The Dunedin Public Art Gallery’s collection includes an excellent selection of British and European paintings and works on paper, gifted by generous benefactors or purchased by the Gallery’s founding organisation, the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Society. Many of the major figures in Western art since the 15th century are represented, with high points including paintings by Machiavelli, Claude Lorraine, Rosa, Monet, Pissarro, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Turner and Burne-Jones.

Other international aspects of the collection include Japanese prints, a selection of 20th century Australian art, and the decorative arts collection, which ranges across costume, textiles, ceramics, glass and furniture.

Collecting New Zealand art is an important priority for the Gallery. The earliest works in this area of the collection date from the 1860s to a comprehensive representation of contemporary New Zealand art. Occupying a special place in the collection is the work of Dunedin born painter Frances Hodgkins who mainly worked in England where she gained a significant reputation in the context of Britain’s Neo-Romantic movement.