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

ANCIAL REVI EW, 'l'ucsday, January 6, 1981 ' Saleroom Picasso 's 'itgly_ lady' shoivs a hint of shy,iess /Jy T/:"IWY JNGRAM ONE nf Cindcrellu's sis– ter, rni,scd the bull in 19:-11). 01 lllh,.'I iu 11 i, IOI) tliffii:1111 for some ilhti1111itu1s hr.:1.·au'ie of 1hc limih.:d 1i111c: 1ru~1ces huv~ to :q1p1'11\ l' 1,ffr.:rings). ·1he year closeJ wi1h no :irn1tJ1111i:cm'-'11t of 1he mrivul of a Pii.:asso - rcputclllr 1rnn1l11..•r " ugly woman" and plll t:n1 ially one. of rhc.. mo,t i111pur1an1 m:q11lsi1ions 10 un 1\ llsirn li:in S1n1c g11llcry col– lc-:1h.111 in rc,:en1 times. Tli{' llllhl..'11111 ;11..·,111ircll the hulk of u ph:nm:1l'c11tkat ;;hop ufft·rcd al Woolwich, 1/11.: h{'.._I 1)1 lhc J11l i,111 R,Jbin– /iUll t·lllh:"·tion ;nhl hi,h.>ric llOl.'11nH.:111:11hm 1111 1hc old Sydney ~li111. whkh is under i1s juri"ldh,:1iun. I he An Gallery of NSIV h11d hoped to 1:,kc delivery o f I he "ork Inst year, 1he 'i~1..·'-111d (lka,.~o oil in Austru• ltan puhlii; colle1.·tions, b11t ThL· ,\11,1ralia11 N:,tiom,1 91111cry -..·unti1111t·,I 10 make IIS pn:,1.•111.:c fell llll inter- I he :ll ri, 111 of ihe $4110,UUO work i,; -;till awuit~d. ·1 he grow1h of url founJa- 1io11s l)dpe<I give public ynl– lcrtt:s ,mpruvct.l m:cess 10 rn– pidly rising intcrnutionul on m a r~cl.s. ·1l,~ formation of 1he Arl 1:.\ uinda1ion of Victorin in l'n rlicr years wns followed l.ly 1hc formalion of :, fottndat ion a11ached to the Q11cc11, l:,ml Arl Gallery. Pri• val e gifls uf money nre n1a11.:hi.:d by St:1lc grnnts 011 a pr11 rnt.1 basis. Q11c~11-.:land made n num• her nl' surprising sorties on the i111crna1ional nrt market; fan cying ils drnnces, perhaps hccaihc it alrc.1lly has u rcl:i1iwly strong colltction or intcnrntionnl art through 1hc generosity of the lntc ~lajor Rubin. 'l'hc failure or NSIV to progress wi1h II fo11nJn1ion was a majo1· Llisuppointmcnt in the St111c: While the NSW Premier, M,· Wran, hull 1h:tc... 1 to rationnlise the 1r11..;1cc mlministra1ion of the ,\rl Gallery of NSW, ut 1hc end of 1he ycnr no nn– nounccmcnt of the nppoinl• menl of u hcnJ of lhe prop– osed foumlalion hnJ been nnno11nccd. The ,\ rt Galleries ol Sou1h nnd Western Australia ho1h mmlc some impnel on intern:t1ion:1I mnrkets, the former cun1in11ing its 1rndi– tion of building up lis prints nnd drnwingil collection. W,•siern Auslrnlin suffer– ed from :nlverse nublicity ,luring 1he ycur, rclnied lo the ,tcparuorc of m11ny members of 1hc c11ra1oriul slnff after the gallery council Jecllled 10 abolish the posliion or ,lcputy director, held by Mr Lm, Kle~ac. Sy,lncy's Museum of Applic.l Aris and Scic11ees hn,1 a difficult year. Al 1he end of I9SO ii was opcra1ing 0111 of seven different builJ– ings :as work progresml on the Ultimo Power Hou,e site. It showed a 1'cnlork11blc cuv:1cily 10 uc1 speedily uttd • 1 <1ccisivcly nt :u1c1lon (buying BRlSBANE - A painting ,·nlucd bv London auc• Uoneers. Chrlsllc:t, uI S300,000 has been t,onµht b y the Queen•land Arl Gallery ror $120,000, Gnllery director 1111' Rt\OUI Mellish, •old the ncqutslllon wns "on out• s tnndlng bnrgntn ." h·iltc or•~itt{;gui\1 'la 0 J'y Slnndtng Pnrllnlly Clnd in n Fur Cont" hY Flem· lsh master Peter Pllul Rul>ens, The Gnllery's t,onrcl of trllHlCCB lnsl nccl'mbcr Rent Mr Mellish on n "hush hush" ,nlssloll lO London to opprnlse the Rubens. The oil pnlntlng, 01.8cm b y 68.5 cm, hncl llecn t1omn~ctl In 1053, ~lr . tctllsh so ld. 11111 ional 111:1d,r.:1,. h11\ ing u ~USI million \\:111.:rlil}• paint– ing I } ~ln11r1 1t1 :hill ro May~t;11..·~, hy lhc ,anh: art– i,1. Dc:-1,i1c :1 '" in!! lo Orienl• :ii 11r1. rcfk,.:ting ih new di• rt.!1.'tor·, p:1nk11l11r i111t:rcsr 1 1hc .,\ rl ( i 1 kry uf N \V wus :1l1lc I rill 1 •lllortanl gap-; in lll'I ~11lk..:1ion of \1131ralian ar1. Thi.' Tn~ntion ln1.·c111i cs SrhcnH'. prlH idi11µ for the dcdu~1ihili1y llf 1hl! , i1l11e of gi l'b i11 kiihl hi 1111bli.; ga1· lc1·ic-.. ,, a..; 111:nk pnmanc:nl :ii 11.•r :1ddi11~ 111:111\1 i1c111-; 10 1rnhlil.- ,:l>llc1.·1ion~. · l11di\'id1rnl :11.·t, 11r "1pp,)rl Lor i;alkric, " ere hl·lpful. The II. G. Slall'I Fo11ndn• inn. "iCI up h. a S dncy mlidhu' 10 fund 111.·qui!'litions of At1!\ll'ali;111 ;1r1 fur lhc ,,\rt O:tlltry "f NSIV, nnl\ i,lcd $211.1100 111' 1he ' 411.000 r~– quircd Ill scrure \V.i1crfnll l'ol yp1),,h hy l'ml William~ ior lh\.' µalkry. A hiµh kvcl uf c:\hibition a..:1ivi1y 1.:n111i1111cll 1hrough· Ott! the }cur. H,,wc\'er. lw the ent.l o f Dcccmhcr 1hc ·1u1hlk w.is be• coming a tilth! hlasc about big t:.~hihiliuns. and .tllend· .1ncc fig,11'1..'"' :11 the rxhi~ bi1ion rnHn 1hc Louvre und :>thcr rn:11l'h museums not a"i hi!,!h a"i C\f'C..:lcd. 1\ppl.'li1ic for :i.ccing nrt from ,n '-'r..;..:as 11111:-.t have bct:n, ~uhs1:1111 i11lly salcll, ,:ons1dcn11g At1"ill'ali:1ns were c:q10-.c-d lu hoth ;1 Russian c,hihil ion :11HI :1 French c,hihi1io11 in one year. Uhrnl'i..:s rcnrnincd poor orphans of lhl• i11,;;1i1111ionul sysrcm. The S1111c l.ibrary or NSW r111 11111 ;1 1:1,cncn1I pica fur s1111Iim1 1t• Im}' u cor,y of the S!lll.Ollll new p11blic:11ion nf 11:,n~s' Flurilebittlll. The 1\11~1rnli11n .Nationnl Gallery. howc\ er. was nblc 10 p11rl..'ha"ir nn importnnt watcr1.·ohmr llf C..:nr,tain Cook's vc"',cl Rcsoh11io n, 11ain1ctl hy unc uf ii~ mid– "ihiprncn on the ,c..:ond voy• age. John F.lli,u1. muf make t'llhl'I' ,,11rd1:1-;c.;. Brl1lsh Cnrtwrl~hl fnmllv who owned t llc Rubens, " 'c1·c taking the work home tro111 n Royul AcR– clctnY ,•xhlbillnn when 1hr,; were 1:lllcd In a cnr nccidcnl. Dnmnge Included cuts. Rcp111t·s to lhc 1 lcture :;,~~111~:'.o~lrui~~llls~f s~f.r. " Bttl we nre not buylni; n rcconslructcd wreck - \\ c ore bu~•lng n pnlnllng will h hns n IOI of (!OOtl vntuc In It. Variety in local galleries Mixed eahlbltlom c:on• tiDIIC 11 moat Toowoomba arc 11llerlea durln1 January, Amons works displayed at Creative 92 Gallery, Marpret Street, is a collection of about 50 pieces or cold-cut bronze sculpture by Mary Pinsent from N.S,W., who bas succ~ed In es11blilhln1 a world-wide market for her animal ple..es which are especially popular In South Africa and in Canada. Mary Plnsent CIIII many Items from a slnale mold. Her typically Australian animals and birds include a merino ram, a kookaburra, wallaby and koala. A staa and doe group, a Santa Gertrudis bull, a show Jumper and dop all ap• peal to popular taste. In contrut with this type or realism a piece or bronze sculpture almost 300 years old, "Hercules and Omphale", by the Florentine, Giovanni Foa• glni (1652-1725) Is displayed at the Queensland A,t Gallery, Brisbane, This ls one or only three in existence. One or the othen Is in the collection In Mon• treal. In 1673 Fouinl was sent to Rome by the Grand-Duke Coslmo JII to study. When the sculpture returned to Florence he brouaht with him a fully formed baro· que style which owed must to that established by Qian Lorenzo Bernlni. In 1687 Fo11ini was IP· pointed Grand Ducal Sculptor and later Ar· chitetto Prlmario to the Grand Duke, FouJni's principal works are the sculptures or the coninl Chapel in the Church or the Carmine In Florence. He wu also acknowled1· ed u a ailted portrait . sculptor. "Hercules and Om• phale" was flown from London early lut month and it represents Ovid's version or the Hercules and Omphale myth. This is one of the latest and most important acquisi– tions or the Queensland Art Gallery.