French painting today

A U S T R A L I A N I T I N E R A R Y 1953 TASMAN I AN MUS EUM & A R T GALLERY, HOBART January - February DIRECTOR: DR. J O S E P H PEARSON T H E NA T I ONA L A R T GALLERY O F N E W S O U T H WALES March -April DIRECTOR: MR . H A L MISSIN(;HAM T H E QUEENSLAND NA T I ONA L A R T GALLERY Ap r i l — May DIRECTOR: M R . ROBERT HAINES T H E NA T I ONA L GALLERY O F VICTORIA J u n e -,July DIRECTOR: M R . DARYL LINDSAY T H E NAT I ONAL GALLERY O F S O U T H AUSTRALIA August DIRECTOR: M R . ROBERT CAMPBELL T H E PUBL I C LIBRARY MUSEUM AND A R T GALLERY O F WE S T E RN AUSTRALIA September DIRECTOR: M R . L AUR E NC E THOMAS A n umb e r o f the paintings i n t he exhibition are f o r sale. A l l enquiries should be addressed to M . Claude Bonin-Pissarro c / o National A r t Gallery o f N e w South Wales, Sydney FOREWORD Sir Charles Lloyd Jones, whilst abroad in 1949, wrote to the President of the Board of Trustees of the National Ar t Gallery of New South Wales, that he had taken the first steps in bringing to fruition a long-cherished plan; to arrange for an important exhibition of French painting to visit Australia. Th r ough his good offices in pressing the idea with M. Joxe, le Conseiller d'Etat et Directeur General des Relations Culturelles; M. Jacques Jaujard, Direction General des Arts et des Lettres, and M. P. D'Erlanger, Directeur d'Association d'Action Artistique, the French and Australian Governments agreed to co-operate in making the exhibition possible. T h e French Govern- ment most generously undertook a large share of the financial commit- ments which such an important collection was bound to entail. Its generosity embraced the assembly, packing and transport of the exhibi- tion to Australia, insurance during the whole of the tour from the moment it left France unt i l its return, and the travelling and other expenses of M. Claude Bonin-Pissarro, Representative of the French Galleries appointed by the Association Française d'Action Artistique, to accompany the exhibition throughout the Commonwealth. Australia on its part was to bear the costs of all internal travel and organising expenses, the printing of the catalogues from material supplied, and the r e t urn transport of the exhibition to France. T h e State National Galleries of Aus- tralia at once enthusiastically agreed to accept the exhibition and Sir Charles Lloyd Jones handed over the organisation to them to carry the idea forward to reality. As individual State Galleries have insufficient funds for projects of such magnitude, it was agreed that a uni t ed appeal be made to the Commonwealth Government through the Prime Minister for financial assistance to enable important exhibitions to be brought to Australia from overseas as opportunity offered. T h e late Mr. J. B. Chifley, then Prime Minister of Australia, guaranteed the r e t urn freight on behalf of his Government. O n the election of Mr. Robert Menzies to the Prime Ministership he immediately agreed that the Commonwealth [ 3 1