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

ER 30, 1980 . es rt dcHlopMlllt h11 stronir aenae of con• tIon 9r preaervauon ntural reaourcea. nrn right, left and re they come - the ·s concerned with and fauna, much of h Is In serlo111 din• I extinction throu1h 's careleaan,,.. and d . Ost. recentll', "',,1ZI• McDonald ltM It McI9nes Galleries Edward Street) more 50 studies of "WIid• ers or the Wallum" the originals from eh plates have been e for a book of that rele-d at the 1&1111 c aa the exhibition. he work hu been not • a tabor of Jove for artlat but II I filth• and aen1ltlve record•· of the aurprllllnrly eroua wtld flower • um country. Saleroom Jeze1Jel finds a new home in Queensland By TERRY INGRAM TME Queensland Art Gallery h as opted for a toud1 of abandon in i1s lalcst sortie on the in1cr– na1i onal art market. . At l'hri,tic's OIi.i Master Pll'turc sale in London last -l'r!da.1· the s:illery pureh:1scd a Jli11n11ng ol a wonu1n $Y· non) n111u~ with :thandon in lht· IIIOIIICIII or her downfall. The _ _1)1·111!, 1!f' J1•:t1bel, by ~u.-a lllordm10. who was horn m Naples in 16.12 and died there in 1705, went to the alkry for £24,000 plus Ii .5 per cent buyer's premium und VAT. .The _lar_gc, JI 7 cm by 366cm, oil rmnt111g described as the prorcrty or a European collec• tor, dericts the woman being tatrn hy a pad of dogs. In purchasing the painting lhe gallery has :1cquircd a huge \\'llldow 11110 Eurorean art in that Giordano combined a arge number of influences runging from Titian .uid Tin: lorctto, through Lanfranco and on h• Rcrnhrnndt, Ruhcn, and c1cn Vun Dyck. The innucth'.l') llrl' Ml l'0 111· pie~, fwwc\•cr, thul ii i~ alnrn,1 impns,ihlc hi unraicl thern hl~ <.iiurJ.1110 tra\'c.•llrJ ,, i,kh : g,umg lo R,,mc al lhe u~c.• ;,f only I.\, anti c.·ompk1inl?, nwj,, 1 ~nmmb,sion~in f·lun.·ih:c.•, VL'l1· 1cc. Mudri1I. and N,1pk ,. I-le w,1s ;1 great dc.•"-·or,11or one ,~r. hi,r; l!rl'Olll'SI \\ lH'h hcin~ •• .:c1hng cJccor:1ti1111 1111 1hc: th.c111e or another hihli.-ul ~tnry lll a woman of .1ha11don Judith. The Prndu ha., SIi uf hi; ,, orks while he is hrlie,·cd tn ha . c .c~ccuted ahnut 5,0110 oil pu1111111g, al111g1•1hcr. The gallery lately has rnadc ii numhcr of i,,uni~•i,, intu 1hc l_.ondon art market. a» i>tcd hy lunds made al'ailahlc through the Quccn,lunJ Art Gi1llery Foundation. A hron1c from the 1amc epoch hy Gi1ll'anni Fuggini \"'as recently acquin:tl with l_unds supplied tlm1ugh the l? u111lu11on by MIM 1-loldin~s. 1 he hron,e ,hnw, I lcrculr, and Omphalr. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1980 ,· Sculpture of legend ;. \ t • t ' • ,., 'i\ \ . ~. J ·,. ·"::.t -~, bY Foggini joins new art _gallery treasures THE Queensland Art Gallery last night unveiled its latest purchase - a bronze sculpture alm011t 300 years old. Giovanni Ponlnl's SCUipture Hercul• and Omphale, haa been acquired by the pUery with fllnda donated by Mm HoldlnP Ltd tmouah the Queeml&llid Art Gallery .t'ollllda.tton. Fogglnt (1852-1'125) was born In Plorence a.nd his work wu p-eatty Influenced by BemlnL Hla moet famoua worn are the ICUlpturea Of the Conlnl Ohapel In the Church of the carmine In Florence. Thi worlr, a cm x 31111'19.3 cm was unveiled at a function lleld Jaat nt1ht to celebrate the first annlvenary of the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation. The reception was held In the auclltorlum-re,taurant area or the new art 1&1Jery belnr built on the 10uth bank of the Brlabano River. Foundation president Sir Oeorae Plsher iald more than $2 million had been raised, In· ctudln1 aublldy, towards the foundation's target of U million tor the purchase of new worlta for the 1allery, to open In 1981, Bir George appealed for more public support for the Founda– tion to reach the taraet amount by the time the new aallery waa conpleted in June. 1--· He said donations of $2 or more 'l\'ere tax deductible. The Fogglnl bronze statue, scuptured around 1700, Is one of three bronzes of Hercules and Omphate in existence. One Is In the coltectlcn of the Victoria and Albert Mueeum In London, and the ,other In a pri– vate collection In Montreal. The piece purchased for the Queensland gallery was obtained from a London gallery, after having been otlered from a prl• vate collection. It 'l\'as flown to Brisbane from London last weekend, and will go on display in the existing Queenetand Art Gallery In Ann Street from today. The sculpture features a repre• sentatlon or o,id's version of the Hercules and Omphate myth, The story has Hercutu at• temptlnir to purify himself by being offered as a slave. He wu purchased by the Lydian queen, Omphnte. Omphale holds Hercule~• club In her right hand, and has the skin of the Nemean lion worn across her back, The Governor, Bir James Ram– say, prei,ent!d membership cer– tificates to tile foundation's most recent dono1.• at last night's runcUon. - Dl::s PARTRIDGE i \i'J;:.,· "l= !, ~- ~ '·oETAIL of the head of H~rcules. In the legend he was offered as a slave to purify himself. A CLOSE-UP or Omphale in Fogglnl's sculpture. According to lf-gend, she was the Lydian queen who bought the Greek hero. I