Acclaimed portrait artist Robert “Alfie” Hannaford could have opened a successful art gallery anywhere in the world, but chose his home town of Riverton to launch his first enterprise.

The Riverton Light Gallery in the town’s main street occupies space which was formerly a garage and service station.

“Engine oil to artists oils,” remarked Clare and Gilbert Valleys mayor Allan Aughey when he opened the gallery on Sunday, July 13.

“Robert Hannaford is Riverton’s most famous contemporary son.”

Alf Hannaford said he hadn’t originally considered opening a gallery, had heard the garage was for sale but rejected the notion of purchasing the space.

“But a year later it still hadn’t been sold, so I snapped it up,” he said.

“The idea was to have a space at the back for sculpture, but then we noticed how great the light was in the front of the building, and we decided to turn it into a gallery.”

The thought of running a gallery had been the last thing on his mind, particularly when he became ill with tongue cancer in 2006, but against what he said was his better judgement after he became well, the concept went ahead.

“I realised that this would not just be a little gallery, but a fantastic space.”

Alf praised his wife Alison’s work as inspirational and said the gallery would be dedicated to showing the best work of local and regional artists.

But the space won’t just be used exclusively for artists and artworks. Alison and Alf also plan to propagate the region’s rarer plants for sale in the gallery.

“We want to have an outlet for indigenous plants and indigenous ideas,” Alf said.

Friends and art lovers packed the Riverton Light Gallery for the opening and are looking forward to returning for South Australian Living Artists celebrations when the gallery will exhibit work by Alf and Alison, Eudunda artist David Gibb and Riverton artists Roland Weight and Lise Temple in the theme of “plein air art”. The gallery will be open from 11am to 5pm daily (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) for SALA, after which planned opening times will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm, or by appointment.