Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

Turning now to the distinguished guests with me this morning, they are, in the order in which they will be speaking: Mr Roger Allen, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Computer Power Group, the company which is sponsoring the exhibition; Mrs Lyn Williams, Fred's widow and a well-known figure in the art world in her own right; and Sir Edward Williams-no relation I understand, who has kindly agreed to open the exhibition. It is appropriate that this exhibition should be sponsored by Computer Power, the largest software company in this country, wholly Australian owned, extremely competitive in its attitude, and with a growing reputation internationally, because those epithets apply equally well to Fred Williams himself. He was a truly Australian painter; he was an innovative painter, who enriched and transformed the history of Australian landscape painting and he already has an international reputation. Like the computer, he was a product of the modern world. He was the first Australian painter to look down on the landscape, and I do not mean that in a pejorative sense. He looked down on it from an aeroplane, he photographed it from an aeroplane, and he painted the memory of what he had seen from an . aeroplane, when he -returned to the studio. He made use of modern technology to the best advantage. In this respect it is interesting to compare him with another great painter of the Australian landscape, Arthur Boyd, who flatly refuses to fly in an aircraft. And so, as I say, it is appropriate that modern technology should support an exhibition of the works of a truly modern artist, and it is equally appropriate that these works should have been transported by the Cargo Division of Australian Airlines. Our sincere thanks go to Computer Power and to Australian Cargo. I am especially delighted to welcome and introduce Mrs Williams. Lyn is not only an old friend, but she was a former colleague of mine on the Council of the National Gallery of Victoria. She also chairs the Board of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne. But perhaps most important of all, she was always a great source of support and inspiration to Fred during his lifetime. Last, but not least, the 'opener', Sir Edward Williams. Well, Ned Williams is Ned Williams-a man unlike any other and too well known to require any introduction. In the course of an active and varied career, he has been soldier, barrister, Supreme Court Judge, expert in narcotics, company director, collector of paintings, Chairman of the Turf Club, and Commissioner General of Expo. In that last position he, as much as anyone, has helped to put Brisbane on the international map. He is also a most colourful and amusing speaker and we are lucky to have been able to persuade him, in the midst of manifold commitments, to come here this morning. Without intending to pre-empt what he is going to say, I will just make a short factual statement. This is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of the work of one artist ever compiled in this country. It was organised by the Australian National Gallery and opened there in 1987. In Queensland it has been divided into three sections-the English years, presented at the Brisbane City Hall Art Gallery; the works on paper, at the Centre Gallery in Surfers Paradise; and the paintings---197 of them, here at the Queensland Art Gallery. · 60