Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 8 : Pressclippings, 1977-1981

The Courie r-Mail Augus t 14th, 1 9 78 Gold show closed to Almo1t 2300 pooplo queued outside tho Queenllond Art Gallery for houn to ,ee tho Eldo,o• do Colomhion Gold hhi– hition ~fore it closed ycste,doy. packed house Q11crnolanrl M (1,11- tN, Arlllrn Dtrr,~i r , ~1 r. fl ll <br.ll l(rrri~on t .'i.llCi re!:itCrc111y 6'i,:i05 pe(.11,Je MW lhC ,.how which be– ~an nn July 1:1, At :'.:m p 111. the riu,.11n s 11f'tl't1rrt Rlrn11 t to 1he l'nn1rr 11 1 A nn And t:d· \\ illd :,t rC'f'l:,., Juilwrl 11,r ,•1111 or the J.111i; 1p11•ut· sai,l thr ~1um l1acl l1rt•n n't'11mrn1•ntlNI 111 lwr hy fri1•1ui-. "hu Ht•rt· j1•\H'll1,•r~ nml :ii-culp– lor~. :\ 1 ,q Jil,'t' y ·ro~Ht of .iOO )"'Id, .-.ed t hf'O'H!h l ill' ~,ii• 1,, :· y n II nu; r rople rp1ruC'ct out.-.1ric fnr rnnr 'J'hr ,-,111bJ11nn cnn~!stt of :!,Hl i.::11!d p1rr1l, n11ct !!~ l'f'l'l\1111('"1, IL \\'Ill nprn n Th rionrs 11·rrr kep <'lprn an fXlrn. hnlf hour until 8 ll.111, la>L nl~hL o lillow tho.!>c \\a1t1ng LO . ec the sho~·. t hun nn hour WfUt1n 1,: 1nr someone 10 leave bcJorc they could gn up. ci) dney on :\ i,:il~l :!~. ~lr. J<r rri,..nn t1,11rl the f"\hlillllnn \\ IIS lllll(Jllr 10 m 1.1bane flnd p ople Jrnrt rr-.ponrtcct wul I. One \\'Qmnn who hr1rl 1\'111ted nlmost. Rll hour . nlrt : "T his Is ll nnrr In ,t life lm P OJIJ)Ol'lUlllt~· a11d I ,\oulo n't. nuss 1L for lhc world." llmbnne prop!!' hnd ~h,1\\ll 1hrv \\:l!ILCrt ln!oe 11,,,e kmd, r : hibl – lllll1:,, he ,•Aid. Aonthrr uum:,n nho The Australian 11th August, 1978 By LYNDALL CHISP the Queensland Wlwn •he precious cargo, said National Gallery closes its to be wor1h $3 million, Is moved d to Sydney nexl W<'Ck the organ– oors on the El Dorado is-era will uni>llck the cr..tes nnd Colombian Gold Exhibition lay oul the s1•,clally dcslcncd for the last time on Sunday rrce-rtow floor pL,n at 'the Art it will have set some kind Gallery nr NSW ror the l•&I of record. time. Not only is it the first time Brl•bnne has seen such a major exhlbilion but an averni:c :.r 1600 J>eo;,le " day trooped up live floors to sntisry their curi– osity about the magnificent col– lection or 238 gold arternct s. some dating back to 200 AD. The exhibition was conceived In 1975 when John Siringcr, representing the Visual Arts Board, bcgnn lookin~ at suitable cshibitions to bring to Austrnlln . II wns ap1iroved by the Aus– tralian Gallery Directors Council and designed and mnnngcd by the At1slrul1nn Arl Exhibitions Corporation which staged the Chinese Exhibition. A selection or ancient gold oh– Jccls from the Musco dcl Oro, Bogola, wns pul logct.hcr , and lnken to the Adelaide Aris l'es– llvnl in February where more thnn 62,000 people saw It. In hindsight, the org1111iser.s u~ree, tills might have been a mlslukc. Experience would scctn lo prove 111:11 exhibitions or this size and import s.hould stnrl In Sydney or Melbourne to capture the moot publicity. U11L still, lhc numbers arc Impressive. In Perth. which tllso .;een anylhlng like it more I hn n 30,000 f><.'Ople out. hasn 't bcrore, turned The N,,tional Gnlh,ry or Vic– Loria played hosl to more than 92,000 - despllc the blus lcry, winter Wl!:tlhcr. More thun 100,000 people arc expected lo Ille through the gal– lery door between A11g1lsl 22 and October I. The Art Gallery Society hns commissioned Ouil• lermo Keys Arenas to chorco– i:raph a ballet based on the lcrends or El Dorado The Golden One, tor Its special gala viewtng on the opening night. When It leaves Australia, the exhibition will go to London ror d isplay in ihe Royal Academy for three months. II Is the first lime such an imp0rlan1 cxtlibltion has come • to Auslr:iiln 1>crorc begtnr,in& the inlernntional circuit. It Is also the longcsl-nmning exhi– bition lo lour here: 10 months. Tile F.xhlblllnns corporation which comprises a number oi business nnd prorcsslonal people who .work in an honorary . cnpnclty, hns already been asked by the Auslmila Couniell to present two more exhlbillon.s. The first , a Hussinn exhibition of Europcnn paintings rrom the Hcrmttngc Museum in Len– ingrad, is due here in October !97'J. The second, the Pompcii Exnibitlon. Is scheduled ror early 1980. Thr Australlan*s recent report Iha! the Australian Art Exhi– bitions Corporation had been wound 111> 11•ns quite 11.corrcct. A spokesman for lhe cor;ioration said yesterday: "We have no il– q111dity ;>roblcms whnlcvcr. our a!;~cts arc more than sufr1l!tcnl lo CO\'Cr all present and anllcl– rmtcd dcbl s."