Melbourne Athenaeum

{{Short description|Theatre in Melbourne, Victoria}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}

{{Use Australian English|date=March 2015}}

{{distinguish|Athenaeum Club, Melbourne}}

{{Infobox theatre

|name = Athenaeum

|image = Melbourne Athenaeum 2020.jpg

|caption = The Melbourne Athenaeum

|address = 188 Collins Street

|city = Melbourne, Victoria

|country = Australia

|designation = Victorian Heritage Register, Register of Historic Buildings

|latitude =

|longitude =

| coordinates ={{coord|-37.81504|144.96736|display=inline,title|type:landmark}}

|architect = Smith & Johnson

|owner =

|capacity = 880 (theatre one)

|type =

|opened = 1839

|yearsactive = {{age in years|1839}}

|rebuilt = 1885-1886

|closed =

|othernames =

|production =

|currentuse = Live theatre, comedy, library, readings

|website = {{URL|www.athenaeumtheatre.com.au}}

}}

The Athenaeum or Melbourne Athenaeum at 188 Collins Street is an art and cultural hub in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1839, it is the city's oldest cultural institution.

Its building on Collins Street in the East End Theatre District sits opposite the Regent Theatre, and currently consists of a main theatre, a smaller studio theatre, a restaurant and a subscription library. It has also served as a mechanics' institute, an art exhibition space, and a cinema.

Architecture

The Athenaeum is a restrained boom-style neoclassical three-storey building designed by architects Smith and Johnson with stuccoed facade with pilasters, label moulds, and bracketed cornice. It was completed in 1886 on the site of the original building of 1842, and is surmounted with a parapet with a niche housing a statue by Richard Kretzschmar{{Cite web |title=Richard Kretzschmar (Artist) - Art Index |url=https://dxlab.sl.nsw.gov.au/art-index/artist/1296/ |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=DX Lab {{!}} State Library of NSW}} of Minerva (Athena, hence 'Athenaeum'),{{Cite news |date=1886-10-18 |title=Monday, October 18, 1886. |pages=5 |work=Argus |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11576418 |access-date=2023-07-08}} goddess of reason, wisdom, arts and literature. The building was added to the National Trust's Register of Historic Buildings in 1981 and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.{{cite VHD|726||hr=0501|ho=587}}

History

=Early history=

File:Nla.obj-148001486-1.jpg

In August 1840, the Melbourne Mechanics Institution acquired land spanning 110 feet along Collins Street and extending to Little Collins Street, for a sum of £285. The initial structure, a two-story brick building known as the Hall of Arts was completed in December 1842.

The first President was Captain William Lonsdale, the first Patron was the Superintendent of Port Phillip, Charles La Trobe and the first books were donated by Vice-President Henry Fyshe Gisborne. Originally called the Melbourne Mechanics' Institute, it was renamed the Melbourne Mechanics' Institution and School of Arts in 1846.{{Citation |author1=Clancy, Frances M |title=The libraries of the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria : report prepared for Department of Infrastructure |date=2000 |publisher=Victoria – Department of Infrastructure |isbn=978-0-7311-0937-1 |author2=Victoria. Department of Infrastructure}}{{Citation |author1=Baragwanath, Pam |title=If the walls could speak : a social history of the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria |date=2000 |publisher=Mechanics Institute Inc |isbn=978-1-876677-32-9}}

The Melbourne City Council met in the ground floor of the building until 1852 when the Melbourne Town Hall was built. The Institute received an annual grant of £150 from the government, and in 1854, an additional £5,000 was granted for construction of a new building, but from 1857, it had to rely on its own funds. By 1851, the membership count reached 488 individuals. Additionally, it served as the headquarters for the First Church of Christ, Scientist.

Construction on the new building began in 1855, but only the front portion was finished. The rear hall, intended to be designed by Charles Webb, was deferred until 1871 and ultimately completed in 1872.{{Cite book | author1=Ziegler, Edith Miriam | title=The worlds and work of Clarice Beckett | year=2022 | page=83|publication-date=2022 | publisher=Arcadia | isbn=978-1-922669-33-9}} Alfred Smith served as the architect, while Turnbull and Dick were the builders. The Institution changed its name to the Melbourne Athenaeum in 1872{{cite web |title=175 years of the Melbourne Athenaeum Library – where to from here? Paper presented at the Library History Forum, State Library of NSW, November 2014. |url=http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/services/public_libraries/docs/ALHF2014_RoseBlustein.pdf |access-date=12 January 2015 |publisher=State Library of New South Wales}}{{cite news |date=27 January 1921 |title=MELBOURNE ATHENAEUM. |page=9 |newspaper=The Argus |publisher=National Library of Australia |location=Melbourne |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1734232 |access-date=12 January 2015}} During the period when its own church was being reconstructed, Scots Church utilized the premises as its temporary location.

Among the office bearers of the institution in the nineteenth century was the author Marcus Clarke who was the chairman of the library committee in 1877.[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/233674323/25298055 The Argus, 6 March 1877, p.10.] As now, a focal point was the library and by 1877, membership was 1,681 and in 1879 there were 30,000 visits to the library. In 1880 it was reported 'that the floor of the large hall was the only one in Melbourne expressly constructed for dancing'. The remodeled facade was finally concluded in 1886. The statue of Minerva, which was modelled by Richard Kretzschmar on that at the Vatican, was funded through Alderman Thomas Moubray's gift of 100 guineas.{{Citation |last=Rainer |first=Anthony R. |title=Moubray, Thomas (1825–1891) |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/moubray-thomas-4263 |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |access-date=2023-07-08 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}}

=Theatre and cinema=

In October 1896, the first movie was shown in the Athenaeum Hall. This may not have been the first in Australia however, as a cinematograph was being demonstrated at the Melbourne Opera House in August.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article241075273 |title=Advertising |newspaper=The Herald (Melbourne) |issue=5028 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=25 August 1896 |accessdate=25 April 2021 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}} On 26 January 1901 Life in Our Navy, a 60,000 foot film of life on HMS Jupiter, was shown by G. H. Snazelle, who provided additional entertainment.

The Hall became a regular venue for screening films and the premiere of The Story of the Kelly Gang by the Tait brothers, the world's first dramatic feature film, was at the Athenaeum in 1906.

The theatre in its present form, a proscenium arch theatre with 880 seats on three levels, was created in 1924, designed by Henry Eli White. Renamed the Athenaeum Theatre,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155548179 |title=Athenaeum Theatre |newspaper=The Age |issue=21,739 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=4 December 1924 |accessdate=21 May 2022 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}} it was one of the first venues in Australia to screen talking pictures, presenting The Jazz Singer in February 1929. From the 1920s to the early 1970s, the theatre was mainly used as a cinema. The Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) leased the theatre from 1976 to 1985 when the lease was taken over by various entrepreneurs who formed AT Management in 1997.

The upstairs studio theatre ("Ath 2"), created from the former art gallery by the MTC, has been used as a theatre space and the venue for The Last Laugh Comedy Club after it moved from North Melbourne.

= Exhibitions held at the Melbourne Athenaeum =

  • 1904, from 24 October: Australian Landscapes by John Mather
  • 1906: Yarra Sculptors' Society: Eighth Annual Exhibition, Sculpture, Painting, Prints
  • 1910: Yarra Sculptors' Society: Tenth Annual Exhibition
  • 1910, October: Victorian Artists' Society'{{Cite news |date=1910-10-22 |title=THE ART SHOW. |work=Weekly Times |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221805641 |access-date=2022-11-11}}{{Cite news|date=1910-10-29|title=Some of the Work at the Victorian Artists' Society in the Athenaeum |work=Weekly Times|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221807216|access-date=2021-10-19}}
  • 1910: Wynnum School of Arts, Sculpture, Paintings, Prints
  • 1910, 15 September–1 October: Paintings and Drawings by L. Bernard Hall
  • 1911, 7–24 April: Frederick McCubbin
  • 1911, 24 July–14 August: Rupert Bunny
  • 1912, 14 August–1 September: Fred and Louis McCubbin
  • 1912, 26 September–17 October: J. Mather's Paintings
  • 1913, September: Twelve Melbourne Painters'{{Cite news|date=1913-09-03|title=EXHIBITION OF PICTURES.|work=Age|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197479035|access-date=2021-10-19}}
  • 1915, from 4 March: Pictures by Hans Heysen
  • 1916, 30 August–13 September: The late Mr.J. Mather's paintings
  • 1917, 12–22 September: Australian Art Association. Fifth Annual Exhibition
  • 1918, 6–20 July: Salon des Poilus. Exhibition of Pictures for sale in aid of the French Red Cross
  • 1919 September, A Meldrum Group
  • 1919, November: Margery Withers 1919{{Cite news |date=1919-11-19 |title=ART NOTES. |pages=11 |work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203694621 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1920, 18 - 28 May: Norah Gurdon{{Cite web|title=Miss Gurdon's Paintings - The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) - 18 May 1920|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1702905|access-date=2021-10-19|newspaper=Argus|date=18 May 1920 |language=en}}
  • 1920 June, A Meldrum Group{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article170613473 |title=PAINTING |newspaper=Advocate |volume=LII |issue=2750 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=10 June 1920 |access-date=28 July 2019 |page=21 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1920, from 1 October: Australian Art Association, Annual Exhibition
  • 1921: The Women's Art Club. Annual Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Craft Work
  • 1921 May, A Meldrum Group
  • 1921, August: Twenty Melbourne Painters{{Cite news |date=1921-08-06 |title=THE STUDIO. |pages=32 |work=Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140174507 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1921, 30 October–5 November: Arthur Streeton. Sunlit suburbs of Sydney
  • 1922, November: Group exhibition: Margery, Nancy & Meynell Withers{{Cite news |date=1922-11-29 |title=EXHIBITION OF PICTURES. |pages=22 |work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1858446 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1923, 10–23' April: Norah Gurdon{{Cite news |date=1923-04-10 |title=EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS. |work=Argus |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1889172 |access-date=2022-11-13}}
  • 1923 June: Clarice Beckett{{cite news |date=5 June 1923 |title=Art Exhibition. |page=4 |newspaper=The Argus (Melbourne) |issue=23,971 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2005951 |access-date=28 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |date=5 June 1923 |title=Art Notes. |page=5 |newspaper=The Age |issue=21,271 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204069431 |access-date=28 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1923 July, Twenty Melbourne Painters
  • 1923, August: Women's Art Club{{Cite news |date=1923-08-23 |title=Art Notes. |work=Age |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203628851 |access-date=2022-11-13}}
  • 1923, August: Twenty Melbourne Painters{{Cite news |date=1923-08-04 |title=The Studio. |pages=31 |work=Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140823543 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1924 May, Twenty Melbourne Painters
  • 1924, 1 - 11 October: Women's Art Club{{Cite web |title=Advocate (Melbourne, Vic. : 1868 - 1954) - 9 Oct 1924 - p27 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page20331218 |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=Trove |language=en}}
  • 1924 September: Clarice Beckett{{cite news |date=2 September 1924 |title=Miss Beckett's Paintings. |page=14 |newspaper=The Argus (Melbourne) |issue=24,359 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2024189 |access-date=28 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1925, 20- 30 May: Norah Gurdon{{Cite news |date=1925-05-20 |title=ART NOTES. |work=Age |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155751812 |access-date=2022-11-11}}{{Cite news|date=1925-05-19|title=MISS N. GURDON'S ART|work=Herald|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243764794|access-date=2021-10-19}}
  • 1925, June: Women's Art Club{{Cite news |date=1925-06-22 |title=VARIOUS FEMININE TOPICS |work=Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244037297 |access-date=2022-11-13}}
  • 1925 July: Clarice Beckett{{cite news |date=15 July 1925 |title=Miss Beckett's Paintings. |page=10 |newspaper=The Argus (Melbourne) |issue=24,628 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2140254 |access-date=28 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1925, from 3 September: Australian Art Association, Annual Exhibition
  • 1925, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters{{Cite news |date=1925-09-19 |title=TWENTY PAINTERS' EXHIBITION. |pages=63 |work=Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140720432 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1925 September, Twenty Melbourne Painters
  • 1926 July 20–31: Clarice Beckett{{cite news |date=21 July 1926 |title=Art Notes. |page=13 |newspaper=The Age |issue=22244 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202539239 |access-date=27 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1926, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters 8th annual exhibition{{Cite news |date=1926-09-14 |title=ART NOTES. |pages=11 |work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202560066 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1926, 1–11 December, Women's Art Club{{Cite news |date=1926-12-02 |title=THE WOMEN'S ART CLUB. |work=Age |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202196327 |access-date=2022-11-11}}
  • 1927, 1–12 March: Rupert Bunny
  • 1927, 28 April–7 May: Norah Gurdon{{Cite news |date=1927-04-30 |title=PAINTED MOUNTAINS |work=Mirror |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article76399593 |access-date=2022-11-13}}
  • 1927 July, Women's Art Club
  • 1927 September: Clarice Beckett{{cite news |date=26 September 1927 |title=Woman's Work In Oils |page=15 |newspaper=The Herald |issue=15,711 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244196208 |access-date=27 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |date=6 October 1927 |title=Women's World |volume=LX |page=38 |newspaper=Advocate |issue=3868 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article171643433 |access-date=27 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1927, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters{{Cite news |date=1927-09-06 |title=TWENTY MELBOURNE PAINTERS. |pages=13 |work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3877256 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1928, 6–17 March: Watercolours and woodcuts by E.W. Syme
  • 1928 July: Clarice Beckett{{cite news |date=25 July 1928 |title=Miss Beckett's Art. |page=13 |newspaper=The Age |issue=22870 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205470521 |access-date=28 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1928, 11–21 July: Rupert Bunny
  • 1928, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters 10th annual exhibition{{Cite news |date=1928-09-18 |title=THE TWENTY PAINTERS' EXHIBITION |pages=7 |work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204121187 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1928, October: Women's Art Club Annual Exhibition{{Cite news|date=1928-10-04|title=WOMAN'S INTERESTS|work=Age|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204119717|access-date=2021-10-20}}
  • 1928 October, Melbourne Society of Women Painters
  • 1929, April: Jo Sweatman{{Cite news|date=1929-04-22|title=Paintings Of Miss Jo. Sweatman|pages=4|work=Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244450261|access-date=2020-09-15}}
  • 1929, July: Margery Withers{{Cite news |date=1929-07-25 |title=Current Art Shows |pages=18 |work=Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146712172 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1929, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters{{Cite news |date=1929-09-24 |title=ART EXHIBITIONS. |pages=9 |work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4039157 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1929 October, Melbourne Society of Women Painters
  • 1929 November: Clarice Beckett{{cite news |date=28 November 1929 |title=Current Art Shows |page=15 |newspaper=Table Talk |issue=3212 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146585120 |access-date=28 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1930, August-September: Ernest Buckmaster{{Cite news |date=1930-09-20 |title=ART. |pages=17 |work=Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140832979 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1930 September, Twenty Melbourne Painters
  • 1930 October: Clarice Beckett{{cite news |date=24 October 1930 |title=Miss Beckett's Art Exhibition |page=8 |newspaper=The Age |issue=23,570 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202234306 |access-date=28 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |date=17 October 1930 |title=Art Exhibition. |page=13 |newspaper=The Argus (Melbourne) |issue=26,264 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4209538 |access-date=28 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1930 October, Melbourne Society of Women Painters{{Cite news |date=1930-09-20 |title=SOCIAL NOTES. |work=Australasian |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140832958 |page=10|access-date=2023-03-08}}
  • 1931, from 1 July: Seven Australian Painters
  • 1931 September, Twenty Melbourne Painters
  • 1931 October: Clarice Beckett (show opened by Max Meldrum){{cite news |date=13 October 1931 |title=Miss Clarice Beckett. |page=5 |newspaper=The Age |issue=23,871 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204329432 |access-date=27 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article147415949 |title=Current Art Shows |newspaper=Table Talk |issue=3310 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=15 October 1931 |access-date=27 July 2019 |page=15 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |date=3 November 1931 |title=A Woman's Letter. |page=8 |newspaper=Cairns Post |issue=9286 |location=Queensland, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41136493 |access-date=28 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1931 October, Melbourne Society of Women Painters
  • 1932, July: Margery Withers{{Cite news |date=1932-07-26 |title=ART NOTES. |pages=9 |work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203796135 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1932 September, Twenty Melbourne Painters
  • 1932 October: Clarice Beckett{{cite news |date=18 October 1932 |title=Art Notes. |page=5 |newspaper=The Age |issue=24187 |location=Victoria, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205490801 |access-date=27 July 2019 |via=National Library of Australia}}
  • 1933, 9 - 20 May: Jo Sweatment. Australian landscapes, Athenaeum Gallery, {{Cite news|date=1933-05-09|title=Australian Landscapes by Miss Jo Sweatman.|pages=7|work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203824967|access-date=2020-09-15}}
  • 1933, 4–15 July: Rupert Bunny
  • 1933 September, Twenty Melbourne Painters
  • 1933, 27 October –11 November: Australian Art Association, Annual Exhibition
  • 1933: An exhibition by Melbourne Painters in aid of Hermannsburg Water Supply Central Australia
  • 1934, 27 February–10 March: Exhibition of Paintings by the late E. Phillips Fox and Ethel Carrick
  • 1934, 31 July–11 August: Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Members of the Contemporary Art Group
  • 1934, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters 16th annual exhibition{{Cite news |date=1934-09-18 |title=ART NOTES. |pages=7 |work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205881155 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1934 October, A Meldrum Group
  • 1934, 17–22 December: Oscar Binder, Exhibition of etchings
  • 1935, 30 April–11 May: Jo Sweatman{{Cite news|date=1935-04-30|title=ART NOTES.|pages=7|work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204290004|access-date=2020-09-16}} [http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1509359 (catalogue)]
  • 1935, 6–17 August Exhibition by Members of New Melbourne Art Club
  • 1935, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters{{Cite news |date=1935-09-03 |title=ART EXHIBITIONS |pages=9 |work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11763738 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1935, 17–28 September: Jane Wilkinson Whyte. Work: old and new
  • 1936, 14-25 July: Exhibition by Members of New Melbourne Art Club
  • 1936, 11–22 August: Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Members of the Contemporary Art Group
  • 1936, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters 18th annual exhibition{{Cite news |date=1936-09-23 |title=Large Crowd at Private View. |pages=10 |work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205907939 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1936, 8–19 September: Dorothy Whitehead
  • 1937, May: Jo Sweatman{{Cite news|date=1937-05-03|title=Landscapes Predominate In Three Art Shows|pages=7|work=Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244626715|access-date=2020-09-15}} [http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1509362 (catalogue)]
  • 1937, 12–24 July: Exhibition by Members of New Melbourne Art Club
  • 1937, 10–21 August: Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Members of the Contemporary Art Group
  • 1937, 30 November–11 December: John Gardner, Oil Paintings, Prints
  • 1938, 19–30 July: Exhibition by Members of New Melbourne Art Club
  • 1938, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters{{Cite news |date=1938-09-13 |title=VARIOUS ART |pages=14 |work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205181152 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1938, 26 September–8 October: Dorothy Whitehead exhibition
  • 1939, 21 August– 2 September: Exhibition by Members of New Melbourne Art Club
  • 1940, from 5-–16 March: Maud Glover Fleay and Annie Gates{{Cite news |last=Burdett |first=Basil |date=1940-03-04 |title=Three Exhibitions Mark Opening Of Art Season |pages=18 |work=The Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243236560 |access-date=2023-07-09}}{{Cite news |last=Harcourt |first=John |date=1940-03-05 |title=Art Exhibitions : Water-Colours and Oils |pages=5 |work=Argus |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12429566 |access-date=2023-07-09}}{{Cite news |date=1940-03-05 |title=Oils and water colors |pages=10 |work=The Age |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204418717 |access-date=2023-07-09}}
  • 1940, 19-22 March: Exhibition in support of the Red Cross{{Cite news |date=1940-03-01 |title=Artists Help Red Cross |pages=3 |work=Age |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204425669 |access-date=2023-07-09}}{{Cite news |date=1940-03-08 |title=Four Events Planned |pages=10 |work=The Argus |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12431109 |access-date=2023-07-09}}{{Cite news |last=Burdett |first=Basil |date=1940-03-18 |title=Art Donations For Red Cross Appeal |pages=10 |work=Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243231672 |access-date=2023-07-09}}{{Cite news |last=Harcourt |first=John |date=1940-03-19 |title=Art Exhibition : Fine Show For Red Cross |pages=3 |work=The Argus |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12435891 |access-date=2023-07-09}}{{Cite news |date=1940-03-19 |title=Lady Dugan Opens art Show |pages=14 |work=Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243237637 |access-date=2023-07-09}}{{Cite news |date=1940-03-20 |title=Lady Dugan Buys A Picture |pages=7 |work=Argus |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12436634 |access-date=2023-07-09}}
  • 1940, 20–31 August: Exhibition by Members of New Melbourne Art Club
  • 1941, from 23 August: Exhibition by Members of New Melbourne Art Club
  • 1943, 20 April–1 May: Josephine Muntz-Adams: Exhibition of paintings
  • 1959, from 1 June: Len Annois. The Yarra Valley from Studley Park to Templestowe.
  • 1942, from 23 July: Exhibition by Members of New Melbourne Art Club
  • 1943, 18–29 May: Jo Sweatman{{Cite news|date=1943-05-18|title=JO SWEATMAN'S PAINTINGS|pages=9|work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11332454|access-date=2020-09-15}}
  • 1944, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters 26th annual exhibition{{Cite news |date=1944-09-19 |title=FIVE NEW ART EXHIBITIONS OPEN TODAY 20 Melbourne Painters' Good Show |pages=6 |work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11361808 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1945, 22 May–2 June: Jo Sweatman {{Cite news|date=1945-05-22|title=ART EXHIBITION|pages=2|work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204027997|access-date=2020-09-16}}
  • 1945, October: Twenty Melbourne Painters{{Cite news |date=1945-09-11 |title=TWENTY MELBOURNE PAINTERS |pages=12 |work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article969306 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1946, 3 - 14 September: Twenty Melbourne Painters Society{{Cite news|date=1946-09-03|title=ART EXHIBITIONS REVIEWED|pages=4|work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22318488|access-date=2020-09-16}}
  • 1947, May: Jo Sweatman{{Cite news|date=1947-05-27|title=ART EXHIBITION FINE WORK BY JO SWEATMAN|pages=2|work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22428895|access-date=2020-09-15}}
  • 1947, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters, Athenaeum Gallery, 1947{{Cite news |date=1947-09-16 |title=ART EXHIBITIONS |pages=4 |work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206036234 |access-date=2020-10-08}}
  • 1948, September: Twenty Melbourne Painters, Athenaeum Gallery, 1948{{Cite news |date=1948-09-21 |title=20 Melbourne painters |pages=5 |work=Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22679914 |access-date=2020-10-08}}

=Proposed demolition and replacement=

It was listed in 1948 as one of the key sites for the modernisation of Melbourne.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243548399 |title=NEW CITY BUILDING WILL CHANGE MELBOURNE SKYLINE |newspaper=The Herald |issue=22,274 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=11 October 1948 |accessdate=13 February 2024 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}} Plans were prepared for a modern building including as new library and gallery, however the development did not proceed.

=Subscription library=

Membership of the Athenaeum's subscription library peaked at 7,579 in 1950, after the State Library of Victoria ceased lending of its books in 1939.{{cite news|last1=Brown|first1=Jenny|title=Original high church of culture and books|url=http://www.domain.com.au/news/original-high-church-of-culture-and-books-20141009-3hmhu/|access-date=22 April 2016|work=Domain (The Age)|date=13 October 2014}} Membership reduced over the subsequent decades to 1,600 by the mid-1980s,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118108852 |title=LAUGHING ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BACK |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=60 |issue=18,435 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=23 March 1986 |access-date=4 November 2017 |page=4 (GOOD WEEKEND) |via=National Library of Australia}} and 750 by the late 2000s. Membership is now increasing.{{Cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/a-star-is-forlorn-ageing-theatre-queen-cries-out-for-a-little-makeup-20080808-3sem.html|title=A star is forlorn: ageing theatre queen cries out for a little make-up|last=Webb|first=Carolyn|date=2008-08-09|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=2017-11-04|language=en-US}}

Today

Today, the Athenaeum Theatre is used for theatre, comedy and music performances, including as a principal venue for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Melbourne Opera. The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas presents discussions and talks at the theatre.

The subscription library has a 30,000-strong collection and hosts regular events, talks, book clubs and a screen club.

See also

References

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