Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 2 : French Art Exhibition and Rubin Gift, March - May 1959

~ nOdS.. thit cost £100,800 a group of men and women gaze at a picture . , , is-Mr. Muir's £55,000 Picasso. WHAT AI\I I RID? The fore– heads wrinkle, the nn,:ers tap, And the eyes of the hundreds of art - ronsclous people crowded Into Sotheby's saleroom yesterday focus nn the nlcturc held up. WHAT IS IT WORTH? A: 1,0110? £2,000? Come, ladles and gentlemen. It IS a PICASSO. The hld1lln,r ,:oes on-and up. .I: IO.ooo . • • I: 20,000 . .. Is It ,:citing- rather hot In here ? Some of the people In the room look rool enou,:h. Jlul then perhaps they are not In the ra1·1·. And Into t h n s e dis- Interested minds may creep a wicked thoni:-ht :- DO I LIKE IT '1 W,•11, we know J\lr. Muir llkcfl II. Enou,:h to pay I: !i:i ,000 for It -a world record 11ri1·c ror a Picasso, The shy Australian beats Picasso record- ---' By JOHN RYDON A SHY Australian, who has n ever bid In a saleroom before, beat an dealers from nil over the world whrn h e p aid £ 100.800 for seve n paintings at Sotheby's yrs– trrd ay. H• was the 42-,rcar-old Agent• General for Queensland, Mr. D, v:d Mu11·. nnd he wns b:d– d 111g on lhr. Instructions ol hl.s O:ivcrnment on bcilnll of the Queensland Art Onller.r. T o gasps fro111 the hundreds or :~:i~s sa,:~~r~~~~\'\~f nolfJcnJ &way £55.000 for the Picasso nudr, " La Belle Hollandaise" -top prico of the •air. T hen he entered the bidding for the second Picasso. a water– colour en t itled ·•T~Lc d'Homme." He got It !01· £4.000, Mr. Muir bagged nnotl1cr Plca.~so. a pen-and-Ink drawing or a woman wllh R parnsnl on a bench, for £4.200. Long climb Then he stnrt.cd another lonll ~~~\ri~~ £2~i°OO [~~~he ~:fi~ dancers. He got that. ton. Heads craned rrantlcnll.v n.s a Renoir picture or two children's heads wns also knocked down to Mr. Muir for £7.000 . .. then t,hr Toulouse-Lnutrec painting of the hrnd or n 11lrl tor another £ 6,000. MI :'~'! 1 ;ird~ t~ttld ;~~,~~ 1 w~-t' Major Hnro!d Rubin's 11:c1urc6. "But l had been warned that. I ~~o;:.ld tl~~rc~lc~~~vy nnoSp¥si~~.~:~ ~,~r,'.~~s Wst~~d blnrc"W;.r~~ up. " 1 b1~ 0 d11~; 1 lit t'~~l'li ~~a.~~~'.ln\i~~t~ I he price rrnched £30,000 1 began 1,0 qu iver. When It got 10 £ ,50.000 I wa.s really swcnL– ing- but 1 was determined to get It," Sn:d nuctlonrer Mr. Peter \'Ill.son. ~~s\'reu,~)lm?:ft w~1~1~l '.r 0 ~1~!;. £55.000 p~ld for the PleR.\80· Is defln ltel.v a worlc\ record.~'