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

Art row over Pieasso nude ~ - BRISBANE, SallaJ. 01111111 of 11 111111111101 of Con• 11•1•1 ,al1Hnp •• T••••Y will kl11 QH111l1n••• Ma.st arl -lllfrlllrSJIO I ..... The row centres on "La Belle Hol– landaise," a nude of a Dutch girl by Spanish-born artist Pablo Picasso. Thla £68,750 painting Is one of a new collection of silt art treasures bought lo London for £ I I8,500. It la a picture of a young Dutchwoman wearing only a bonnet. Colllrcn'eny I• helghl• ~ bJ • at • t,menl by •• Qaellllland Tnas11r•r .... IIO puhlk money I• a..olnd and 1h11 an un– _ _. bellefador wlll puy f• die p • lndngs, Objection, to the c,hibi• lion flared this week while National Art Gallery ofli• ciab were uncrnting the paintings after they arrived m the freighter Quccnslund Star, The chairman of the Queensland Chri,tian Ru,i– nessmen's Conunillec, Mr P. J, Hancox, described the Dutch girl as an "offensive display of nudity." "It u disturbing the moral and spiritual welfure of the community," he said. Mr Hancox said he had not seen the original paint– Ing but hod seen a publish– ed reproduclion. 11 lt wn, quite enough, even though it was not full length," he added. disgrace of queensland'• cen– tenary year.' AIICICller wrote lhal lhe aMle "allowed • dt<:ldcd • m • k of JaallllJ'," A man wrole lhut II wns "the bl11ses1 acandal ,Ince the Federal polillcians' ••I· ary 1rab.'' The writers were com• menlln1 on black-and-white reproduclions in newspapcn. Gallery officials predict record queues when the cul• lcction is unveiled to th< public on Tuesday. The Art Gallery director, Mr Robert Huinc<, de<• cribcd moral objectinn., to the nude Dutch girl '" .., ., . traordinary thinking." • "A. plaee . unique" Mr Haines udded, "M:111y of the world's greatest nrti,t< have used the nude figure in their masterpieces, " fhe Sistine Chapel cell· Ing by Michelnngelo is a supreme e~nmplc.'' The chairman of the gnl– ler)! trustees, Sir Ro,lyn Phtlp, who is Queenslnnd', senior pubne Judge, told "The Sun-Herald": "I am just nn ordinary person iu• !crested in art. · "But I can see that these raintings are going 111 e,tah• lish Qucenslund Art Gal• lery ns n place that is now unique. "A • for lhe pcnple In whom • nude picture 1' obscene-lbc 111llery cun– nol be upccled lo pander lo them," Sir Roslyn wns at the gallery to see the fnmou, pictures uncrnlctl. So were Qncen,lnnd's Minislcr for Education, Mr J. C. A. Pi,.zey, nnd the Director-General ol Educa– tion, Mr H. B. Watkin. Mr Pi1.zey said: "Perhaps I do not understand modern– istic painting,, ''But I do npprecintc that WORTH £27,610 The /Jc1:as oil 11ai11ti1111 of 'The D a II c er s" which cost £27/,/0, bci11g dusted by the Q11eemla11d Art Gal– lery Director, Mr R. Haines. It is one of six Co111i11e11tal art treasures to go 011 show at the gallery 011 Tuesday. Protest before showing MAJOR RUIIN gullerk, all over lhe world will hi! envious of Quccns– laml." Mr \VJtkins snid: "I like them. The Picasso 11ainl· ing, will have n contro• v1.·r.sial opp\!'al.'' The picture, will be given a private showing next Mon– day. The ship', officer rcspon• sihl.: for lhe url treasures' ,afct y on the voyage, Chief Ofllcer H. Sproul-Cran, ,aiu: ..I've seen a print of the Dutcli girl and I wouldn't give two quid for it. ··n111 that's only my per• 'ton;1I opinion." • Heavlly guarded The other paintin!I• and !heir prices ore: ~1'ro1s Dan• 'iCU"iC'i a la Cl:use de Dansc.1' hy Degas, £27,610; "Coco anu lliclle," by Renoir, i.: 8,78.I; .. Femme nu Pnrn• ,ol Couchcc sur 111 Plngc" hy l'icasso, £5,270; "Tete d'Hmnmc" by Picuss , L s.o~u; "Still Life" by Vla- 111inck. ,C 3,262. Th1: r ainting!l 1 insured for their full purchase prices, were heuvily guarded in nll ports and kept In refrigera– tion throu~h the tropics. R,rerrln" to the un, nam•d brnrf•rlor, Mr llilry, the 'l'rc,uurer, said: ~All cun,·cmcd • re pledacd lo aecncy tlboul him," All lhnl Quocn,landera know is that the Quecmland Government bou1ht the paintings when they wero auctioned by Sotheby and ,Company, London, in May. The Queensland Asent– Gcncrul, Mr David Muir, wns the bidder. They were among 12 1rl treasures sold for Queen1- h1nd millionaire vauer Mnjor Harold de Yahl Rubin for £. 1'31,550. Mujor Rubin hinted lo r,:. porters at the auction that he would puss on some of the sale proceeds to the Queens• land National Arl Gallery, •"Mutual · agreement" Another report said Queensland went into the sulc on n "gcnllcnHm's undcrstnnding" 1h;1t Major Rubin would refund somo of the money. When Major Rubin, 60, returned to Brisbane this week he refused to discuss the nrt deal. 0 Hnvc lhc piclurc~ been shown yet'/" he asked when he landed nt Brisbane air– port. Told lhey hal not, he said: "Oh, I thm1pl h7 lh• time I arrived II would be all over." With him wa, Miss Julie Muller, 30, former Sydney waitress, whom he had in• tended to murry while in England - as his fifth wife. Miss Muller said London wedding plans had to be cuncclled becnuse Major Rubin's divorce decree had not been mnde absolute in time .. _- =-- =-=-