Maitland Regional Art Gallery secures monumental Ron Mueck sculpture in historical loan agreement

Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) is thrilled to announce a groundbreaking partnership with the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) under the recently announced Sharing the National Collection program.

The Federal Minister for the Arts, the Hon Tony Burke, has today announced Maitland Regional Art Gallery as one of the early institutions to take part in the program through a long term loan of a highly significant work of art from the national collection.

Ron Mueck’s monumental sculpture Pregnant Woman will be on display at MRAG for 18 months, commencing April 2024.

Maitland Regional Art Gallery Director Gerry Bobsien says, ‘Ron Mueck is one of Australia’s most internationally accomplished artists and Pregnant Woman is an important part of the National Gallery of Australia’s collection. We are thrilled to present this work in conversation with our own collection to captivate our audiences and attract people to Maitland.

‘This will have enormous impact for regional audiences. It will create opportunities for people to experience an internationally acclaimed work of art outside a major metropolitan city.’

Standing at an impressive height of 2.5 metres, Pregnant Woman by Ron Mueck is nearly double the size of an average person.

Mueck himself has explained the work is a contemporary response to the representations of motherhood, echoing the longstanding tradition of portraying mothers and children in art.

MRAG is well prepared to showcase this remarkable artwork in a dedicated exhibition space, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in its monumental presence.

This work of art will be on long term loan from the National Gallery of Australia with support from the Australian Government as part of Sharing the National Collection.