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

-New Yorkers have 1 I • gone 4 mad ove.r··· Picasso Bellina Macaulay, assislanl director (cbraloriar, of the Queensland Arl Gallery wilh Picasso's La Belle Hollandaise 111 lhe New York Museum of Modern Arl. AND THEY'RE QUEUIN-G TO LOOK. AT OUR tNUDE • • P IC1\SSO; who fina ll y acknowledged his morta lity in 1973, wou ld proba bl y have been vastly en tertained by it all. The currenl c., hipilion al lhe New York Museum ur Modern ,\ rl I MOMi\ w 1ho,c in 1he know) is the 111us1 comprehen,ivc collec1ion or his life's work ever 10 be !'thown. ,\nd ir there was anv doubl about the popular appeal of serious :irl Picasso has banished it once and for nil . The masses arc lining ur outside MOMA in much the same way 1hey queue, for "Siar Wars", wniting this ti111c for 1hc opporlunity lo 1ilc past 1000 works b1· the undisputed superstur or 20th century pui111ing. The cri1ics. or course. have gone completely off the deep end. They have described it with various superla1ives, but the phra,c thnt sticks in the mind is "the mo<t rcmurkablc exhibition that ever got hung on the wull". Picasso might nl:,.o have enjoyed the fact that nnc or the pai ntin~s in the blvckbu,1cr , how truvcllcd 15.1100 kilt>mct res hl µcl there. Tha1's hnw for it b, appruxinrntdy, r.0111 160 i\nn S1rce1. Brisbauc. Itie (.)ucenslund ,\r1 Gullcry ac,1uircd 'I.a Belle 1h,llnnd:ii~c· in IIJSlJ when it ,,a:,. bought at S,,1hcbv\, the London aui:1ionccrs, for £ 55,000 !itlcrlini . · :\I the lime it wa.: :1~c:1r1d:1l,1us amount of nmncy, llll· hif!IH.:,t ririci: c\·1,,•r paid fnr a Pica:-iM1 riortrait. '"II b1.:ars out 1hc principle that if ~uu \\:1111 the bc,t ~ou·vc got tu pay the l'~ii:c tl?al !!l,cs wi1h it," (iu lkrv Uircc1ur Ha,1ul Mr h:-ih :,,aid tl11s \\cck. \-IOMA wnntcd 1hc ,-crv bc,1 for its exhibition. The plan '"" 1u rill nil three lloors or 1hc building \\ith Pil·a:-i~o·.; 11101<i1 i111por111 11t \\ Orh. ll wns to he 1w1 nnly a trib11Jc 111 1lu: nrli,1':-i grca ll'cs,. but al~n :1 11 l' \lra,·aga nt cclchrn11un of thl.' mu~cum·s 50th b1r1htl11 y 1h1> )Car. By .l ane Cadzow ·1he idea \, ,,, t(1 pn:,cnt a sclccri,m nr \\ Or~,\\ hid, Ct'Hl\l; \ cd 1hc c,1rn,11tl in.1 n t..lhi:r~11, and i111,11?1na1 1on tll an ;lf1i'i11c cn rti:r ~ran111ng 80 yea r~. The aim ,, u:-i tpmllty rather tlrn n 411an1 i1~ . but bcc:1t1:,ic it \\ US Pira:,i~o. 1hc 1,\11 c:ould be happily combined. The l·rcnch G\1vcrnmcn1 . which accepted an c\lc111<ii\'C Pical):,i11 c11llcc1ion in lieu of death duties, " "' n major c11n1ributor. Sn was the Picus!iio fnrnil , hi, heir, 1cmporaril1•forgclling their ~qut•bblcs 10 gel inlo the spirit or things. Fift v•six museum~ :1Mund the world were invi1cd If) gh·C up their trcnsun.- · fur the four 111on1hs of 1hc c,hihi1i11n. The Queensland i\r1 Gallery was the only ,,nc in Aus1ralin aski.·d 10 the party. .. 11·, a grea1 h,rnor," said Mr Mclli, h. "II puts us un the mnp 111tanalio11:ill\'." It "!" 11iH particulurl); ,11rpri..,ing. Ihough. 'I a Hclk'. ,1, ,he 1, ,11'fci:1ion,11ch 1'11tnH1 11n1u111.I ,\ 1111 \, ,1 , n·~l, 1 111,,·11 ;,.., the ,;,n,1 11n1,\1rl.1111 f>k:1..-.l1 l'ahlo l'icas~o ·, 1udie< or the rc11111le ·figure:· ,nid ~lr Mclli,h. "It "·" 11 turning poi111, u ~Ori uf hintu:-. tictwccn the blue and rn,c pcriud,." The 1111c Mu;ur I !amid clc Vuhl Rubin , .,id uf it: ..The painting " 111II of 1hc nHJ~I exquisite tcndcrnc:-i:,i,'' ~•fajur Rub111 hutl every right 10 C011111ll'nt . A Queen,land gra,icr and philan1hropis1 who died in 1%~. it \I IIS hi, cunsidernblc for1unc th:11 bought 'Lu Belle' nnd six other importnnl European work for the Stale Gallery. · Mdbournc•born Eton•cduca1ed nnd member of the llri1ish Mililllry lnlclligcncc in World War II, Major Rubin hns left :i n imlcliblc 11111rk on uur cullurnl heritnge. The Gallery· acecpled MO\f,\'s invitation to semi 'I.a Belle' with ~nmc rc.crrn lion~. Mellish: "We don't like it trnvclling. It's a v;;t.-, ,•:duable work." ,\ million tlollurs wor1h, nt "?:', con:-icrvativc estimate. The n,,ista nt director (curn torin l) . Bettina ~1:ica ulay, '"" ,clccwl rnr the uncnvlublc 1u, k or ~l.!cin~ it safclv 10 Nl'W York . .. II l11ul tn be 1crv c:irefo ll\ pndctl nnd P,JI in th .