Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 1 : Presscuttings, 1959-1962

From Vs, "MIRROR"' Sydney, N.S.W. 4 i MAR- RiatirsaysdPaintift, b the 'MIRROR' ART CRITIC During many months, interstate Gallery bulletins have been accumulating on my desk, while the ever expanding exhibition programme made II impossible to tied space to comment on them. But ihis pleasing duly shall be no longer deterred. Alter diligently, even I The present Issue does eagerly, perusing these not otter a resume of publications. I can de- current activities, as Is scribe them all as ex- she usual practice with tremely Interesting, well other State Gallery printed, and attractively bulletins. but is one of produced. a series designed to re- st must seem, there- cord in detail the major fore, rather a worts A' bequests made to the Gallery. and Is devoted supererogation to Arts Jed the teeth of p to the Godfrey Rivers snails to mierseouic Trust. swum AUSTRALIA Mr. Robert Campbell, Director of the National I am Indebted to Mr. Gallery of South Aus- Eric Westbrook. Direct- traits, who kindly keeps or of the National Gal- use supplied with his lery of Victoria, for sev- quarterly bulletins, will eral copies of Isis (mart- doubtless accept the erly bulletin. usual excuse for my long Recent acquisitions eruditely annotated anti delay in referring to effectively illustrated. them. frequently aroused envy I was rather amazed and occasional disgust. They ranged from a charaeleristie example of Reynolds portraiture ("Lady Frances Finch"). that could Well serve as a pictorial epitome of all the Discourses, to a typical example of Fie- assie depravity (Aesop's lass that donned the Elizabeth Young's lion's hide was decidedly notes on Samuel Palmer, more wholesome titan accompanying the 11 - these fake maenads). histratIon of his spael- Perhaps the item ous "Harvest Picnic," which gave most plea:e should make readers are was the plastic and wish to learn more of expensive Bodhisattva, his life and work. sculptured in dark lime- stone, one of a pair of sixth - century figures irons the rave temples of North Ronan. QUEENSLAND The Queensland Na- tional Art Gallery Bul- letin, kindly sent me by the Director (Mr. Rob- ert Haines), appears nt irregular intervals, and has only just reached its third number: but of course such enter- prises cost a good deal the glimmering of snow of money these days. ,sn the bough." scrutiny: but that is a critic's lob. VICTORIA From C 4PP /9c8 .1 at seeing Frances Hodg- kins described as "the most distinguished wo- man painter of her generation"-and this In a generation that also includes Dams Laura Knight, WA., and Dame Ethel Walker. A.R.A. Her reference to the cost of candles curtail - in tube Shoreham art- ists' evening discussions recalled those less easily discouraged Chin- ese scholars of the fourth century All, Cife Yun and Sun K'sng, who had not enough money to buy candles. so studied "by the thus of the glow- worm at the window or Adelaide, S.A. Topical ut not . xcitmg The selection of ulettires rom those submitted for he Blake Prize iSvdneit, nake a topical display bout the 'a Donal Gallery. A certain originality of inception di:0 lig:undies the winning entry of Erie Smith. "The Moment Christ Died." I can think of little else to sat In its favor. The judges' second choice. Bob Dickerson's -The Resurrection." is quite frankly a puzzle pic- ture. not sufficiently im- pressive o cause even a mild conttroversy. In my opinion there is more vitality and feeling in Thomas Chtehoriis third - prize picture, "The Pas- sion." But his other en- try, -Head of Christ." Is easily the best picture in a very feeble bunch The four women painter,* exhibition In the Belinda( favorabletInue to attract t attention. The closing date la Sunday, April 13. Nora Young's downright landscapes are the most attractive feature of the show. - Esmond (leorge. From "COURIER MAIL" Brisbane, Qld. ;IIEW by Dr. Gertrude Langer PERSIAN RUGS EXHIBITED AN Exhibition of Per- sian Rugs now on view at our National riallery prompts the, thoughts whether the strict dividing line we pm up between "fine arts" .11 Id "applied a rts" Is not hiehlv artificial at times. nice needs only to remember hat the Orient never drew the line, nor did the West until fairly recently in its his- tory. There is really no reaso:. why creations of human hands and human minds should rate lower Just because they also serve sonic utilitarian purpose. INVENTION Intrinsic value can be de- cided only on grounds of aesthetics and significance. Indeed, the genuine Oriental rug 'the connoisseur draws a line between it and the post - First World War mass pro- duct for export, dyed with chemical dyes) has both these qualities. The beauty and endless in- vention in colour combina- tions and patterns have at- tracted the West for centuries, and we can study rugs that have been lost since, in paint- ings such as Holbein'a, For the Muslim, of course, these rugs have a meaning much deeper than purely aesthetic, The foreword to the cata- logue and the pictographs on its cover draw attention to the symbolic significance of colours and motifs. TREES OF LIFE It. Is just as intriguing to discover symbolic. animals, "trees of life," etc., in even their most abstract formalise- tions, as it is to appreciate beauty of pattern colour. Not that every single rug on show conforms to best quality. There is No. 2 catalogue, which is a recent rather degenerate example o af its kind. But there are number of fine pieces, such as No. 18, a Shiraz with green, light blue, and corn yellow pattern on deep blue ground. The exhibition will be open from to -day until April 27. From "COURIER MAIL" ) Brisbane, QId. * TICKETS in the shape of luggage labels will be sent out soon /or the Around the Ladd Arts Ray, to he held in Lennon,* convention hall on May 30. The 600 guests - by invitation only-mill he receired h'. the eltairmart n/ the Arts Roll Committee (Mr. Robert Haines) and hits Gail,m Porn. rachin who trill taring in the basket 0/ a banana strung / the ceiling. MARCH 30, 1958 BOX! MUM. F. W. Cornell 1.11111P out of hiding slits neck. Site had arrived from Adelaide with her private collection of rare Persian Qrtutgese.nsninzd on Nlittoioun' aalt Ant Gallery. The owner of the runs wits anonymous, and intended to STAY anony- mous. But for the sake of art in Queensland, Mrs, Cornell, spoke out -like this: "When I arrived In Brisbane, I asked a taxi driver to take me to the National Art Gallery, lie didn't know where it was MRS. CORNELL "I got directions - and we found the gallery. The driver exclaimed, 'What an ugly box !"' Mrs. Cornell added: "Please tell all tourists to visit this gallery. You should be so proud of it. There are some real treas- ures In that 'box'. The num- ber of really wonderful paintings and pieces of sculpture, bought for the gallery In the last few years, is amazing." Mrs. Cornell agreed to send her collection ("No, don't call them Persian rugs - proper name is 'Oriental' "I to Brisbane to "pave the way for more exhibition!: showing other forms of art." Made by hand SHE has collected Orienta rugs for 35 years, "But my chief Interest I making a home for m family-and travelling whe I have the chance," insisted this vivacious blue-eyed woman. Yesterday at the gallery, she was telling a class of school children the secrets and ancient stories behind each of the 18 rugs on show. "The rugs have specie significance because they a all made very carefully b hand," she told them."Peopl prepare the materials an make the dyes, too. Some o the dyes are known only a very few people in th tribes of the East." The exhIbigon is In- sured for, between f3000 and £10110. And a practical hint fn Oriental rug owners: It th rug must be stored for an lencth of time, sprinkle riga leaf on the rug before pack ing. It protects, and als prevents it losing lie lustre.