Legacy: Selections from the Gerald R. and Mary Reid Brunstrom Gift of Art from Australia

From 1988 to 2000, St. Louis art lovers frequented the Austral Gallery in Lafayette Square. Guided by the vision of founder Mary Reid Brunstrom with the unwavering support of her late husband Jerry, Austral Gallery brought some of the most significant Australian voices in contemporary art to St. Louis and contributed to a growing awareness in North America of Australian Aboriginal art.

Brunstrom played a key role in organizing two MOCRA exhibitions: in 1995, Ian Friend: The Edge of Belief – paintings, sculpture, and works on paper, 1980–1994, and in 1997, Utopia Body Paint Collection and Australian Aboriginal Art from St. Louis Collections.

In 2024, Brunstrom donated a major body of works by both Aboriginal and non-Indigenous Australian artists to MOCRA and the Saint Louis University Museum of Art, greatly enhancing both museums’ collections. MOCRA is pleased to present a selection of works from this gift and celebrate the lasting contribution of Jerry and Mary Brunstrom to the cultural fabric of St. Louis.