PM Transcripts

FOR PRESS P. M. No.-43Z1965
ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL ART COLLECTION
Statement by thePrjme Minister; the Rt. on. Si Robert Menzies
The Prime Minister announced today that, on the advice
of the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board the Commonwealth had
recently acquired a number of important paintings for the
National Collection. The first of these comprise the considerable collection
of Australian paintings which belonged to the late Mr. Richard
Paul of Sydney* The Commonwealth has been able to acquire this
important collection through the generosity of the beneficiary
of his estate and the co-operation of his executorsi the
Perpetual Trustee Company. The result is that for very much
less than market values the Commonwealth has acquired fine
examples of the work of Tom Roberts ( 1856-1931), Sir Arthur
Streeton ( 1867-1943), Elioth Gruner ( 1882-1939) and George
Lambert ( 1873-1930) as well as many other noted Australian
artists. The Prime Minister also gave details of other purchases
which resulted from a great deal of research in i'ngland and
France leading to the location of some important works by the
expatriate Australian painter John Peter Russell ( 1858-1931).
Russell was a fellow student and friend of Van Gogh, Toulouse-
Lautrec, Seurat and other noted French artists of the French
Impressionist era. As a result of subsequent negotiations, the
Commonwealth has acquired four of Russel's oil paintings:
" Paysans a Monte Cassino", " View of the Alpes Maritimes"
" Le Pont de Pecq" and " Bougeval near Paris", and three ol his
watercolours " Cliffs at Goulphar", " Piazza Lerici 1910" and
" Breton Fisherman;. The ? rime Minister pointed out that in addition to
acquiring these important works by noted artists of an earlier
period in our history, the Art Advisory Board is constantly
adding examples of the work of contemporary Australian artists
to the National Collection which it is hoped will ultimately
be housed in a National Art Gallery in Canberra. In the
meantime, many of the paintings acquired for the National
Collection are hanging in our Embassies abroad and others are
included in travelling exhibitions such as those now in
Europe and New Zealand.
CANBERRAI
2nd May, 1965