Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 4 : Presscuttings, November 1967 - June 1972

~ ''Concert Hatl'' for State's Treasures By FREDERIC ROGERS Times without number, I have visited the 77-year-old, 96-feet square •2-teet high concert hall, now subdivided by partitions Into "bay1" and re– duced by a false ceillns to about a third of It • height, that 11 lmpreHlvely designated the Queensland Art Gallery. QUEENSLAND'S Art Gallery is so crowded that every inch of space hos to be used for storage- even the staircases, The choirs ore used for formal gallery functions, the bamboo at the left for special displays. In the foreground is o studio easel. The land– ing carries old frames, waiting for restoro- ·, tion , /1111 ln•I 'l'h11n1l11., . 1lir111111l1 1/,,. ,·,mrl•••f u/ 11,r t:l111i1·m,111 of .,.,.,,, ,,,,., . ,;ir /,,,,,,, '/'rout , ,,,,,/ 1/,,. /lin•,·/ur, .Ur. JnmP• IT irnrke, I ,.,.,,//.,· ,.;_;,,..,I ii. I 11•~111 ··l,m•liAlt1J:f'°'· Tilr• TrPRStln•r 1 \lr. row •c1111,•r1 a llr,· nu thr Ito the Pxh1bi1,ion clrnmber: Chalk' has gln"n n.: ::-.iir- or11u1-.1h• s1,1.. 11r th• no t f\11 \y a laboriou.c;, Rnd an re that arnrltorRlltlil 01 hu ldin~ hnU,.C'!\ l h t' LinH"•l'l1ll/'IUOl!n g job b ill t onc1iliom~ ,~ cont<'mplaied ,,ffh-f"~ or thr Ulrec- 1 fraui;IH 9,dlh danJ,;:er of - ltnd not hrforf ttme - tor, .h !il~t.1111 . nirtt·lor. da.mogp 10 thr parnwngs. btll here is whnL I nw. lhr path,t1c·1tll,· undrr• Jn the stack• roqm, at I plodc1ed up dusty s1a1r- m,innrd olliro ••atr and llea.<t a1mosphe1 !c condJ• cnses: J pcerrci in to clut.· -,·f' (iorii-'. - the Uh· 1tlon:, a.re bearable. trreci crnnnlr s a nrl 1 sa w ran·. \\'hlle lhr, ataff and the {'\'Crj'<11lY 1 11•h 1nd •l hP · Should ii st udrnL '-\'il'lll t.O vl11lon ~"·eUer do"'""' s,·cnr~ 11c11,·111r.-, . nf thf' l'(iiii-ull 111 ,. or ll.s hund rf'd~ •h1ln - and how they Stntf' s. Hm1:,r n_f ·rrl•n. un•~ or rolunblt' books imnny of IWf'ltf'rt'rl ~n Thursday: h r I n i.:: rornh, f'd 1111dP1 thr m irrt>plncf'ablr, _ a :i - JU man) paJntlnrs 111 conr!Jt1011'1 tha t \VOLilrl hP lw 15 r nilllrd nnd wrkonw "11a,:t• l'.tn be round for In more 1lin11 f"11oti1.d1 to In~• 10 do hf' must rll llt'r whal llltlr heltc-r th11n a wrr a \\R l~•ofl h_,. any tll,111 stn nd blo<·kmg the alte· ,•orridnr, han. thr bfone.. nn utter!) ctftdtratrrt ha nrl n ua tcd pns.,.nge\\'R\' or byl flt or alr·t·nndltlonln1. or workers. t·ourtNi)', shRr, · an · 111• And th111. only recl"n tly ll ou s r of ~l ,ru ....un•.'I! adoq11atP dr.'ik ,\ llh n11e nl - In ou r ,'-llb•trop1cal clt• \Vh at the rxac1 ,alt1P 1s nJ thf' ort1cr s1nff. mn lf' 1hn t 1.\ an nb:,;:0J,11 r :/, 1 ?r1c· 1 1:-1~ 11 ·1i1'~1'f'~~~~-~~l'l~ !l: 1 :/,; Stair store ~';.;r~~t,\' tJt ~~.~)P~.r~n.--~~~-~ ,-.r1 111•n1rd ~11t"'"" plr1<·••.., 11 11111 ~f'nf'<I fnr "'lllnrt •>I ~ I ~ nnlltnn l 11 1 11t· ., titt'k - 1111 •111 I A111 t'\'f'II lif'l't•. not only 1.~ At t lw fllOlllf'lll . 011 lh<' \,·,•111 11p _rill' rrsr\\lllli• t'OI\· 11w r<' Inn llttlr ..;p 1 cP for wal ls of thr 1118 111 L:.Allf'i',· t.·rr1 1111!1 :,, j;l\ ller,r s1111 rt;t.·R,\' !-l acklnJ; the " rr.,en •P" - h a ng HhOUI !10 pnlntlnAi - :?8 WO(ldrn strp,,; 01 noble wh ich . JU,'11 now. means lhf crammert far 100 close to• lpro1.kJt' 101::-i - sp11c1011s Galltr.v's rnlire permanent get.her for propcr nrlislir· enough In it,; heyday, to collecllon ··- so l,hRt. i1 etrec1. 1 hn1·e permltleed 1.h, flll&· may be convenlenl.ly main- They repre 5 ent 8 pproxl- ,age or crlnollned ladles al talned and appropriately matelj, on.e-lhlrd or the Pn• 1'••st lhrre abrra,t. approached, but antiquated tries 111 the curren i H. c. , Now t,t Is rlankPd - no, and cumbersome wooden Richnrrls Art Compr11 tlon. ,,111uall) blocked - by rack• hn1·e been only In crn re,; Rnd chairs and other oarl replaced by slight,!)' Rain threat G II 11 er y Impedimenta. morr modrrn, and still 11\r Wherr el.,e ran they be from Iden! rnclllLle.,. The o Lh f'r l!HJ arr stored :> A dnor from th l~ rela · sLncked 111 11 nnr10W•gt1t1ertl And up Rnd down tht~ t,IVl'h' rnlnutr 11ir•c·nndl • nnncxe unaginnth·ely In• s I e e g, clutt.erd ~ralr""RY tlont!d r,po..,11ors leads to !!:j~l~J~ ·;~~in~r!l~-';\' J~~~-~~,~~111: '1'~nr;~~~~eio~e6~l!~~m·p~~~~~t',; "Art Mu• prrhensive collec11on oi l Prints hRs. of necess11 y, been remored to 1nake room ror this Richards competlt Ion O\·erflow. In a jumble Q\'er a \'Pnlllator hJgb on lhe wall a piece or card – board sags from delerlora1- lng adhesive 1ape as an al– leged barrier against the Inroads or rein. ,\ eorrewpondlnl' nar• Here, treHur•• of furniture and furnlah• Ins• •r• Jumbled tos•th•r, protected from duat and dam••• bi/' crumpled blankM of brown-paper ahHtlns. They cannot be pub– licly dlaplayocl becauM there I• no room to do It. Close by, I he alr-condl- rla,r or h1·0 on 1ata occa- ~11~~1n81ia ,~;"\l~nl~~~em~~d ~r:':."i, r:1 :,, l~~t,:_ir:ip: heal without favour be- fla,r-slaff1 11•ere attached tween I.his .. Museum"' se<• above lhe porlleo. tlon anrl the domain of the They cannot be used - ~~~wrs and maintenance !~:.. ~·l~'ifc1erd~~1sn~~t,:'g"t; And those other pain! • l~ ~f 1 ~';!'eJhft\.~a~~ ~~br.:y ~o'; 5 i~r r~;?~~h 1~P~'i,~ c: 1~: portico roof lest it be den~ eondltlonrd stack-room? ted and so create a rust Up more steps 10 a room haza rd · high above the entrance Altogether, It 1s a depres– Porch 10 the building, slnir picture. Somethlnir must be done about. It. Ar– Blrd&, too gumenL about how many F O rt y narrow stairs. people ,·!sit the Gallery Is ~ making ro11r rlghl.-angled red hemn~ - anyho\\ . narns on I he wny lead to since the pince does not. s n eleraled dungeon wit.It even bonst the elementary ~\'Rle_r• st.ai! led ~,alls anrt.. a :nreu~~~~fea ~!co~d ~~~~rt fi~f/oii~o~,!~,~ us,~e5µ~r e6•~~ be kept. II Is Mlle arg11- 1hn1 mnke lhe bufidin1r menl. their horn,. Q11eeni,1l11nd mu~t ha,·e IL must hare taken hours a new, r,rC1perly equipped or back-breaking. lung- llou•e or ll• Treasures. burst.Ing swent-producln~ U the Go•ernment I~ i:,~:;~r~~ f,~ia~~ie/~~~~~ ~ r:~~•r~ ~~deorr!~yml~~ .,, n nci small v.•ondcr se\'e111I llnn1 or dollars annually frames 21 ve c1·lde11ce or the from uplnllatlC1n of the perils of the .tourney. And weak"""""" or the rle•h 11te1• all have to comt down through lhe T.i\.B., why a2aln ,omeLlme! can't It lH! •• 11re111red SCI thot the ~uul-By- and h • IIIIY In •!lend anme ,.antlnr-cum . \lrtorl • n• of the.m nn 1 1ymhnl of N1>rm•n •dlrlro mlrht at the !'<tot•'• lnl•rH•· tn leut dun lhe finery !lr a matler • of the mlndT