Mr Myer, the chairperson of the Australia Council for the Arts and former National Gallery of Victoria director, launched phase two of the program on Friday night. 

Since its establishment in 2009, Adopt an Artwork has raised more than $300,000 to help conservation projects at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, and numerous works in the gallery collection have benefited from the scheme.

The Myer Foundation director spoke at a special dinner at the Art Gallery Annexe. 

Gallery director Gordon Morrison said the public face of the gallery had been transformed, thanks to the scheme.

“The funds raised through Adopt an Artwork have meant that many works in the collection can now been viewed as they were intended by the artists,” he said. 

“Paintings have been repaired and cleaned, frames regilded or the original gilding revealed, sculptures have been repaired. This means that we are able to put more works on display and the impressions visitors take away with them are vastly better.” 

Foundation president Jane Cowles said a lot of hard work had gone into the scheme to achieve the results so far.

“It clearly demonstrates what can be achieved by taking a personal approach of linking potential donors to specific artworks,”she said.

“People can really see their contribution making a difference.”

Art Connect page 24