The artworks are on loan from the New England Art Museum in Armidale, and were gathered over a lifetime by 20^th Century art collector and former Art Gallery of NSW trustee Howard Hinton.

“Howard Hinton was an extraordinarily generous man who gave away his fabulous collection of artworks during his own lifetime,” NERAM director Robert Heather said.

The collection includes works by Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts, Margaret Preston, Nora Heysen, Hans Heysen, Norman Lindsay, Elioth Gruner and Herbert Badham.

“Hinton collected with the express aim of providing student teachers with access to the history of Australian art with an emphasis on landscape, still life and portraiture,” Mr Heather said.

Described as a “modest, self-effacing gentleman” and a lifelong lover of the arts, Hinton aspired to be an artist himself, like his many friends, and even lived at times with both Roberts and Streeton.

“We are privileged to be able to show these iconic works from this nationally important collection and partner with the New England Regional Art Museum to bring them to our community,” Bega Valley Regional Gallery director Iain Dawson said.

The exhibition will run from July 15 to September 30, and will exhibit what has been described as the most significant art collection in regional Australia.

“The story behind Howard Hinton collection is one of the most intriguing in the history of benefaction and art philanthropy in Australia,” Mr Dawson said.

“We hosted the Archibald earlier this year and this is right up there.”

Treasures of Australian art 1880-1940: the Howard Hinton Collection will feature 50 of the collection’s key works.