Wieneke Archive Book 4f : The Arts in Australia Presscuttings

Sir Warwick Fairfax (left) presents "Madonna and Chil d with Saints" to Sir Erik Langker. Right: The Prime Minister, M r McMahon. The Art Gallery of NSW at a ceremony last night accepted the gift of a 15th -century Italian painting from John Fairfax and Sons Ltd. The president of the gallery's board of trustees, Sir Erik Langker, received the painting from the chairman of the company, Sir Warwick Fairfax. Nine hundred guests crowded the gallery for an informal reception given by the trustees - the sec- ond of a series of functions this week to mark the re- opening of the gallery to- morrow. The $78,000 painting was given to mark the 140th annikersary last year of the founding of "The Sydney Morning Herald." Sir Erik described the Painting, "Madonnn and Child with Saints" by the Italian painter Sano di Pietro, as "very beautiful." Sano di Pietro lived and worked in the city of Siena from 1406 to 1481. The gift painting is a richly coloured panel 23/ inches by 17 inches, with the Ma- donna in deep blue holding a fair child cloaked in gold. They are surrounded by Saints Jerome, John the Baptist, Bernard and Bar- tholomew, and two angels. In a short speech, Sir Warwick Fairfax explained why he chose the painting and why the company felt it should be presented to the gallery, It had been part of an exhibition in Sydney ar- ranged by Mr Geoffrey Agnew, of London, and Mr Charles Lloyd Jones. "I said to myself: 'We should have something good in Sydney' and my eye lit at once on the Sano ch Pietro," Sir Warwick said. "I won't argue about whether it's the best but I do think that, as one of the very few representatives of the early Italian schools in Australia, it is, perhaps, the most significant . . . . "If we are to know any- thing about that Western civilisation and culture to which we belong, we must look at the 12th and 13th centuries when it really began to leap forward. And in the forefront of painting, of course, is the school of Siena. "I am one of those who feel that the quality of a work of art is somethira quite independent of the period it came from or how 'advanced' was the technical skill at that time, and I feel that for sheer beauty of colour and design the Sienese artists have rarely been equalled. "And in this work by Sano di Pietro we have, I believe, the only great Sienese painting in Austra- lia." Sir Warwick went on to discuss the influence of Byzantine art on the early Italians - less, he thought, than was usually believed. "The best of it (in Italy) dates from the 5th and 6th centuries and thereafter, as political power in Italy began to fade, so did the quantity and quality of its art . . ," he said. "The continued flower- ing of Byzantine art on the other hand took place not in Italy, hut in Greece, Constantinople and Asia Minor, where few Italians would have seen it. It con- tinued in the I2th and 13th centuries to make ad- vances which, from a technical standpoint if not otherwise, placed it far ahead of Italy." He had observed this for himself in frescoes and mosaics at Trebizond and Istanbul. The point was that by the time of the school of Siena Italian painting was going ahead under its own steam, and all the better for that. He said: "Having bought this painting, we felt that it might help to serve two purposes. "The first is to mark the opening of a new gallery, PM TO LOOK AT LIFTING OF ART TAX The Prime Minister hinted last night that the Government would consi- der removing the sales tax and import duty on paint- ings and other works of art in the next Federal Budget. Mr McMahon was speaking at an informal reception given by the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW at the gallery. He said that two of the trustees, Lady Fairfax and Mr L W. Farnsworth, had urged him in the past to remove the taxes. "1 can give an assurance I will look very attentive- ly at it in the next Federal Budget," he said. Mr McMahon's re- marks drew a loud burst of applause and cheers from the guests at the function. The director of the gal- lery, Mr Peter Laverty, said it was "a momentous evening." "One of the most sig- nificant things that has been said is the words of the Prime Minister about sales tax," he said. At present, all works of art produced in Australia or produced by Australians living abroad are exempt from sales tax or import duty. Foreign works of art also are exempt from the tax if they are brought into Australia for continuous exhibition, free of charge. This exemption would ex- tend to any genuine gal- lery or art museum, even if some admission fee were charged, taxation sources said in Canberra last night. The only works that are taxable are those brought into Australia for sale to a buyer outside this cate- gory or for a private col- lection. The tax is levied only once on sale or importation and does not apply if the object later changes hands inside Australia. The tax is worked out on a formula under which the tax payable equals 15 per cent of the total of the assessed value plus the statutory Customs duty, if any, plus 20 per cent of these first two figures. The answer to the sum is a minimum of 18 per cent on the assessed value of the object. Art lovers have been pressing for some time for the Federal Government to drop this tax completely. They say this would en- courage more people to im- port foreign works of art. a proportion of which would eventually find their way to public galleries through gifts, bequests and loans. the improved amenities of which are a tribute to a happy collaboration be- tween the Government and the trustees. "The secord occasion is another milestone in our own history, the time of announcement being the one hundred and fortieth anniversary of the founda- tion of 'The Sydney Morn- ing Herald' and the one hundred and thirtieth an- niversary of the Fairfax proprietary. "We realise how much we ourselves owe to the people of Sydney, whose interests we are endeavour- ing to serve, and we wish them all possible pleasure in coming to see this gal- lery with so many out- standing works of art. in- cluding, I hope, ours." The Minister for Cul- tural Activities, Mr nen- denstein, said it was pleas- ing that this painting had been selected because the gallery was short of such historical works, He also was pleased to note the association be- tween the gallery, "The Sydney Morning Herald" and the Fairfax family, which had extended over 100 years. Art Gallery receives $50,000 to buy Fairfax painting gift works of art The Art Gallery of NSW has received a gift of $50,000 for the pur- chase of works of art. The president of the board of trustees of the gallery, Sir Erik Langker, said one of the trustees, whom he would not identi- fy, had recently given him a cheque for this amount. Sir Erik said this was the largest amount the gal- lery had received for buy- ing works of art and the trustee had said the e:heque was "only the start." "That trustee is very interested in 18th -century British art, so we will en- deavour to buy this as we are very short of it." he said. 8