?
[[File:Melb NGV.jpg|thumb|alt=Large grey brick building without windows|National Gallery of Victoria, St.Kilda Road]] The '''National Gallery of Victoria''' is an [[art gallery|art gallery and museum]] in [[Melbourne, Australia]]. Started in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. The main gallery is located in St Kilda Road, at [[Southbank, Victoria|Southbank]], with a branch gallery at [[Federation Square]]. The St Kilda Road Gallery, designed by Sir Roy Grounds, opened in 1968. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites – NGV International on St Kilda Road, redesigned by Mario Bellini, and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square, designed by LAB Architecture Studio.<ref>NGV Annual Report - 2009/10.</ref> When the gallery opened, [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] had been an independent [[colony]] for ten years. After the [[Victorian gold rush]], it was easily the richest part of Australia, and Melbourne the largest city. Generous gifts from rich citizens, including the industrialist [[Alfred Felton]], made it possible for the National Gallery to start buying large collections of overseas works from both old and modern masters. It has over 65,000 works of art.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/ngv-collection |title=NGV Collection |first= |last= |work=ngv.vic.gov.au |year=2011 |accessdate=8 July 2011 |archive-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706122923/http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/ngv-collection |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[National Gallery of Victoria Art School]] began in 1867. It was the leading centre for art training in Australia until about 1910.<ref>{{cite book |last= McCulloch |first= Alan |author2= Susan McCulloch |year= 1994 |title= The Encyclopedia of Australian Art |publisher= Allen & Unwin |location= |isbn= 1863733159 |page= 864 (Appendix 8)}}</ref> The School’s graduates, such as [[Sidney Nolan]], went on to become some of Australia’s most significant artists. ==References== {{r