The original, iconic exhibition was organised by VAS founding artists Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts and Charles Condor, who painted their en plein air studies on cigar boxes 9 by 5 inches in size. 

Now one of the most popular events in the Victorian Artists Society calendar, this exhibition offers an opportunity for artists to reinterpret the iconic 9x5 format. Ranging from traditional to quirky, these works limited only by size and imagination create a spectacular display.

An additional element to this year's 9 x 5 Exhibition is the inclusion of painted wooden cigar boxes. 24 artists took up the opportunity to put their own spin on the tradition in which our early impressionists painted on, amongst other things, cigar box lids measuring roughly 9 x 5. These were supplied by a fellow artist, Louis Abrahams who owned a tobacconist store in Melbourne and became the catalyst for the original 9 x 5 exhibition in 1889.