WALK & TALK | SPLENDID with Andrew Dixon

Join guest curator Andrew Dixon in this special WALK & TALK where he will introduce and provide insights on Mr. Roger Brookes, his family, and their homes, as well as some of the key pieces from The Brookes Bequest in SPLENDID, the exhibition-house tour.

Andrew Dixon was a long-term supporter of and adviser to Mr. Roger Brookes and worked with him for over 15 years to compile and coordinate information not only on The Brookes Bequest collection but also that of the Brookes family and the collection.

The Brookes Bequest was amassed over several generations, initially by Albert Henry Heal and Arabella Heal of Oxton Hall, Cheshire, the parents of Roger’s mother Mrs. Betty Brookes (1900-1968).  After the purchase of a larger family home in Toorak in 1960 (Sir) Wilfred Deakin Brookes, CBE, DSO, AEA (1906-1997) and Betty added to this collection with other furniture, fine and decorative arts objects, and significant items of silver.

ANDREW DIXON has been a volunteer at TJC since July 2000. He was appointed a TJC Ambassador in 2008. He also serves on the Board of the Villa Alba Museum in Kew and on the volunteer team at the National Trust’s Labassa Mansion in Caulfield North.

Since 2004 Dixon has helped curate the Brookes’ collection at Heyington Place and Mathoura Rd in Toorak and record stories of Roger, his family, and the items in The Brookes Bequest.

image caption | detail from ‘Groan’ in THE BLUE ROOM as seen in SPLENDID | The Roger Brookes Bequest held from 28 September 2022–19 March 2023 | photograph by adam luttick | luts photography | Melbourne