Art Gallery established in 1987.
Violet Gladys Dulieu of South Yarra purchased the property and opened an art gallery (South Yarra Galleries) in the former stables in 1961. The gallery was novel at the time for its specialisation in Australian art. The artists who exhibited there included Jeffrey Smart, John Olsen, John Blackman and Greg Irvine. From 1987 until 2011, the gallery stables became the Libby Edwards Gallery, Fine & Decorative Art, which continued the Dulieu legacy and retained many of her artists, mixed in with a group of emerging artists, whose work then ranged from the conservative to the avant-garde.
Libby’s efforts were directed at sourcing and supporting artists and growing the galleries in the 1980’s and 90’s. ‘Multi-tasking’ was Libby’s forte, being a solo enterprise in the early days, ranging from writing essays, designing printed catalogues, nurturing her artists stable, and hanging and curating the many exhibitions. From 1992 to 2004 her family became more involved and she was able to open a gallery at Portsea in addition to the main South Yarra gallery. The founder’s vision was to offer artists exclusive representation in the eastern states, and as a result of this mandate, galleries were also opened in Sydney and Brisbane in 1999 and 2004. The family-run business continued to grow, with the founder working alongside her daughters, Abigail operating the Portsea gallery, and Katherine running the Woollahra, Sydney gallery.
Since 2004 the Armadale Gallery has been the main exhibiting space for our artists, meanwhile sourcing representation for them in overseas venues such as art fairs and collaborating galleries.
From 2017 to the present day, the gallery is operating from South Yarra, once again.