| Both sides previous revision Previous revision | |
| brisbane_art_gallery [2020/05/17 11:57] – judith | brisbane_art_gallery [2020/05/17 12:01] (current) – judith |
|---|
| 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.((TLM-P, Last Will and Testament; codicil of 28 December 1892)) 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.((G.S. M-P, pers. comm.)) Only poor quality photos of it remain. \\ | 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.((TLM-P, Last Will and Testament; codicil of 28 December 1892)) 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.((G.S. M-P, pers. comm.)) 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.((Kerry Heckenberg, 'A taste for art in colonial Queensland: The Queensland Art Gallery Foundational Bequest of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior', //Queensland Review//, 25:1, June 2018, pp.119-136.)) As Kerry Heckenberg argues, TLM-Ps bequest was no small gesture. It was not just that the paintings were ‘of considerable value’,((https://blog.qagoma.qld.gov.au/an-historical-perspective-queensland-art-gallery/)), that they contributed towards ensuring 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.'((Kerry Heckenberg, 'A taste for art in colonial Queensland: The Queensland Art Gallery Foundational Bequest of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior', //Queensland Review//, 25:1, June 2018, pp.119-136))\\ | 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.((Kerry Heckenberg, 'A taste for art in colonial Queensland: The Queensland Art Gallery Foundational Bequest of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior', //Queensland Review//, 25:1, June 2018, pp.119-136.)) As Kerry Heckenberg argues, TLM-Ps bequest was no small gesture. It was not just that the paintings were ‘of considerable value’((https://blog.qagoma.qld.gov.au/an-historical-perspective-queensland-art-gallery/)) 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.'((Kerry Heckenberg, 'A taste for art in colonial Queensland: The Queensland Art Gallery Foundational Bequest of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior', //Queensland Review//, 25:1, June 2018, pp.119-136))\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| 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.((Kerry Heckenberg(('A taste for art in colonial Queensland: The Queensland Art Gallery Foundational Bequest of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior', //Queensland Review//, 25:1, June 2018, pp.119-136))\\ | 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.((Kerry Heckenberg(('A taste for art in colonial Queensland: The Queensland Art Gallery Foundational Bequest of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior', //Queensland Review//, 25:1, June 2018, pp.119-136))\\ |