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Daily 10am-5pm; free except for special exhibitions; free tours Tues-Fri 11am, noon, 1pm & 2pm; www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Martin Place or St James CityRail; bus #441. Art Gallery Road runs through The Domain to the Art Gallery of New South Wales , whose collection was established in 1874. The original part of the building (1897), an imposing Neoclassical structure with a facade inscribed with the names of Renaissance artists, principally contains the large collection of European art dating from the eleventh century to the twentieth - extensions were added in 1988 which doubled the gallery space and provided a home for mainly Australian art. On level 1, the Yiribana Gallery is devoted to the art and cultural artefacts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; the most striking exhibit is the Pukumani Grave Posts , carved by the Tiwi people of Melville Island. There is a highly recommended half-hour talk and performance of dance and didgeridoo by an indigenous Australian in this gallery (Tues-Sat noon), best combined with the free one-hour tour of the indigenous collection (Tues-Fri 11am, Sat & Sun 1pm). Other highlights include some classic Australian paintings on level 4: Tom Roberts' romanticized shearing-shed scene The Golden Fleece (1894) and an altogether less idyllic look at rural Australia in Russell Drysdale's Sofala (1947), a depressing vision of a drought-stricken town. On level 5, the photographic collection includes Max Dupain's iconic Sunbaker (1937), an early study of Australian hedonism that looks as if it could have been taken yesterday. In addition to the galleries, there is also an auditorium used for art lectures, an excellent bookshop, a coffee shop (level 2), and a well-regarded restaurant (level 5)
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