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362:. Gibson was one of several new faces brought to the Gallery's board at a critical time: the Victorian government had announced a decision to build a new National Gallery in Melbourne, and governance of the existing institution was undergoing significant upheaval. Gibson was reported to be "always a man of strong opinions", bringing a robust and blunt character to some of the meetings of the Gallery's trustees. The trustees were concerned that the substantial resources of the institution's rich Felton Bequest were not being applied effectively to ensure the representation of contemporary schools of art in the Gallery's collection.
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Industries Ltd, and was listed on the stock exchange from 1949 to 1959, during which period he was chairman and managing director. Gibson also held other directorships, most notably of
Volkswagen Australasia from 1961 to 1967 and Hoover Australia from 1964 to 1970. An active member of Victoria's wider business community in the 1940s, he was President of the Electricity and Radio Federation of Victoria (1947â1949) and President of the Institute of Sales and Business Management (1946â1949).
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As a collector, Gibson's tastes were eclectic. At the same time as acquiring paintings by "the younger
Australian painters" of his time, he was also collecting antique English silver. This led one writer to exclaim of his collection that "it must surely cover more ground than almost any other private
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was an account of a trip around the world taken by Gibson and his wife in 1951. It described his visits to cultural institutions and contained ruminations on cultural collections policy. Reflecting on the damage caused by World War II to cultural artifacts, art and architecture, he advocated a wide
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Although his career as an artist was fleeting, Gibson's career as a patron and lover of art was lifelong. In the 1950s and 1960s Gibson made major contributions to the arts in
Australia, both as a collector and a patron of arts organisations. He acquired the works of some of Australia's most highly
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Gibson pursued a successful business career. He worked as a salesman for Hoover products. In
January 1933 he established his own company A.H. Gibson (Electrical), which was a distributor of electrical appliances and parts. He also spent some time working in New York. His company became A.H. Gibson
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He married twice, with children from both marriages. His first wife was
Marjorie Isabel Kimpton, whom he married in Melbourne on 3 February 1930, and with whom he had a daughter and a son. They were later divorced, and on 19 September 1947 in
110:, Gibson became a successful businessman in the city, establishing his own company, A.H. Gibson Industries, which was listed on the stock exchange in the 1950s. He was also a director of other major manufacturers and distributors, including
357:
Gibson was variously trustee, treasurer and deputy chairman of the
National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in the period 1956 to 1964. The NGV was Australia's oldest public gallery, its acquisitions largely funded by the massive but dwindling
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one in this country". Toward the end of his life the collection included over 560 items from artists of over 30 countries. His fascination with silver also led him to spend time during a visit to Europe in 1952, learning from the
British
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Seeking to directly support the NGV, Gibson financed the purchase of works by and for the
Gallery, as well as making his personal collection available for exhibition. He provided a donation in 1962 allowing the NGV to purchase the
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Gibson played many other roles in the arts, through societies of artists, of collectors, and through boards of which he was a member as a result of his involvement with the
Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. These included
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at its foundation in 1954, as well as being its
Victorian chairman from 1955 to 1967, and president from 1968 to 1971. The Trust was instrumental in the foundation of major Australian arts institutions including
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distribution of works of art around the world, to afford them greater protection. He was to have an opportunity to pursue these views in later roles with the National Gallery of Victoria.
219:(1940â1942), where he performed adjutant and quartermaster-general duties. He was made a lieutenant-colonel in the Reserve of Officers on 13 May 1945, and was made honorary
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drawing school, but concluded that art was not his vocation. He said of that time that "with little resistance I allowed myself to be guided into commercial fields".
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384:, for $ 20000, presenting it to the NGV in 1967. A selection from Gibson's extensive personal collection was presented as an NGV exhibition in 1969.
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The National Gallery of Victoria building, the design and construction of which was commissioned during Gibson's membership of the Board of Trustees
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He was a foundation member of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) in 1955, and co-founded the Society of Collectors of Fine Arts.
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The silver rosebowl was one of a range of works commissioned by Gibson. Others included three portraits of himself: one by Manx artist
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Gibson is notable for his services to the arts. He maintained a substantial private art collection. He was a founding director of the
145:, Melbourne. The third child of Scottish business manager John Gibson and English born wife Ellen nÊe Lawson, he was schooled at
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for much of his life, but toward the end of his career he maintained a residence in Arthur Circle,
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he remarried to Gertrude Jean Balfour, with whom he also had a son. Gibson lived in Hopetoun Rd,
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Gibson died on 26 March 1973, survived by his second wife and a child of each of his marriages.
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Gibson's business interests were complemented by other activities, including farming land at
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203:. He was made a lieutenant in the Melbourne University Rifles in 1922, and by the time of
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Gibson actively supported many Australian arts organisations. He was director of the
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540:, National Gallery of Victoria 28 July â 17 September 1969 (exhibition catalogue).
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how silverware was made. This was an experience recounted in Gibson's only book
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597:(4th edition). Fitzroy (Vic.): Aus Art Editions & Miegunyah Press.
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McCulloch, Alan, McCulloch, Susan and McCulloch-Childs, Emily. 2006.
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484:, "Gibson, Aubrey Hickes Lawson" (entry). Adelaide: F. Johns.
456:, "Gibson, Aubrey Hickes Lawson" (entry). Adelaide: F. Johns.
256:. Other artists well represented in his collection included
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291:, so named because of a commission Gibson sought of Stone.
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on 13 May 1940, Gibson served in Australia and in the
626:. Melbourne: The Miegunyah Press, pp. 503, 506, 562.
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of the Melbourne Theatre Company from 1960 to 1968.
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317:, this last being in the University of Melbourne's
595:The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art
431:, vol. 14. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
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562:Millar, Ronald. 1964. "Colonel Aubrey Gibson",
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712:People educated at Melbourne Grammar School
635:National Gallery of Victoria, Tom Roberts,
98:March 1973) was an Australian businessman,
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425:"Gibson, Aubrey Hickes Lawson (1901â1973)"
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227:Collecting and commissioning works of art
223:when placed on the retired list in 1951.
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682:Australian people of English descent
579:Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
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339:Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
123:Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
352:National Institute of Dramatic Arts
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429:Australian Dictionary of Biography
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613:. Melbourne: The Miegunyah Press.
553:. Melbourne: F.W. Cheshire, p. 4.
469:. Melbourne: F.W. Cheshire, p. 3.
235:The cover of Gibson's only book,
211:in the reserves. Seconded to the
141:Gibson was born on 4 May 1901 in
325:Gibson and the arts in Australia
213:Second Australian Imperial Force
153:. He briefly studied art at the
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672:University of Melbourne alumni
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509:National Gallery of Victoria,
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667:Businesspeople from Melbourne
641:, Retrieved 23 February 2009.
581:, Retrieved 23 February 2009.
520:, Retrieved 25 February 2009.
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129:, and deputy-chairman of the
538:The Aubrey Gibson Collection
155:National Gallery of Victoria
131:National Gallery of Victoria
94:May 1901 – 26
81:art collection and patronage
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549:Gibson, Aubrey H. L. 1952.
500:. Melbourne: F.W. Cheshire.
496:Gibson, Aubrey H. L. 1952.
482:Who's Who in Australia 1962
465:Gibson, Aubrey H. L. 1952.
454:Who's Who in Australia 1971
305:, one by Australian artist
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127:National Trust of Australia
88:Aubrey Hickes Lawson Gibson
35:Aubrey Hickes Lawson Gibson
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511:Russell Drysdale paintings
244:regarded artists, such as
707:Australian art collectors
702:People from Kew, Victoria
516:27 September 2007 at the
207:had risen to the rank of
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568:, December 1964, p. 171.
350:and Melbourne, and the
151:University of Melbourne
106:. Born and educated in
697:Australian art patrons
536:Stringer, John. 1969.
423:Strahan, Frank, 1996.
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16:Australian businessman
622:Poynter, John. 2003.
609:Poynter, John. 2003.
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624:Mr Felton's Bequests
611:Mr Felton's Bequests
577:Australia Dancing,
374:. Gibson purchased
184:Professional career
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309:, and a sketch by
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565:Art and Australia
378:' major painting
194:Berwick, Victoria
147:Melbourne Grammar
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53:26 March 1973
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638:Coming South
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551:The Rosebowl
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467:The Rosebowl
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381:Coming South
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321:collection.
303:Bryan Kneale
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295:The Rosebowl
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289:The Rosebowl
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285:Robert Stone
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270:Arnold Shore
266:Clifton Pugh
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237:The Rosebowl
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205:World War II
201:army reserve
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55:(1973-03-26)
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662:1973 deaths
657:1901 births
376:Tom Roberts
372:Duolith III
315:Louis Kahan
282:silversmith
217:middle east
125:and of the
100:arts patron
73:businessman
62:Nationality
651:Categories
399:References
370:sculpture
254:John Brack
112:Volkswagen
70:Occupation
65:Australian
45:4 May 1901
41:1901-05-04
108:Melbourne
514:Archived
175:Canberra
149:and the
137:Personal
221:colonel
171:Forrest
163:Colombo
348:Sydney
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209:major
272:and
252:and
102:and
50:Died
31:Born
173:in
143:Kew
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