For a number of years I lived just around the bend from Heide Museum of Modern Art - a local institution so masked by native flora from the roadside, you would barely know it’s there. It’s a place that has always felt a little magic to me. A rare collision of art, architecture and nature that is open to the public to explore with or without entering the museum itself. While the onsite cafe and contemporary museum space are obvious draw-cards, for me the appeal of this place has always been in the iconic modernist home turned gallery and adjoining gardens, that are central to the Heide history.
The Heide story began when founders John and Sunday Reed purchased the land in 1934. The property grew and evolved over the coming decades, becoming a significant place of discussion and creation for a number of highly regarded artists, writers and thinkers within the Australian cultural landscape. In 1964 the now iconic modern home and gallery (Heide II) so synonymous with Heide was commissioned by the Reeds from architect David McGlashan, with the view that it would one day become a fully fledged public art museum. With time Heide has become one of Australia’s foremost cultural institutions - but that’s not why I keep going back.
All that history is almost a little intimidating, but whether you understand the significance of this place or not, it doesn’t take away from the experience. Every time I visit I track the same path from the car straight for modernist heaven just over the crest of the hill. There is something magical about the way in which this white limestone structure sits within the landscape. You might expect a building of such significance to feel a little pretentious, but the reality is quite the opposite. The museum sits nestled into the side of a gentle slope, creating a surprisingly harmonious connection between the land and limestone blocks out of which it is built. Over time the white limestone has weathered revealing a myriad of age lines and marks, whilst providing a home to patches of rich green moss.
The many rectangular lines and forms which make up Heide II are complimented by the extensive gardens which add yet another layer of history to this modern oasis. Here you’ll find an abundant vegetable garden and a sprawling sculpture park to get lost in. The lush green acreage on which Heide sits is home to a combination of robust Australian natives and whimsical European trees which all form part of a garden experience that feels both casual and intentional at once.
If you’re looking for more than a wander, Heide also hosts a Maker’s Market that runs with relative frequency, plus there’s coffee, and lunch, and art of course. Heide surprises me each time I visit, not only because it is an architectural and historical gem amidst a suburban jungle, but also because each time I visit I discover something new, and fall in love all over again.
https://www.heide.com.au