Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 7 : Debate on New Art Gallery and Cultural Centre, 1970-1976

.... "FINANCIAL REVIEW" Sydney, N.S.W. I '7 FEB_197~~-- Qld .4 rt Gallery ___ wi-thstands floods A FEW strategically p1aced buckets.w·as all that was nec– essary to protect the Queens– land Art Gallery and its trea– sµres during tbe -cyclones.. However, more than a little mopping up will be needed in the new building when it is finished'• in 1978 if. the · same weather recurs. The new gallery is being built on the banks of the river near· the new Victoria Bridge in South Brisbane. Much of the site was under water during the recent floods, The present gallery building is on a hill and is well protected. The gallery l;ias the only pub– licly owned painting by Picasso in Australia. The newly opened Barry's Art G11llery in Adelaide Street was flooded to ceiling height - the gallery is in a basement - and is not expected to reopen until the beginning of March at the earliest. Mr Kmt Barry and volunteers were hauling out the pictures as water passed waisl height. Two hours after the !'ictures had been removed the ·water was up to the ceiling, Curators at Vhe Art Gallery of NSW are waiting for another tropical downpour similar to one .which occurred last October be– fore acting on an assurance by the Public Works Department J that i.t is safe to hang pantings throughout the nineteenth-century Australian room in the old build– ing. Early in 1973 a s·evcre storm during the night sent cascades of water down the wall fortunately causing only minor _paint damage in one painting. Assured that the roof had . been fixed, the curators later re– hung the paintings but when a bad storm broke again in Octo– ber they hastily removed them. Fortunately the storm occur– red durin1 the daytime, and the paintings only got a little wet, Protecting the sunny vistas, I which have repeatedly occupied Australian artists, from tl?e weather, Is quite a problem. 11