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

7 JUI ~ I ' Two theories on theft of $200,000 Picasso painting IRISIANE. - Police believe recent controversy here over rumoured plans of the Queensland Art Gallery trustees to sell paintings could have led to the theft of the $200,000 Picosso painting– "La Belle Hollandaise"-arly yesterday. They are Investigating theories that art students or young artists could have organlsc;i the robbery to locus tten• ·uon on the Issue nr ,. that a ranatlcal art lover could have taken thu painting to hide II so that ll could not be sold, Laat night, the chair• man or the gallery trus• teee (Sir Leon Troull denied as "completely untrue" the rumour that the £allery Intended aelllns paintings from t!Mt Rubin collectlon, "LI Belle Hollandalse" wu the moat valuable painting In a collection donated to the Queen1- land Art Gallery In May, 11159, by the la.le Major Harold de Yahl 1'ubln. The painting Is In• Mired ror $140,000, but Its present market value Is about $200,000. Th• main concern la that th• famed ,ica110 painting could be Irr• p1r1bly damaged by the thief or thl•YH, "La Belle Hollandaise" wa, painted by Pablo Plcuso In 190S. It was mounted on • wooden panel, which the thieves removed r.rnm Its frame. The 30¾ ln. by 261/,ln. palntln11 deplcta a seated, nude woman wearing a Dutch hat, and ls mainly In flesh , t111ht blue, and dark blue colourln11. THE AUSTRALIAN SATURDAY JUNE tq 198'7 PICASSO'S Le 81ll1 Hollandaise: blue chalk, gouache and oil on cardboard laid down on wood panel, 26lin by 13lin, inscribed upper left "A mi qu1rido amigo j Paco Durio! Picasso! 1905! Schoori." p1cASSO's La Belle Hol- landaise, stolen from the Queensland Art Gallery, was bought at auction at Sothebya of London in 1959 for £55,000 sterling. The Queensland Government, th1'0u1h Its A1ent-General, made the wlnnin1 bid for thi• and six other French paintings with funds made available by an anonymous donor. Everybody knew that the anonymous donor was Harold de Vahl Rubin, and, before he died in 1984. he allowed his name to be associated with the 11!1. At the time of the •ale, the price was said to be the highest until then paid for a work by a living artist. The other paintings from the J!ubln collection which were acquired were two other Plcassos - a head of a man and a reclining figure - a Degas ballet study in oils. a Vlamlnck still-Ute, a small Toulouse-Lautrec head and a J!enolr double portrait of his two sons, Together they brought about £ 100,000 sterling. Sothebys have since estimated that they would be worth something like twice that amount. If the Queensland Gallery Is known at all overseu, it i" for the presence in Its collection of La Belle. Mystery of the missing Picasso By our Arts Editor, LAURIE THOMAS