Harold 'Hal' Hattam (1913-1994), doctor, artist and art collector, came to Australia from his native Scotland at the age of seven. Establishing a medical practice in Melbourne, he began to paint with no formal training. After falling in with a group including Arthur Boyd, Charles Blackman, John Perceval, Leonard French, Fred Williams and Clifton Pugh he abandoned medicine for a time to concentrate on his art. Between 1962 and 1988 he held a number of solo exhibitions, mostly of seascapes, that drew admiration from critics including Patrick McCaughey. He participated in many group shows. Hattam and his wife Kate collected a large body of works by artists in their circle and beyond. Patrick McCaughey has said that they were the 'first private collectors to accept and admire [Fred] Williams's very different kind of art in a wholehearted way'. From 1958 onward they built up a substantial group of his works.
Please note alternative access routes are in place for entry to the Gallery from the visitor car park from Monday 24 August to Wednesday 26 August. Please follow signage and directions from staff.
