Daniel Thomas : Newspaper writings

Art Gallery of N.S.W.: Contemporary Nordic Art (Wed,). Manly Art Gallery: Rupert Bunny (Satur- day). Newcastle City Art Gallery: 17th century. Clune: W. B. Gould. Education Depart- ment Gallery, Bridge Street: Royal Art So- ciety of N.S.W. Australia Square; Tri- bute to Nehru. Macquarie: Ross Davis (Wednesday). David Jones: Oriental ceramics. Central Street: Har- ald Noritis. Aladdins: Four graph- ic artists, Walters: Ron Lam- bert. TEL Syd 24 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH,,SEPTEMBER 15, 1963 Mixed 1Good-but is it good en. WHAT'S SIN --- Gallery A: Large paintings. Bonythsn: Ken Rein- hard, Henri Bastin, Ivan Englund. Komon: Fred Wil- liams etchings. Mosman, Small Town Hall: Mosman Art Prize. Drummoyne Civic Centre: Art Prize (Fri- day). Artarmon: Peter Mc- Intyre. Von Bertouch, New- castle: Elwyn Lynn. Sculpture Gallery, Canberra: Tay Kok Wee, etchings. Macque rie, Canberra: Clifton Pugh (Wednes- day). 041000#4.441~1.~0.4,0~0, V..," 44 41,441,04.#41,0 HE art collections in the National by fur the best in Australia. Nowhere 'Ise can we learn about most of the great schools and periods in the history of art and about some of the great names. But would a foreigner feel he had to see Mel- bourne before he knew all about art in the way that the large art museums of Paris, Leningrad, Florence, Madrid, Dresden or Boston are necessary? Well, prob- ably not. Or does Mel- bourne have large holdings of some limited field that might tempt a specialist? Well, perhaps. Melbourne does own masterpieces, but often they are not unique; an- other one just as good can be seen in a dozen other places. Like the brilliant Rembrandt etchings or Durer engravings in the Department of Prints, which surely has the great- est number of Melbourne's masterpieces. Some sculptures are re- peatable in tile same way as etchings and one of them is perhaps the onls masterpiece of sculpture, Rodin's bronze Balzac. Although this means that foreigners will have seen other casts already, it in no way diminishes its excellence, and this is one of Melbourne's most stun- ning purchases ever. (Some critics would claim that it is Rodin's only suc- cessful large-scale sculp- ture, that otherwise Ftoclin is best when small). The splendid new Gaston Lachaise is also a bronze from an edition, hence not unique. What, then, about paint- ings and drawings, which are unique? Even though there are a few supremely lovely draw- ings, Andrea del Sarto's for example, I imagine similar ones are to be found eLseviiere. And much the same am plies to the paintings. In deed, a Melbourne news- paper recently quoted a returned expatriate artist as saying it was "a first- rate collection of second- rate paintings." This was not really fair and may have been pro- voked by the unadjusted and unflattering lighting which at present shows more cracks, seams, patches, scars and blem- ishes than one ever knew were there in the gloom of the old building. Such blemishes are not unusual. Nearly all old paintings have suffered a little and need some flat- tery. However, it is true that, sadly, many one-time stars of the painting collection went, into disgrace when Dr. Hoff's catalogue was published several years ago. Sad& t was the downgrading of the V a n Eyck, not to mention the store >ou ht ns by Jan TINI-M6,77"877-,.7 or much -worn Greco frag- ment. This again Is a normal hazard for all art museum - if Sir Kenneth Clark once bought Melbourne a Gallery of Victoria with Daniel Thomas non -Claude, then anotlic Director of the Londe National Gallery, b Philip Hendy, bought Syd ney a non-Gainsboroug only two years ago. One only wishes mo American museums woof be as honest as Melbourn about their old pallid!, The great Tiepolo their most interned() all celebrated painting, Poessin is a major by a great artist, and w ra museum would say no the Mending, the Dome.* co di Bartok), the Pittsr - and about a doze others, Including no le than three Remlorandts Indeed, the Dutch century paintings are g orally higher in quality in better condition any other group. 'I Rembrandt self-portrait that ambitious young pr.' probably the only paint] ent-day artists thirst look at and dream of cove peting with. Hobbema all Jacob van Ruisdael are cellently represented, adi Salomon van Ruysdad must be about the he thing he ever did. Nineteenth cent France comes off ler though in smallish wor': Courbet's wave, Mali landscape, a Pissarro whit tr/1"MeliP extf Monists. The 20th ce fares worse: cubism SUrrentisin arc hardly eat, though there is a Klee to covet; abstr Ls better, with Tapies,