Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 5 : Presscuttings, June 1972 - November 1976

'>Here I nm sitting like lL duck up In my little country b"tuddo listening to Mozi,rt. urnl ,the sky Is full of slnrs. tl11• stove ls wnrm nnd so ls Ih•• wine. 'Am ,t,hlnklng nbout you lying In your ho.spilnl wd - no matter what, 111th )'Our psychic Jule"-'\ flowing C\'cn though you feel crooker t,h.m oroolt ... "You h1tve 1tlwni•s ndmlred 1tnd stood out for formnl uml crootlve llumo.n Innovation and tJ11e<I to mnke sense or It for yourself nnd to proroundly dn'l'luence othc,· people I tn 11 • non-egocentric wnyl .. , hnni: on nnd I'll pour myself 1111• ollher moselle. 1AI "In ~o days I'll be 4j - t\S Dylan 'I'homns said 'my 45th year to Heaven.' nm! what 11 nice wo.y to put It. Yottr gwnt tlalent, mate, ls t.hls : you !u,vo t.liled to make sense or II fr ns you see tt. . sens OL1I of the impassible ",Most people .. . lmv tried •to Impress their p.sychlc J>OMll'II on to things and so 'ahange It. You've never want• ed to cha,nge It, but to under– &land the hnpo98lble - thnt ·ta, the unseen to be made seen, nnd I as un Aw.1mllan wtlst olongslde the be•t (and the wora~> get to my feet nnd dleei- ,for you. Charla,." Good Laurie, lover of life Black.man wrote I hnt nnal tribute to Laurie Thomas Inst ,ear, Laurie, who died early yeaterday In Sydney must have, loved It: he had been 111 for monbhs. By IAN MOFFITT Ail;tlsta, gallery directors, jOU1'nia.llsts ~nd mates from nil walQ of life ~ted ra.rewell to Laurie Jut night. The facts for the record: Laurence NI· cholas Barrett Thomas, 59, Arts Editor of TIie A11:1trallan, Husband of BrohwYll, lover or Ufe. ClJ;llton P1J'gh mourned him In Melbourne: "I saw him on Sunday and that spark of life WIIS stlll there. He said: 'I'll get up and have a look nt your show before It goes off.' I had to ~eave. "You won't find a pnlnter In Australia that doesn't lnvc time for him. He recognised people before others did - he recognised me. He wns n cre– atllve. critic who 11ornr used his criticism to put people down. 11 1 ..never knew a more cre– ative man who attempted to work wlUt burenucrncy - 1111<1. or course, burea.ucracy b nt him. But he was n.lways n fighter, 111111 I had mu ny good evenings witJlt him. H n w.. 1~ u. friendly, 0llell, hnrll-d rlnl,i ng, ha,rd-llvlng man." 1J1urlc mcrLc;u.rccl 0111 hL•i life In grc11l rich doUops - 11ot compressed In some cold channel, tollowl ng some frl gill vlslon. lie wns at home lis ten– Ing to jazz In the Pndrlo puus or sipping Pernod nt F'lorhrn·s ln Venice or rcvrrin~ Pica.<;so In n. Ilarcctono mu~cun1. " J-l1• had o. sense or Joy... sa y:; t>alnter John 01.stm. "AIHI Jic pO SS'CS SCd somoLh lng rnre 11mong critic., - h~ co11ld np– tlroach a work "''th nston• !shine humility. 1 'Adrlnn Deamer I form er ed– itor or 'f11c 1lustral/1111) tolcl me only rr.ccutly lhl\l J1c knew or no 011c who t..rlecl h nrdcr to write abuul ll'hllL he felt mosL strongly about. ''SUNDAY MAIL" 2 5 AUG 1974- Long wa,t tor an Art Gallery BRISBANE will be without its Gallery until early December. The dccls10n to cert!,:C opcrntlons on April ,; from the old A lery :u'::'Jdl~~o!N~" crl pl<u mer.s In , t ·• Dcpnrtment by 111rprlsr. It WIil tab them "eight months to ·ha\ · lie 11cw tcmporn.r,v ry the MI M Bu n Ann Stl'CPI, I' tit, public. T he ~nlle . h dred., of 1>11l11t1nirs are hcl11Jf housed In .c;torage nrea!I in the M.l.M. bulldil1Jf, ..\\·e Ar«" \·rn rnn– <lf'rned ahoul the itelay In ;.r;:ri;,~,~~./h~- ~r~:~~~;· said. "JL lllL"~ed OUL Weck, Ust1nll,1· ino:-:t populnr snld. . 0 1.,pla,1· 0Rrt,Lionlnjl Is due to begin thl. neck In the l\'0 floor., 10 be used as the Jlnllcrv. Air condll ionil1Jl will RISO hl\l'e lo be installed before I he gallery can 01>en. Actctltlon•I rire es– t Rp e s . rumlsh111g nnd ca!p:t~nl\,'~i:'/!'•:i~f~ ir~·r ron111lcllon Is December G. ":\1eanwhile ftdmlnls• lration work I~ contin– uing b,1· Ihe Art Gallery Mafr nnd 1l1ey arc Rblt tn ct<'rn!c m11rl1 or their 11me in the 1nlt'rlt11 perl- ~ctA r:A~~l~l~~' I ~fr !1~\~lli~-1~ "Others looked al the letter Instead or the splrll, and he wa.n alwnys pre1mred to give Lile benefit or the doubt. Wc'v, lost ii grent Australian.'' "tie w1Ls nlwnys a fight.er ," rccnlls gallery owner Rudy Romon, "nnd not merely one or ~he greatest In the art worllt but n connoisseur. lie llkcd n 1:ood ghLss or wine; we hnd many hnl>llY tastings to• Gcthcr." He w11." nhvnys cenlnl, churlding cxcepl when :-·corn lni.: Lh1• 01Jsc111·nntlsm or Lhe offld,ll mind. A bloke with the nhl bohemlnn girt of ra,y co11111anlonshlp - In lhe h.1r, .,t the t·rlck 0 t. In orrtce or LM,Llnc or exh.lhll.lon. He organised nn nununl c1·tckct mnlch between Jour• nolls111 and n.rt- wor\d motes - "n Joyous d<ty," snys public rt..•t1!.lo1rn off1ci'r Men· Fenn. "The mh•s l)lllcnlly 110 ..u.:h U1in g ns a dt:ck. Laurie· wrolf' the foreword - :u11011c nrnny ph:'ces lie hns wri lt•IJ - for ll flt'W book UII 1111' clr:twlng:; of At1.hur Uoyd. Chnrlni Ul:u·kma u :111<.I John Ol:...t·n wHI " rile tht· fon•worct for .. 1 bnok ha f•d on )11s J>l'-'i"1•.i Jrom 1'hc.• A. 11., trtrlicw whkh Que,•11sl.1nc.J U11t\ ,·rslty will pu!Jllsh nexL .\'L•.ir. No r1u11·k obH11,1ry l'un do l11111 jllS~icc - t11•rhU J>S :-.Olllf'• on.-• 110w will guLht!I' to1.;.-thcr st,•111• o f Lh•· rich s1orie$ und inelll1•11ts 111 \\'hich Ill~ fit;urt'tl. And he h acl Lhc i;lrL of clarl• Ly : h~ wrote for :ill, not n l'llq111•. On Scit'nlis ts: '' I'm bt..,gl11- 11lng to r;r-t m ore 1.hnu u IIL!lc r,•d 1111 wtth :;rlcnLb:.Ls und the nwclievn I .,t1q; e Ihf'ir nrt Is 011ly now \1r1·1vl11g nt. They know sunwthlni; ahout mrtlhs hut sweet f .it. nlJout. mnn. Isn't It about time that srie11tLstR SL0J)pe,t shrum;lng orr the er– feels or Lhclr 'pure' research 1111d dlrLlrd I.heir hands with the tue' ...." or llfc '!" Inspired <!unlily: '"l'wo things hnvc never cho.n1,-ed and J don't think they evi,r can change: Ute lrrcplaceab!Hty of the cre– ative llrtlst hlnlliclf, nnd the qunllty or whnl he makc>s . , . TI1c recognition or quality, nnd not stylfi, Is based on the knowledge, underslnndlng and feeling for nll the great workil of ar-l which ltave ever been made." He sought the llberatlon or nrt galleries from the Public Service and ministerial Inepti– tude and his !dens, yean be· fore they became fllshlonable, l n s p 1 red younger artistic firebrands to success. He was born In Melbourne, educated at the University or Melbourne and nt Cambridge; was· n tutor and English lee• turer before war service wllh naval lntelllgenee. He was net– Ing asslslnnt director of the National Gallery In Vlolorln, director or the West Austra– lhm and Queensland gallerl"", and a top (and controvenlall candidate for the National Go.llery directorship In Can– berra. He was also a newspaper leo.der writer nnd •theatre crit– ic before becoming Art.s Editor of The Australian In 196'1, 11nd was on an Australian Council for the Arts grant when lte died. He told The Au.trallan's Sandra. McGrath recently: "I! I could choose to be a writer 1ir n pa.Inter I would have chosen painting. Painting Is more Joyous than writing •bocmtse It ls phystcnl. Writing ls all mental."