Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 3 : Presscuttings, Sept 1959 - Sept 1967

.... Brisbane, Q. I , .. 2 THE COURIER-MAIL THURSDAY JUNE I 1967 [ The Courier-Hoit j ~u~ Libert.,· ~r,,r,ml, "" 1hr l 'rec,l11111 o/ tl,u l'rt•o 11111/ u c,mnot i"" imltml HJ/thuut l,ei11• to.1.-J,•/J,:,.,,,,, A tribal war In city's _.-t world . I N an otherwise ch-llisud comrnu_nlh' 811 nrt row •l 11 ·ayN take• 011 Nomcthlng nr ti,e nsiieut 11 of a tribal n·nr, and the urt and frinl,(i•-nrt irnr .~ 1 of llrl•bane Is nn e:1we11tlon. · ic recommendation for the a ppointment of n n~w I Queensland Art Gallery director is lhe c·, use o t le latest donning of feathers nnd war p~int ~~o truste~s having resigned in protest, Mr. James· " leneke, d1'.:ector of Moreton Galleries, Is now the unanlmoµs recommendation of the Board of Tru st ees f~r the directorship of the Gallery. The choice of Mr. Wieneke appears lo represent ~ complete change of thinking by the Gallery rustecs. The proposed new director, in his np– roach to art, Is about as consel'\'R live as his prc– eccss_or, Mr. Laurie Thomas, was advanced This, however, need not matter greatly · vlded the administration of the Gallery is 50 ~~~– and keeps up with world trends. ' SI~ Leon Trout, the chairman of trustees, has made it clear th~t he personally has lhe highest re~ard for Mr·. Wieneke as an a rtist, as an arl con– n01sseur, and even ns a man, for as a further reafon for ~he recommendation of M,·. Wieneke for the ap~omtme~t he has said that the director de~~gnnte ls a mnn of the "highest moral chan,c– ter ' But surely no-one doubted this. Mr. Wieneke was not a candidate for a bishopric. 2 Canberra, A.C.T. Vacant chair at art gallery • IS ·QUEENSLAND'S art ·• world is buzzing with • anger, controversy and umours over the director– ship of the Queensland -Art Gallery. _ The last director, Mr Laurie Thomas, resigned re– cently and went to Sydney to join the staff of a newspa.per. - Two tr111tees have resigned, one after 28 years' service, 'iiid last Monday night's meet• ing of the rcmainin1 ones did not, as had been expected, an• nounce lhe appointment of a · ector. It was reported ten days aao that the director of the Moreton Galleries, Mr James Wieneke, was almost certain 10· be appointed. Monday's meeting was expected to con– firm this. - ·Mr Wieneke is es1ablished as an artist in Queensland, but his re~ ulation probably does not extend far oulside the Slalc. He studied art at the Queensland Technical Col• lege and has held several one– man shows. His works hang In the !)ucensiand Art Gallery, in ._.., Darnell collection at Q JCensland University, and in Ilic Queensland Teachers' Col• iege collcclion. The Moreton Galleries, of ll'hicli he has been dircclor 1ince 1951. is an ar1 dealer's husiness with a smallish hase• ment · gallery in inner-city Brisbane, seat of discontent From our Queerniland Corre•pondent Before Monday nl1bt's mee1ln1 of trustees, it was said that the only point delaying selection of Mr Wieneke was the qucslion of whether he could relain any links wilh the Moreton Galleries if he were appointed to the Queensland Art GAiiery. Some of the trus– tees were said to have connec– tions with the Moreton Galler– ies, which complicated the question. Last Monday, before the meetina, t w o trustees - Professor R. P. Cummings and Miss Daphne Mayo - handed their resignalions to the actin11 Minister for Educa– tion, Mr J. Bjelke-Petersen. (Government responsibility for the art gallery comes within the Education porlfolio. Mr Bjelkc-Pctcrsen is standing in for the Minister, Mr Jack Pizzey, who is on a world tour.) Miss Mavo said later, "We rcsi11ned in· proltsl about the appointment of a new direc– tor". Neither she nor Prof Cummings would say any– thing more, but the implica• lion seemed clear: Neither was wholly satisfied wilh the pros– pect of having Mr Wieneke u direclor. Prof Cummin11s has been a trustee since 1939 and Min Mayo since 1960. Prof Cum– minas was Professor of Archi• lecture at Queensland Univer– •ily un1il lhe end of last year, when he rclircd. He now lives al Currumbin on lhe Gold Coast. Miss Mayo is a Bris– hane artist, with a repu1ation for bolh painling and sculp- 1ure. After lhe inlcrvicw wi1h Prof Cummings and Miss Mayo, Mr Bjelke-Petersen said he was not aware that lhcy had resigned over ap• pointment of a new direclor. "They resigned because lhey were nol in agreement wi1h certain aclion taken by the board of trustees as a whole". he said. The resignations meant thnt urlists were left without direct representation on lhe board. They arc indirectly rcprcsen- 1ed by Mr Russell Cuppaidge. a solici1or whose wife is a recognised arlisl. The remaining trustees :ire business or professional men - two more lawyers. three doclors, 1wo senior public servanls, a sloekbroker and business execulives. They are: The chairman, Sir Leon rruut. a 1olici1or and invntor; Mr P. D. Connolly, QC, a former Liberal Member of Queensland Parliament and an officer of the Citizen Military Forces; Dr B. B. Barrack, a dcrma1ologist; Sir E I I i s Murphy, a doclor; Dr Nor– m a n Behan; Mr Edgar Ferguson, lhe Commissioner of Stamp Dulies: Mr A. E. Guy– mer, the Primary Education Director, the government nom– inee on lhe board of trustees; Mr R. A. Henderson; member of a Brisbane stockbroking firm; Mr R. J. C. O'Loan, a department • Slore executive; and ..-fr A. J. Stratigos, Queensland head of an inter– national firm of car manufac• wreN<. Lasl Monday, while Prof Cummings and Min Mayo were tendering 1heir resigna– lion, and 1he remaining 1rus- 1ces were preparin~ for their mceling, lhe Queensland hranch presidcnl of lhc Con– temporary Arl Society, painter Mr Rny Churchcr. issued a slalemcnt. He named no names, but urged "second lhoughts" on the appoinlmenl of a new direclor. He said lhe joh of pre11ent• ing lhe work of local and International artists, both the historical and contemporary, called for a penon with a aood deal of scholarship, a live attachment to the present, and the highest 1t1ndard or taste. The director should be a person with critical couraae and concern for the environ– ment in which he lived and worked. Mr Churcher added, "He must be as hi1hly qualified in his field as possible, wilh the greatest breadth of vision for 1he educational and recrea– tional needs of lhe commun– ity. "We implore the responsible members of Government to think more deeply and seri– ously in their choice of a direclor for our art gallery". With all this as prologue, the meeting of the remaining truslces is reported to have been a stormy one-with healed discussion on the qucs• lion of selecting a new direc– tor. It was I 1.30pm before the trustees filed tight-lipped out of the red-brick gallery build, ing, which stands in the same arounds as the Queensland Museum. The chairman, Sir Leon Trout, refused to answer re• porters' questions. He would not say whelher the meeting had confirmed appointment of a new director. and he would not comment on the resipna, tions of Prof Cummings and Miss Mayo.