Brisbane Art Gallery

At time of writing, the Brisbane Art Gallery states that: 'The European collection was established with a bequest of 17th century Dutch paintings to the state of Queensland in 1892 by pastoralist and legislative councillor Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior.' ¹⁾ For further context, click on Gallery notice. What is the story behind his bequest?

Though TLM-P was clear that his father's habit of buying fine art left his mother battling to provide for the family, he shared his father's and his brother William's love of art, though not necessarily the latter's artistic talent. This is particularly clear from his 1882 diary. When in England that year, he took every opportunity to view art, and regularly complained that he needed more time to do so.

Rosa stated her father loved his own collection of paintings. While Kerry Heckenberg suggests they may have been collected by TLM-P when he was at Brussells, this is unlikely given the family's modest means and that TLM-P was still only 19 when he emigrated to Australia. Her other suggestion, that the collection originally belonged to TLM-P's art-collecting father, is much more likely.²⁾ We know that TLM-P acquired at least one painting that his father bought in the early 1860s, shortly before he died. His daughter Jemima gave it to her brother in 1882. It had been painted in 1829 by Thomas Cooper, the artist who had taught painting to their brother William. Jemima told TLM-P that Cooper had told their father that it was painted when he had 'a name to make', so he had spent more time on it that he could later afford to do, laying 'the colours on to make the desired effect'. As it was one of the few landscapes Cooper had done, he stated it would be valuable after his death compared to his more common animal paintings. Its whereabouts is now unknown but probably with a descendant as TLM-P had it packed up to take back to Australia with him.³⁾ The whereabouts of at least two others of his paintings are now also unknown. One was a painting by Abraham Mignon. TLM-P wrote in 1882 that he had seen one by Mignon which he thought was 'like mine'.⁴⁾ A little later, back in London, he was in the National Gallery and saw a painting of the Holy Family by Federico Barocci, writing 'of which mine is a copy'.⁵⁾

The preservation of his paintings was important to TLM-P. In his will he left them to his elder children then, in a codicil, explained that he thought 'the climate of this country is deleterious to paintings and that my said children will be unable to bestow upon the said Paintings the care necessary for their preservation'. Instead, he bequeathed them 'to form therewith the nucleus of an Art Gallery in Queensland to be called the “Murray Prior Gallery” or the “Murray Prior Gift”', with the proviso that Thomas de M. M-P be allowed to keep them for his lifetime if he had an appropriate place for them; and they not be removed from his home Whytecliffe until Nora left.⁶⁾ TLM-P was quite correct regarding the disastrous impact of climate on the storage of paintings in family homes. One that survived in private hands was a still life of fish reputedly by Brugal. It became so badly damaged that TLM-P's great-grandson eventually discarded it.⁷⁾ Only poor quality photos of it remain.

TLM-P's bequest of paintings had their first public showing in August 1893, at an exhibition by the Queensland Art Society. In November the following year, the Premier announced that Queensland would set up an art gallery with TLM-P's paintings as its basis. In 1895, the Queensland Art Gallery was founded. Its first exhibition featured 25 oil paintings, of which nearly half (11) came from TLM-P's bequest.⁸⁾ As Kerry Heckenberg argues, TLM-Ps bequest was no small gesture. It was not just that the paintings were ‘of considerable value’⁹⁾ and that they helped ensure the Art Gallery would be established, but they also served as an example of public beneficence. As an introduction to European culture, the paintings were especially important when few Australians could afford to travel to Europe. Though the Gallery director in 2015 described the paintings as 'modest' (as they undoubtedly are compared with collections by people and galleries with huge budgets) at the time their importance was far from modest. As Kerry Heckenberg argues, the paintings 'encompass an interesting range of genre types that are very informative about the art world at the beginning of the modern era of art production, collection and display.'¹⁰⁾

Sadly, as Kerry Heckenberg discovered, two paintings from the bequest have been de-accessioned and their current whereabouts unknown. The paintings were: 'Gethsemane' (head of Christ) and a large German painting of the Ages of Man.¹¹⁾

Two views of the Gallery that houses the TLM-P's bequest. The latter is more indicative of the usual number of people there - how many have gained pleasure and knowledge from these paintings over the decades?

One of the donated paintings, with three Thomas M-Ps. The painting is Still Life by Alexander Coosemans, c.1650.¹²⁾

For another view, click Madonna

More donated paintings - for more detail of three of them, click on Paintings detail.

These 'Still Life' paintings are by Cornelis de Bryer, c.1650.