Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

When thinking about what I would say this evening, I searched for an appropriate quotation that would describe in a few well-chosen words-better than any I could myself concoct-the qualities of a patron like Jack Manton. Despite considerable research, I failed to find one. Sometimes, however, it is possible to describe something by emphasising its opposite, and I was able to find in the writings of Dr Samuel Johnson, that great wit and lexicographer, exactly what I was looking for. Dr Johnson had, himself, been unfortunate in his choice of patron, the sixth Earl of Chesterfield, better known for his rather pompous letters of advice and instruction to his son, who, as it turned out, benefited from them not at all. Nor did Dr Johnson benefit from his patronage. He was neglected when he was young and needed support, and fawned upon when he was well known and did not. At length, Dr Johnson was induced to write a letter, full of bitter sarcasm, born of disappointment and disillusion, in which he said: 'Is not a patron, my Lord, someone who looks with unconcern at a man struggling for life in the water and when he has reached ground encumbers him with help?' It is, I think, fair to say that Jack Manton's attitude to patronage has been the very antithesis of Lord Chesterfield's. He has only to hear of a gallery project that is struggling to survive and he is into the water to rescue it with all the enthusiasm and agility of a Bondi lifesaver. This generosity of spirit has spread to all members of his immediate family-his wife Jenny, his son David, and his daughter Melissa-so that, when we pay tribute to Jack, we are really paying tribute to all the Mantons. Their inspiration for sponsoring this exhibition derives from their love of Australian art and their desire to make the work of some of Australia's best current painters more accessible to the people of Queensland. For this I thank them on behalf of the Gallery, most warmly and sincerely. Major exhibitions are the lifeblood of a Gallery such as ours and we are ever vigilant to ensure a constant source of this vital fluid. You may be interested to know, therefore, that to this end we have recently established a fund unique to this Gallery, called the Exhibitions Development Fund. This fund is aimed specifically at those Japanese companies which are substantially and very profitably involved in the State of Queensland. The Director and I recently visited Tokyo, to start the ball rolling, so to speak, and the Premier, who was there at the time and who gave us very strong support, was able to announce on his return that Nikko Securities, a major finance house, had agreed to contribute the first $100 000. 1 I suspect that the Minister for Finance may also have influenced the thinking of this prestigious firm. 2 I know that one should not count one's chickens before they are hatched, but we confidently expect that further equally substantial contributions will be forthcoming from other companies to which we outlined the project. The Japanese now realise the importance of this Gallery in the Australian art scene and recognise its ability to initiate and manage exhibitions of international standing and excellence. The Jack Manton Exhibition 1989 is certainly one of these, comprising, as it does, a significant collection of works by living Australian artists of established reputation. I thank those artists for their presence here this evening, their agents for their assistance to them, and those private collectors who, by lending works, have deprived themselves of the pleasure of seeing them hanging on their own walls but have added immensely to ours. 65