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

T HI: ,Ink " '" u ,1eal. The: hnoh., " i:rt: a hfl ntr-, al 1wi~l' thl· prkt:. The Queen hrnd i\rl Ciullen i, very happy wi1h 11, newly acquired Ruhen, , a por1rai1of a young lady , landing parlial• ly d ud in a fur coal, ac4uircd fur S 120,000 in arier-,ale negC1liu1ion, ul C'hri,1it'°, . So ii ,hould be if pre-,ale e,1ima1es ure anything lCl go by. The painting had been expected 10 make he1wecn £100,000 and £120,()(Ht, and had been houghl-in al £59,000. The acquisition adds the firs! ahsolu1cly unquestioned Rubens oil to an Australian public colkclion - e,·en if the portrail is a copy of a Titian. For Australia has tended to give 1he world's areal nipple– meis1er the cold shoulder. Even al $120,000 our publi~ collections arc only just warm– ing lo the artist whom Austra– lia has had · very much at second hand Jhrough Norman Lindsay. Rubens can sell for millions of dollars, and he can also sell for hundreds. A R1 bens self-porlrail, with his wife, was sold in 1977 by Wildenslein to American art patrons Charles and Jayne Wrightsman for a sum repuled to he between SUSJ million and SUS4 million. This was a ' fining cele– hrnlion for 1he world's mos! enormous ripple of nipples which took place in 1ha1 year - hul passed Australia hy. 1977 was 1he 40(11h anniver– sary of the birlh of the arlisl. A major Rubens exhibition was held lhal year in Antwerp and other exhibitions were held in many parts of the world. Australia, which lenl a Con– stable for lhe Thames Views exhibition held al Somersel House, London. 1ha1 year, was 1101 called upon 10 provide a Rubens. This was mosl forlunale as · lhe cuphoard was bare . . • or al least only parliully dud. Over lhe years a few works allribuled to Rubens have made !heir way 10 Auslralia. ahho~gh moslly they ha\'c nol established 1hemsel\·cs as more than anribu1ions. They mostly bal'e been reli– gious works, rather than (lhe more dcsirnhle'/) breas1scapes. · Melbourne antique dealer Mrs Dana Rogowski boughl a "Rubens" for JO guineas at a sale in Camhcrwell in 11/51. II was a duplicate of a work in 1he Royal Museum of Fine Arl, Anlwerp. the suhject : The lncmlulily of S1 Thomas. The relationship of the work 10 Rubens' own hru,h. and 10 his husy work,hnJI, is s1ill being established. 'The work; meanwhile, sits in a bank vault Maples, of Chapel Street, Prahran. had ,I Rubens for s.ile in 1948. The ,4rg11.< repor1cd in April 1ha1 year 1ha1 lhe ,1nrc had "a pastoral a11ribu1cd tn l'clcr Paul Rubens, and 1wo large Florcnlinc painling, in ma,, sivc hand-carwd frumes, re– puled 10 he from the Ro)'al Arartment, in Vcnke." In 11/51/, the whole nf l'crth tor so ii wa, reporlcdl turned · oul h' Sl!C Wc:rill"rn Au!iotrulia's gr,•a1 Rubens turn-up. Ahoul 1,11011 rcople Jc,ccndcd on the Clamfc Ho1chin Gallen the day the Mnrlyrdom of St Jr•hn the llar1is1was hung. Th,· paiming heh1nged to Mr anJ l\1r, W. II. ~turr,1v. of \lincenl Street. Mt•unl La,,·lev 11ml hud heen hm1gl11 111 :i,; auction in ( 'umherl:111d, l-.i1g– l.111d. a t\.'\\ ytar ... hl'forc. Tiu: lhl'l1 Ul'l~i,1.1111-dircch,r of the Wc,1,•rn i\u,1raliun i\rl Gallery, Mr Rllherl R,1.,c. ,uid he h:td handled Ruhens' ,1<1rk ,,hilc hl' \\il!'i 11 11 urt rt~torc-r in l·ngl:111,t. and he heli,•ved 1he ra inting had Ruhl•11~· rar• mur~,. lk fl'l'.'llgnil'l(d Ruhl'n:i-' fir<rril und 'l'"l'tHHI ,, i\ r ..., rwt 10 mi=n1io11 hi~ si,tl'f'•in-l.1\\, in 1h,· pain1ing. I\ pain1ing T rihull' h•lll'~ \\ .1, t 1 a1alo~ul'd :i, a f( ul 1 e11, \\ hen 1hr Illian 0 . ~l .111111 n ,lll'.. 'l1lH·1 \\ a:,. c.,hihil• ed al C'h:uhlllll<' loxhihlti,111 11.,11. Mrlhourne, in June, 11174. The pai111ing " 'U> 1•ulued al Sl~U.0011. The acqui,i1i,m or a siud1 or a h,,ad l'ur a JlllrtrJil of Louis XII for Sln.11011 h1 1he u1ion– al <.alkry of Vicioria in 1958 ,par~eJ off 11 fll\\ ll\'er ii, au1hen1irll) . The lsuropean e.,. JICrl , l>r Lud\\ig llurchard, strongly rnmme11ded 1he work. hu1 ,ome olher reporls were 1101,o fal'ourable. One of !he gallery·, 1ru,1ees. Colonel Aubrey Gih,on. OJI· posed i1s purchase and asked for hi, dissent 10 be recorded. The gallery's curalor or Eu– ropean arl, Dr Ursula Hoff. had no doubls about ii, au1h– en1ici1y, and none ha\'c been expressed since ils arri\'al in Aus1ralia. C'ourlesy of the bequest of Wcs1ern Di>1ric1s' gratier Her– herl Shaw, 1he Cil) of Hamil– ton Arl (iuller) hus a , mall Rubcn, ·s chalk drawing or a Queensland's new partially clad Rubens which was acquired from Christie's for $120,000. Australia ·drops its cold shoulder for world's big nipple meister !ady. Munly U1y An Gallery. 111 con1ra,1, has a huge oil pain1ing of Chri,1 al Emmau,, which i, very similar 1t, a work in lhc Prado, Madrid. Manly's "Ruhen," i, 1101 frequently displayed hcc,mse of the small staff 111 lifl ii. The gallery has sellled on an a1- tribu1io11 of "Ruhens" ,1udio." The wor~ wu, 1he gil'I in 1940 of I'. S. Ga rl ing "ho abu gal'e lhc gallery a Ouido Reni, a work a11rihu1ed to Sal vador Rose, and a numher of olher old mas1er paintings, Wgelhcr wilh works bv 1\11,lrnlian ar– lisls, IJohcll liliganl Mary Ed– ward, and L1·all Trindall. The "Gar.ling collc('tion of objets d'ar1" of which 1he highlight wa, ":, Maje,ti,· Sa1- su11111 l'a,e," had heen ,old h) La1",,11·, , SyJ11ey, July. 19~5. I\ morl! rcccrH ,uldilinn I(, At1!l-tralia', Ruhcm,· hcrilugl' ii.. lhe he.id ni' Jo.eph of i\r· 1111:llh,·.1. The , mall oil i, in the rnllecti.111 or •William Ouw– nwrc of Nl'W(\lstlt. The A11,1rulian Nalinnul (iull,·ry wa, offered. in 11177, a K11he11s hulllc sketch from L, 1 11<!1111. The rainling, h,rn . "' er, '"" ullimately sold to a museum in Forl Worlh. The rnlk,·1ion pul 1oge1her h., Ar1hur Triggs included Ruhen, cr:11 011 sketches, as 11<·11 u, " ork, unribuled 10 Ti,·p,,l,1 and Leonardo du Vinci. ·1he rnlkc1inn wa, ,uld b\ La,"'on', in 19-1, . · TIil' 1Ht1hlc:m, of cour"'e. j, 1h.11 "h,11 b1 :,,,lid of a rn~c \.".llllll•I ah,u, s hr :,,aid of H.uhl'llfi., \\'hai M,l:,,l•~ !iillpro:,,e, h lhH uh, .1~, R,... c:-. und l.t:-it ~1l':tr\ ,ah.·, ur H.uh ~n:,, :ii :n11..ti1H1 L'onlirnh the: l'l10r· 11w1i.. ~t..·,1pl· for l'nmprlimbe, ,,n 4ual i1, 1111<1 uu1he111icl11 in 11ti, m.1rl.~·1. · 'Ihe i\r1 S,ile, ln,k x list- W " '"~' h} Ruh,•n, 11 71h c.) Hl'mb h : I\\ \• ,, urk, h) Ruhl·11' Sir 1'.l'. 11 57 -IMII I: '" ""r~, 111 Ruhen . S,r Peter 1'11ul (i57 -11>4111: '" " ""' ~' 111 Ruh,·•" · Sir l'ela 1'.1111 (,111Ji,;1 (1 5 7-11,~0I : l'I 11,1rl, h} By Terry Ingram Rubens (afler), 17 c., Fle– mish: fi1•r wurks hy Rubens (ci rdel (171h c.) Flemish: 15 work, hy Rubens (school) ( 17th c.) (Flcmbhi: six works hy Rubens 1,1udio) (1577- 11,411) Flemi;h: and Sl'\'en work, by Ruhens (sl}le) (I71h c.) 1-lenmh. Prier, ranged from £2.J mill ion for Sam,on and l>eli – lah sold hi' ('hrislie's to he– l\\ecn J.:~ll(land £.100. Queen, lund 's Rubens, how– rvcr. ha, 1111 e,('cllenl pedigree. The pain1ing was cxhihiled :11 lhe llrilish ln.lilulC ill IX21 111111 I M.W und the Rnyul /\rnli– cm} in 1878. II ilJlfleareli in the Royal Academy Exhihi1ion or Sel'enleenlh C'enturv /\rl in l'uro11c in 19.18 an,I an ex – hihi1ion or Hcmbh Uri UI 1h,· ~:1111e e,1ahli,hmen1 in 1~5.1. In the earl\ nine1een1h cen– lur~ it WJ~ ii1 1he l'artwriglll ('ullec1iun al /11nhoe. II is 1111\ughi 10 h:l\ e heen fl:tinted during 1hc: urlbt":,, vh,it 10 London in 1629-JO when lhe Titian from which it was copied was in 1be collcc1ion of l'h.1rlcs I. The Tiliun is now in Vienna, hanging in the s;11ne gallery us Ruhens" porlrait of Helen Fourmenl for which 1hc copy wu, a prototype (lhe Kun,1hls- 1uri,che, Museum 1. The newl) a,·quired Ruhen~ will be broughl 10 Au,1ralia in aboul six month;' lime. II i~ undergoi ng re>1ora1ion al lhe l·tamihon Kerr ln,1i1111e, hal'ing hcen damaged some year!-. ag<1 in u car c:rash. II was boughl uflcr opin ion• h,1d hecn sought from Pro– rc,,or Michael Juffc. direl'IM nr the Filtwillium Museum 111 < ·arnhridgc, und Mr l·lcrherl L:111k. head ('011>en ulor 111 1hc 1lumihun Kerr ln,1i1111c. Th~ a"-·4ui~i1inn \\ .,, made po,, ihlc h) fund, l'rs•111 lhe Quecn,la11d i\rl h•11nliatio11. u g,wernrne111-suppor1ed puhlk U l le'UI. MUSIC wlll ha,·e a backdrop of art the next two Fridays when lhe Queensland Thr.ntre Orche•• tra wind ensemble performs woodwind recllAI pro~r•m• al the Queensland Art Oallcrx. The· elght•melhber ensemble will piny sclecllons of classical JllCCeS b)' Caslll-Bht7.C, De Groll, Hlndermllh and ~101.art In the programs starting ilf,6.30 p.m. The gallery, on •"• ll!lh floor n! the MIM Bulldln~ m Ann :-<ireel, Is open until 9 p.m. on Pridays. Works showing 'this monlh In• ,.lude IDlh ,11nd lOl h century prmu and drav.·ln~s by Plca,,so, P1s.'8rro. ~nolr, Hedon, Bennard •nd Denis. Austrnllnn works from lhe cot• lcct.ton focus on the late 191h and )Ullt centuries.