Chandler Coventry AM (1924–1999) was born in Armidale, New South Wales into an established New England farming family. He inherited his first pastoral property at twenty and continued to purchase and inherit land over a number of years, resulting in holdings of over 15,000 hectares. Meanwhile, he became an avid art collector. In 1965 he relocated permanently to Sydney, where he opened a gallery in his home in Paddington in 1970. In 1974 Coventry Gallery moved to new premises, also in Paddington. A patron as well as a gallerist and collector, Coventry actively supported John Kaldor's Kaldor Public Art Projects including the famous Wrapped Coast (1968–69) by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. In 1960 and again in 1979, he gifted works from his own collection to the Armidale City Gallery, and actively fundraised for the establishment of a new gallery to house his donations and the Howard Hinton collection of art. The result was the New England Regional Art Museum, of which Coventry was a founding patron and trustee. Coventry remained involved in his Sydney gallery until his death in 1999.
Purchased 2021
© Anne Zahalka/Copyright Agency, 2024
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Naomi Cass, Director of the Centre of Contemporary Photography, in conversation with Anne Zahalka.
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