Alfred Felton migrated to Australia from England in 1853, and lived in Melbourne as a successful businessman. He died in 1904 and left £480,000 in trust to be used for charities and for purchasing artworks for the National Gallery of Victoria.
The combined worth of the artworks bought by the bequest is in excess of $2,000,000,000, with masterpieces by Rembrandt, Monet, and Pollock among many others in the collection. Without Felton’s bequest, the National Gallery of Victoria would not be as reputable in the international art community as it is today.
Due to Felton’s generosity, the state of Victoria is at the forefront of arts and craft. Part of his bequest has a focus on disadvantaged women and children, along with educating young children. Groups can apply to the bequest for funding to assist with charitable works in this field.
Researching Arthur Felton’s impact on the arts and Victoria
Caroline Johnston is a year 12 student from Samaritan College, Whyalla, South Australia. As part of the SACE, she is required to complete a Research Project. She has chosen to research the Victorian philanthropist, and her distant relative, Alfred Felton and the bequest he left to the state of Victoria.
The question she is posing is ‘How does Alfred Felton’s bequest continue to influence Victoria’s artistic community?’ Caroline needs a number of Victorian artists of a variety of ages to help her complete the short survey below to help her explore this question and understand if Arthur Felton’s philanthropy has had an impact on the Victorian art community.
This survey will only take a few minutes, and on behalf of Caroline, we thank you for your time: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PRFNWWR
