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

"HERALD" Melbourne, Vic. 1 a I L ,J J Paga 6-The Herald, Thur., Jui~ 1:,, 196_! "Mystery left man Picasso'' a BRISBANE. - A widow said in the Magistrate's Court today she could not identify the man who gave her a stolen $200,000 Pica110 painting. She said a man with his hat pulled down over his eyes arrived at her home with the pa inting and had left almost Im– mediately. !\Ira Julie Eleanor Rubin ~:.Sc ,::· 1 ~f,1~h 1 'lr~.:':rl°R~~': The pnlntlng WM lcnn– lng 1>galnst his legs, racln11 me. "He asked me to keep the po.lntlng for 30 days nnd not I ell the police." She Mid thr only word ~~~: 1'.°~1~1~ 0 /A\~n m~[~ w~~i enter the house. aid Richard Fer1u•on, 22, She said she look t h e. lnborer, Wl\s charged with pntntlng Into her IJedroom. havlni:r on or about. June The next morning police 6 bl'Okrn nnd entered the cnllcd Rnd tool: Ihe PRtnl– Quecuslnnd Art 01\llcry. tng. and flolcn Ihe pnlntlng, Mrs Rubin, cross-exnm- MLn Belle HollnndRlse," tned, snld she hnd to Id Mr·s Rubin !dent!fled the newspapers thl\L nny plo.n palntln~ In rhc court as the art gallery ml~hl. hnre t,he one her lnle husbRlld lo sell pnlnllngs from her Major Harold Rubin gave IRlC huslmnd's collection the gnllcry In 1959. was dlsgrnccful. Mrs Rubin snld that llet. SJt. J. McSrorran about 10 p.111. on June 11 Mid no element o per·– fihe wns worklm, nt home sonal prollt Rppeared to be 'l\"hen she heard her front Invoked In the lhclt. door bell ring, Sir Leon Trout. presl- "I went to the r r on t dent of the Queenslnnd door, swlt.ched on the Al't OR!lery trustees, snld light. Rnd saw R man La Belle WRS Insured r or standln~ there," she said. $200,COO. "TELEGRAPH" Sydney, N.S.W. 6ri PIUURE TAKEN-BECAUifj PUBLIC DIDN'T WANT IT A New Zealander 1t1ld 1 $200,000 palntlnt ltec1111 It was not , appreciated by th~. public, lrl1ban1 Ma9l1trate's Court was told yesterday. DETECT I\' E - S ER- 1 climbed Into the gallery b.r GEANT J . lllcSporran some scntroldlng nud re• said lh• man h <' d told him mored the painting, In an Interview. "I was lfO• He took tt to Petric In,: In keep lh• painting about 30 miles frori·, Br\s: mysi•lr, .,ror my own sails- bnr . In the boot or his ractlon. cnr. then wrnni1ed It In a But he later decided his blanket to prot,•ct It from action was unfair ru Mrs. mln I\Hd hid It under a Julie Rubin. widow or 11111- IJush. l)~~a~r:e~~[~~ t~t~::c~i)~? Returned land Art Gallery, and hncl The next day he rc,turncd It to her. 1 eturned, wrn11pcd tt morn Robe1·t Rona.Id Richard :;ccurely and hid It In bush Ferguson. 22, tal>orcr. wus I near Mount Coot-thn. chl\rged IJcfore Mr. E. H. He Inter took the paint• Baker, SM. w_11.1, xlenl\ng lnR lo Mrs. Rubin's home the painting, I.a Helle llol- and told her to kec11 It ror landalsc, from the ga llery In mont h ucrore gl1·lng tt 0 •>J;;L_aJtttJc,~;;;,,~: 0 11 said hnck lo the gallery, thal In nn Int erview in n I Dct.-Sgl, Me.·S11orran said flnt nt Ma rgate nenr Brls- th c pointing hnd been bane, Fergusori had nd- f,: 1 :~i RI Mrs. Rullht's /~~-tell to taking lhe pnlnl- I :Irr.' R. S. Wa tson ([,ir Arter reading tn a u<•ws- 1 Ferguson • o~J<'cted ror– papcr thl\t the gnllcrr "·ns mall.1• .to the record of the allojrt to sell the 11nl11tine Interview IJelng admitted, he 1ad decided It wns nol 1>cenu.1e It hnd not Ileen ap11reclatcd IJy the 1mhllt outalned In acr.ordRnce and decided to steal ll for I with the ll\1, reinUng lo himself. confessions. Det..-Sgl. Mr.S(lorrnn sRld The heRring W!lS ad- P'erguson told him he Journed to todny. "AGP' Melboume, Vic. 'I,· I , ,, . ~ J ,. ' AlT, MIWI $200,000 Picasso 'hidden • Ill hush' BRISBANE. - A $200,000 Pablo Pica110 paiulinicr - La Belle Hollamlai,e - had been hidden covered with blankct1 in rain in b111h _cuunlry, tbe magi111•ate'1 court was lold ye11e y. ·ii) . ;1y Australia A young New Zea– lander had then re– turned the painting to Mrs. Julie Rubins at her Brisbane home. He •had told Mrs. Rubins, whom he did not know, to keep It a month and then return It to the Queensland Art Gal– Q-,~ r ~ --Police say lery, · The man Is alleged to have told DeteolJve Senior Sergeant J. McSporran: "l waa satisfied the public did not appreciate the palnlJnr, IO I decided to steal It." Beraeant McSporran said In evidence Y•stcrday that Robert Ronald Richard Fer– guson, 22, laborer. had told him: "I W&4 IIOlllf to lteep ~~, i:,tgs~~tl~r,e t. for my Ferguson had said he had hidden the ~alntlnr, li~~:.d at 11 ~et!?l:na~~ Jr t~~at~~ the outskirts ot McSporran told Mr. Baker, SM, tllat Ferguson had told him he had l\nally retumed fiblr,tnt1nr to Mrs. Julie He had taken It to her Brisbane home. He had not previously met Mrs. Rubin and she had not quesllonM him - she had apneared rnghtened. FerJl'\ISOn had told Mrs. Rubin <whose husband donated the ,e,111nt1nl! to the ~~~!'•,~~ a ~.~~~•'i;~fo~ retuntlng It, to the gallery. Contested Ferguson Is contesting a charge of having broken and entered the Queensland Art Gallery and •tolen the PlcRSSO Painting on June 6. Dctect11·es, In shifts, guarded the painting In the court room )'esterday. McSporran told Mr. n. s. Warson, defence counsel, that Ferguson's rather had told him his son frequen ted r:~d.gallenes In New Zea- In a record or Interview read to the court. Fer~u•on was alleged to have told Mc– Soorran he had stolen the, llalntlng from t.11e art gal– ~':V about midnight on June He had climbed on work• men's scaffolding and en- ~~<!,J~~- building through Asked what his lnetntlons had. been, he had said he had read In a newspa~r ~ 8 6et1~1N 1 ~/,tJ 11 1,e"t~J 0 d~! ctded lo steal It. He had said l:e Intended permRnentlr to dr1,rh•r I.he owners or the Ptcns~o or the pnlntln~ nnd then h Rd f-Jl~~-gc his mind some days On Sunday, June 11, he had taken the painting to Mrs. Rubin's home and hRd told her to kenp It, for a month before returning Lt to the art gallery. McSporran •nld In r1•l– dence thRt he 1111d other pollcc111en hnd executed - SCRrl'h wnrrnnt At. l\trs. Rn• bin's home on ,June 12 and hRd round Ihr. missing pnlntlng In • bedroom. He SRld t.ltnt Oil Junr 24, he and Rnother detet,t11•e localed Ferguson In I\ Ont, Rt the Brlsba.ne suburb or ~fRr– gate. Fcr!{USOll had said: "Oh. yrs. T took Ute pnlntlni;_, I'm 1101. denying that." The hcarln!f 11·aa Rd– Joumed until thlN momln1. Picasso painting left -on mountain After th., 5200,000 Plcuso palntlllr La Belle Hollandal • e wa • atolen from the Queensland Ar& Gallery II wu wrapped and lelt on a mountain• aide near Brlabane, &b, l;'Ollce aald 7ealerda7. Detective Senior Ser– geant J. McSporran said In Brisbane Mawtstrates Court that the painting wu wrapped In foam rubber blankets and can– vas. Before the court was Robert Ronald Richard Fergu!-on, 22, laborer, charged with having broken and entered the gallery and stolen the painting In June 6. 's crgeant McSporran ~f,~: t~.~t ~:ar!u•r~ \~: papers about someone going to sell the painting. "I was S'1tisfled that the public did not appreciate \he painting so I decided to steal it. "I was going to keep It tor my own satisfaction ." Sergeant McSporran said that Ferguson told him he climbed up some scaffolding In front of the gallery and prised open a window. He entered and lifted the painting oft the well. Ferguson told him he fi rst put the painting un~r.r some bushes at Petric, 20 miles nor·th of Brisbane, and later re– tu.-ned and look it lo .Mount Coot,Tha. which overlooks the city. Later he be,r:an to think his action was unfair and when It be~an to rain heavily one night he del'idcd to return the pa1n1in,r: to \he widow or tlw donor. the late Major H.trold de Vnhl Rubin . I Ferguson told him he \or,k the polntin,r: to \hc l h~me of ~lrs .rulie Rubin and had nsl:cd her· 10 k • ·P it for II mnnth and I g1·. c ii bnr.k lo the pollre. Fl~'~\,~~; , S. o~1~~t~~• (?~ S1 nwent M eSporrnn pro- 1 ch1i:-lnA his rccnrd nf intcn ·ir\\' on the ~rrmnrls I 1h:1f it had b£'cn 1,rndc unclr r n thrcu1 with a prvmlsr . nnrt nlso an fnrlucrmcnt. l illr E. H. Bakr.,·, SM ncl lournell the hearing 111,111 todar. ,·