Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

But it is perhaps for his Ariadne, the kneeling figure bewailing her desertion by Theseus, that he will be longest remembered. The Australian critic, William Moore, said of it: 'There is no other work which symbolises the intense sadness of despair as does this forlorn but beautiful figure; it places the artist in the front rank of British sculptors of today'. And that is how we ought to see him-just as he would have seen himself-a British sculptor who had studied as a youth in Australia. Queensland can take full credit for this artistic training, but it may be stretching things a bit to claim him as a native son, although a local newspaper did not hesitate to do so upon his return to Brisbane in the 1930s: Unheralded and unobserved, one of Brisbane's most brilliant sons returned to his native city a week ago [with his wife, Janet]. They are both very quiet and unassuming people who dodge the limelight to the best of their ability-not that there is much to dodge in Brisbane. Well, times have changed. There is plenty of limelight in Brisbane today and this exhibition will certainly serve to shed some of it on that quiet and unassuming but extremely able sculptor, Harold Parker. 20 Speech at the opening of 'Shell Presents Van Gogh: His Sources, Genius and Influence', 21 January 1994 NOTE: THIS EXHIBITION, ORGANISED BY THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA IN ASSOCIATION WITH ART EXHIBITIONS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WAS THE FIRST SUBSTANTIAL COLLECTION OF WORKS BY VINCENT VAN GOGH TO BE SEEN IN AUSTRALIA. LOANS WERE DRAWN FROM COLLECTIONS AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK; THE TATE GALLERY AND THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON; THE MUSEE D'ORSAY, PARIS; AND A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF WORKS FROM DUTCH COLLECTIONS. THE LATTER INCLUDE THE RIJKSMUSEUM, AMSTERDAM; VAN GOGH, MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM; STATE MUSEUM KROLLER MULLER, OTTERLO; AND THE STICHTING COLLECTIE P. EN N. DE BOER FOUNDATION. OVER THE SEVEN WEEKS OF ITS DISPLAY-FROM 22 JANUARY TO 13 MARCH 1994-138 000 VISITORS CAME TO THE EXHIBITION-ONE OF THE LARGEST ATTENDANCES EVER IN THE QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY'S HISTORY. What a splendid way to begin the year 1994! It is not often that a collection of paintings can be described, without the use of hyperbole, as 'priceless'. But when a Civil Aviation authority is prepared to ensure that planes on both international and domestic flights do not pass directly over the Gallery in which it is housed, then I think that 'priceless' is the appropriate adjective. That is what will be happening in Brisbane from tonight until the exhibition ends on 13 March. As Mr Justice Lockhart has pointed out, many people deserve our thanks for making the exhibition possible and not the least of them is Mr Ric Charlton, whose Company, Shell Australia, is the principal sponsor. I thank you, Mr Charlton, for your and your Company's involvement, and I associate myself and the Trustees most warmly 87