The Tyler Collection comprises more than 1500 items - paintings, works on paper, sculptures, ceramics, religious icons, books, catalogues, posters, photographs, research essays and letters. In 2013, the Collection was generously gifted to the University of Tasmania by Geoffrey and Frances Tyler.
About the Tyler Collection
Begun in 1960, the Tyler Collection includes paintings, works on paper, sculptures, icons, and ceramics. Most were created in the 20th century by artists from Europe, Australia, and the US. However, the main focus of the collection is on Romanian artworks, collected when Geoffrey Tyler frequently visited that country from 1973-1987 while working for the International Monetary Fund. Predominant in the Collection is Romanian artist Corneliu Petrescu, who became a close friend and introduced Geoffrey to his circle of artist peers. Petrescu guided Geoffrey in choosing quality and representative works for his growing collection.
The Tyler Collection is an extraordinary testament to the vision of a collector who captured the tension of immense cultural and political change in Communist Romania. It represents a fascinating time capsule which has taken a serendipitous journey from Bucharest to Hobart via the collector’s home in Washington DC. Coming from a time and place unambiguously remote from its new home, it now has a fresh life within the University of Tasmania Fine Art Collection, where we are realising the collection’s value in a new institutional context.
Petrescu, Corneliu, 1977, “Portrait of Geoffrey”
mixed media on artists' board, 57 x 48cm (framed)
