Dans les murs mais aussi “hors les murs”: An Australian view

In the Education Faculty at La Trobe University over 300 art works are exhibited around the walls and corridors of the building. This is named the F.M. Courtis Collection after the art educator who acquired the first works in 1958. The purpose of the acquisitions was to build a teaching collection for use by lecturers and student teachers. The collection was developed to provide examples of the stylistic periods in Australian art since European settlement across a range of art media. It was assumed that young people had limited access to quality art in rural regions and that being in daily contact with the works they would come to appreciate art which would then enrich them as teachers. The head of art education was responsible for the collection. Mr Courtis has been succeeded by four other curators in the last half century.