Mr Felton's Bequests

When Alfred Felton died in 1904 he left [pound]378,033 in trust to the people of Victoria, the income to be split between approved charities and the acquisition of art. 'Without the Felton Bequest, Australia would have no complete account of Durer's or Goya's graphic work.

There would be no Rembrandt, no Van Dyck, no Poussin, no Tiepolo, no Reynolds nor Gainsborough of substance, no groups of Turner and Constable, not Manet, to cite only the most obvious examples.

Although the last quarter of the twentieth century saw a dramatic and exciting expansion of Australian art museums...no institution could hope to replicate the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria assembled under the aegis of the Felton Bequest.'--Patrick McCaughey When Alfred Felton died in 1904 he left [pound]378,033 in trust to the people of Victoria, the income to be split between approved charities and the acquisition of art.

This staggering sum--equivalent to over USD26 million today--was one of the most extravagant examples of public philanthropy ever witnessed in the country.

A century later, Mr Felton's bequests continue to fund art acquisitions and to support a wide variety of charities.