The Hon Rod Kemp was Minister for the Arts and Sport from Friday 23 November 2001 to Tuesday 30 January 2007. This site is available for archival purposes only.

Gifts to the nation from private collections

The collections of Australia’s cultural institutions will be further enriched with the addition of valuable and significant items donated under the Cultural Gifts Program, the Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp said today.

Among the latest gifts donated under the program are a 1929 painting by Grace Cossington Smith and a large collection of Japanese woodblock prints dating from the 1700s.

The Cultural Gifts Program, which is administered by the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, encourages donations of culturally significant items from private collections to public galleries, museums, libraries and archives through tax incentives.

“The program’s success is largely due to the generosity of private collectors. Without their support, some of the nation’s cultural treasures would not be preserved and made accessible to the Australian community,” the Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp said.

Since its establishment in 1978, over $375 million worth of items including visual and decorative arts, historical material, Indigenous cultural items and scientific collections have been donated through the program.

Donors can claim a tax deduction for the market value of their gifts and elect to spread the deduction over up to five income years. The gifts are also exempt from capital gains tax.

The Committee on Taxation Incentives for the Arts meets three times a year to recommend valuers for the program, to certify that valuations of donated items reflect market value and to endorse gifts that meet the program’s requirements.

At a recent meeting, the Committee assessed 250 donations, valued at $14.4 million.

Proposals for donations to be considered at the Committee’s next meeting on 2–3 March 2006 should be submitted to the Secretariat by close of business on Friday 10 February 2006.

For more information on the Cultural Gifts Program visit www.dcita.gov.au/cgp.

Images of selected recent donations are available for media use by contacting Corporate Communications on (02) 6271 1793. They can be viewed at http://www.dcita.gov.au/arts/arts/cultural_gifts_program/cultural_gifts_program_media_site

MELBOURNE
19 December 2005
Media contact: Michael Christo 03 9650 7274 or 0409 040 276

Recent donations to Australian institutions under the Cultural Gifts Program include:

• A 1929 painting by Grace Cossington Smith, entitled The bridge in building, donated to the National Gallery of Australia. Grace Cossington Smith was one of the leading modernists of her generation. This work showcases her talents as well as capturing the excitement surrounding the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This gift will complement the collection of early modernist works already held at the National Gallery of Australia.

• A collection of 59 Japanese woodblock prints, dating from the late 1770s to the 1980s, donated to the Art Gallery of South Australia. The gallery has an internationally recognised collection of Japanese woodcuts, ranging from early ukiyo-e ‘floating world’ of the Edo period to the shinhanga ‘new prints’ movement of the 20th century. This latest donation of prints will augment the gallery’s important collection.