Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

My brief on this subject has been provided by Celestine Doyle, and I shall quote her words verbatim, on the very well understood rule in our Gallery that what Celestine writes must never be amended-well, almost never: The Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition was a world premiere and provided the most complete collection of that artist's graphic art ever compiled. It was initiated and managed by the Queensland Art Gallery, which was also responsible for an intensive marketing exercise. The Gallery joined forces with the real experts in the field, the Australian National Gallery, to produce what can only be described as the most innovative, unique, and exciting launching of art exhibition merchandise ever seen in this country. The response was beyond all expectations. During the exhibition's six-week showing, more than $400 000 worth of merchandise was sold. The Queensland Art Gallery is delighted to continue its partnership with the Australian National Gallery-as an example of cooperation and sound commercial decision-making that has set a precedent for galleries in Australia--and to establish a partnership with David Jones. The Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition did more than alert us to the charms of the marketplace-it alerted us to charms of quite another kind. Indeed, it had quite a traumatic effect throughout Queensland, and particularly on all those who participated in it. It induced me to remind my audience what the distinguished British historian A. J. P. Taylor had been saying for many years, that basically, in their heart of hearts, all Englishmen wished that they had been born Frenchmen, and to go so far as to admit that, after seeing what the Belle Epoque in Paris had to offer, Taylor certainly had a point. It induced the Premier, Mr Goss, in what was called (in an interesting display of pedanticism) 'an occasional address' (I had to explain what that meant), to speculate that Fortitude Valley-which for those 'Mexicans' amongst you who do not know your geography, closely resembles King's Cross-might eventually become the cultural and artistic centre of Brisbane.' Mr Whitlam, who opened the exhibition, was quick to warn us that, in such a case, the 'white shoe brigade' of Queensland would have to set about learning how to knot a white tie. I trust that David Jones will not make it easier for them by putting on sale those ghastly ready-made jobs that are held together by an all too visible clasp at the back of the neck. I look forward very much to tomorrow's opening in David Jones, and particularly to the fact that, having no duties to perform, I will be able to sit back and enjoy listening to lta Buttrose. Much depends on her. I have wanted to meet lta Buttrose for a long, long time, and my desire was increased, coming down in the plane this morning, by reading Buzz Kennedy's column. He tells us that he and lta covered a Royal visit some years ago, after which he wrote the following lines in her honour: You might have seen The Queen in her crown But you oughta see lta 128