Italian art of the 20th century

A U S T R A L I A N I T I N E R A R Y , 1956 A R T GAL L E RY O F WESTERN AUSTRALIA March - April DIRECTOR: MR. L AUR E NC E THOMAS T H E NAT I ONAL GAL L E RY O F SOUTH AUSTRALIA Ma y - June DIRECTOR: MR. ROBERT CAMPBELL T H E NAT I ONAL GAL L ERY O F VICTORIA July DIRECTOR: MR. ERIC WESTBROOK TASMANIAN MUSEUM & A R T GALLERY , HOBART August - September DIRECTOR: DR. W. BRYDEN T H E NAT I ONAL GAL L E RY O F N EW SOUTH WALES October DIRECTOR: MR. HAL. MISSINGHAM T H E QUEENSLAND NAT I ONAL A R T GALLERY Nov embe r - December DIRECTOR: MR. ROBERT HAINES FOREWORD Australia by reason of its geographical isolation has been, to a large extent, cut off from a first-hand knowledge of the great European Collections. We have our State National Galleries, which, in the short period they have been in existence, have done their utmost in building up fine collections - particularly of Australian art - but with the exception of the Melbourne Collection, the limited funds at their disposal do not allow for the acquisition of great masters of the past, nor is it possible for them to adequately cover the great periods and movements of European art during the last 2,000 years Based on European traditions, Australia during a little more than one hundred years has developed, and is still developing, a school of painting of its own, but history shows that all schools are stimulated by and to some extent dependen t on other schools and new movements for their development With this knowledge, the Boards of Trustees of all the Australian State Galleries have realised their responsibility to the Australian public in promoting and encouraging the importation of exhibitions which show the development of the various art movements that are continually taking place in Europe and other parts of the world In recent years the British Council, U.N.E.S.C.O. and other organisations abroad have done admirable work in helping us towards this end, but the responsibility of bringing collections from overseas rests mainly on the combined State galleries Boards of Trustees have endeavoured to arrange for loan exhibitions of old masters from the great European Collections, but owing to the grave danger of subjecting the works of old masters to rapid climatic changes, the restrictions which govern certain countries lending important works outside Europe and the vast sums involved to cover insurance and shipping rates, the possibility of such exhibitions is not practicable a t the present time In developing this policy of bringing to Australia an important exhibition from overseas every two or three years, this exhibition of Italian Ar t of the 20th Century, first discussed in 1951 and approved by the State Galleries in 1953, has been arranged through the courtesy of the Italian government [ 2 ] [3] D A R Y L LINDSAY HAL. MISSINGHAM