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

"AUSTRALIAN'' 2 4 JU i.,.., .:" Australia America the Aussie really confounds philistines! THE AMERICAN exhibi– tion is still making its mark on conversations in pub and party. ART by RONALD MILLAR Tepid letters full of quaint old polemics about the nature of art appear In the papers. Entire • chool populations, It 1eema, are towed around the 1allerlea by tireless amateur • rut profeulonal explainers who obviously find Larry Poona' simple little ovals more difficult to talk about than the -Wln,ed Victory, paintings warm up the staid Athenaeum, and raconteur– extraordinary Bernard Hes– ling ha., many goy, drolly decorated enamels at Gallery 99. computur-ldol Is a well– painted modern totem. Struc– ·turcd Image shows the same engine-entrails. Stocks can draw too. Landscape in Section ls the proof. No matter: the U.S. has won quietly and the philistines are confounded again. At this moment, I suppose, some keen type I • cookln1 up an all-black exhibition as a tribute to Ad Reinhardt, If you want superb prints, Morl's virile, barbaric Japa– nese examples at Crosley may still be available, W l g Icy 's Sydney-scapes, ~aloon girls and tonal softness arc reminders that even today - especially today - small scale and lock of visual fireworks, when linked to a sympathy for people, can carry a quiet emphasis. And H that's not enough, the St Kllda Gallery has a mixed show that your critic by sheer physical misadventure had to pass by. B11t there la plenty left on the home front. Take your pick: wlattul work by James Willey at Au • trallan Gal• lert•: 1culpture ambliruous but lntereatln, by Ron Upton It Strine,, • nd by Nlckolaus Settrln (explicit but less lntereat1n1) at Australian Galleries too. The most ambitious effort Is by Stocks, and he tackles the moat demandln1 themes with a confidence born of technical variety and pictorial inven– tion. In fact, Wlgley's biggest work, Upper Road, Is relative– ly thin, His small self-portrait where the mystery of a half– seen blurred figure ls hypnotic, and a sad but lovely watercolor interior with seat– ed girl ... these I enjoyed. I think his best Ideas are related to subterranean forms tunnels, earth strata, dark shafts. Helen Maudsley's small A bil aareulve show at the Ar1111 by Geoffrey Stocks, and adroit photo1r1phs of the nude In lntrl111ln1 clrcum• 1tanc111 • t Gallery A, His hot landscapes in mixtures ot metallic strips, silver paint and pinkish curves have an oppressive effect, suitably, works also Invite lntlma.te entry to a contained, clear world in which symbolic people make their metapho~lc journey through sectioned-off views of tumblln11 doll's house furniture, limpid and nostal– gic 1natche1 of seascape, re– current wave and cliff pro– gressions and domcsvlc frag– Wll1l • m Delafleld Cook's delicate view, ot hl 1 1arden • re I aurprtae at Leveaon: Helen Maudsley's reticent Storm Centre, suffering from too harsh a crimson, yet has a fine landscape clutter and evocative sweep to It and Behold the Man, r.earlng up and exposed as a mechanistic ments. "MAIL" lri11Nne, 0. 25JU ~: - -· · -- -- ·· ···------·-·--~---1 LaBelle- 1 Laborer charged A 22-year-old laborer last night wu charged with the theft of the La Belle Hollandaise painting. He was arrested followlnr a vl,lt to a nat at Marpte by two detectives ye::::!~fv:.' 0 ':!!~•oned him durln the day at ~.I.B, Headquarten anf at the Queensland Art Gallery. Ju • I before 3 p.m. deteatlvea took lhe man to the Art Gallery 1·n Bowen I Brldp Road, While the man wa• held In a car outalde, th• handful of Saturday after– noon Gallery vhlton were a•ked lo leave the Gallery for half an hour "lor pollee buslne • s." He waa e • corted from the C,J,B, bulldlnr •oon after B p.m, and driven lb blocks to lhe watchhouse to bf. •harled. Soon after, police tuued a • tatement which read in full: "Followlnr Information received by ln • pector Raetz, officer In charge of crlmlnal lnvewllratlon on Friday Jut, on lhe mornlnr of this date, a man Of 22 yean of &1111, a labourer ,..• , located In a flat at Marple by Detective Senlnr•Seraant .John ~~=,=:~ and Detec, ve Ser,reant ''Thl• eTenlnr, he was ahar,red with the alle(led hreaklnf and entertnr of the Queen • land Ar Gallery and the alle,ed theft of La Belle lfollandal • e _pafntlnr, ~ue I• due to appear at the Macla– trate's Court In Brlibane at 10 a,m, on Monda1," •••••••••••••••••••• lri11Nne, 0. 2 5 JU~! 191 ·uemay 1 take art 011 "I s uppose that If YDII had a trustee board full of artists they'd stlll disagree. M~~· pwr::ike th :;,i:u~~e~ tour ~-o r '"queenRland Art Gallery director ~lr. JnmeN Wieneke has ho11es of Inking art to 11eo11le In the country as well as attracting more people hopefull note for con• temporary artists when he said that although good quallty Abstract nnd modern art did not sell we II he felt there was n. pince tor It In the "cross– sectlon of a State gallery. "That's the dtrference botween a gallery that has to stav In business by sell– Ing pnlntlngs and a Stnt.e gallery which Is acquiring to the gallery. a permanent collection of B t Mr Wieneke has no high qualltv work or all u I f h approaches," he said. Immediate Pans or,,c ~ngi "Galleries have to try Ing the gallery • • • I wand 1,o sell the Idea to all or to ~et Into the car an taking both pride and see how the gears work be- r,ieasure In their State gal– lore I tackle any crOIIS- ery and collection. If this lngs," he said. can be achieved more Mr. Wieneke who has ople wlll, r feel 'sure, be staged art exhibitions In ~ couraged to assist In the , evcral countn[· c1 entres general welfare of the ~•l• from Ml,. Isa o L smor~; lery. snys people In the c~untl} ''So one could hope and are "hunpr)' for art. . also expert that good He, like, one ,(ormc1: dll ~ alntlngs, sculpture, nnd cctor s Ides of art trains fu rniture would be presen– t.aklng mobile mlnlat111-e led to the gallery trusts galleries I hrough country eslabllshell and 'sirbstan• Krens. tinl prizes given to the And he believes In doln~ encourngement or art more to helo J)COple under- wo,·k .. stand anrl nppr~clntc art · with lectures. a llbrnry. nnd lnCormntlon service. THI ART OF' AUST. Yesterday Mr. Wieneke talked aociut hl,s Ideas on ihe gallery, his dlrector– sht the public. artist., . , . "'\,, aUi1nk that basically we havc to be concerned with the nrt or our own countrv. The ovr.rsens nrt and the old mnslcr., a,-e almost out ol our reach, "Should lhe gallerv bu;, more locnl work'/ I t.hlni< that deprnd, Oil the q11111lty or the work. tlls l'lews on a SI nle gal• tcrv director·., freedom ? "\Vl'II I suppose lhnt until n bel ter system l.s designed the trustees hnl'c nppoln– rrd the ~nllcry direct.or ns nn nct\'l~or. "MAIL" ·"·JIJ 19 67 On ·with the job lrlslNne, 0 . !'l'ow lhal Stale Cabinet ha, approved Mr, Wlen– tke's appolutn,ent a• dlrcclor ol the Queen·•· land Art Gallery, let's hupt "'e',·e 111een the end nf the tedious spectacle or respected public rt,i– ures ca111nr each other namea In public print. The •ltuatlon at the gullery was worth arguing about and a llllle airing of dirty t~ne~lc~~~~t i 1 ;~e r:m:~ musty establishment at– mosphere hat seems to have prevailed In the ral– ~~n. t"\51:es' mee in,: Jlut cnough's enough, and :.~11~~op1~111 ~~e wh~::ieke~ chance to .ellle down In the Job. I A 22- YEAR-OLD fflln WII charged yestel'day over tile tfleft of the $200,000 Picasso paint– ing La Belle Hollandaise from the Queensland Art Gillery. The "' a n w a 1 .gate and last nipit ,.as clt111e4 '·, ~lowing ch&11!"d WlUl b..it:1111 and' • · at b entering the -~~land lllffltit IOIII 1. Art Gallery and the theft Senlo; Ser,e111t . of the palntlll&', McSporra11 an4 Ser- Wldo•• of the mUUon- 1eant M. Chalmers. aire donor of the painting, Snr. Sgt. McSporrn11 and Mrs. Julie Rubin, handed Sgt. Chalmers worked the pr:lceJess art piem to throughout Friday night police a fortnight • ,o, and yesterday on the In- She said that a 5')Uog vestlgatlon. man, " ·horn she CX>Uld not Jn a statement released Identify, had dropped It by the era last night it was at her front door on a said U,nt the Officer-In- Sunday night. Charge ol the CIB, Inspec. Mrs. Rubin's maid said tor W. Rneti, hnd received yesterday that Mrs. Rublnj onfldcntlal Information was not available for cam. ast week. ment and that any lnqulr- A 22-i•ear-old man was les should be fflllde'throllJih ociited . at' a· tfnt "lh' 'MRI'-' h"er 10llcltor. . . ~. !JN 15t _ .,_ --- icasso ,, theft charge BRISBANE, Sat. A 22-ycar-old man has been charged with the the ft of the S200,- 000 Picasso painting Lt1. Belle H ollandaise, which was stolen from the Que.e.willmd Art Gallery 7.,vo 1veeks a~?i· a aten-;-;;,~t relcns– ed l>y Brlsbano Crlmlnnl Investigation Brnnoh Inst night, It wns sold the ofClcer In chnrge of tho brnnch, Insp. W. Rnetz, had received con• fldentlnl lnfonnntlon. A 22-yeur-old mnn had been found In o tint a t the seaside sub– urb of Margate, ~o miles from Brisbane. . 'l'he m a n ll'IIS chnrgC(I last night with brenk• Ing and entering th~ Queensland Art Onllory nnd stet1l111~ the pnlnt- lnf; ,, 110 ~1~:r J'~~~lf~. !)Jldns,• Perth, W.A.