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ABOUT THE EXHIBITION 2001-2002

Opening its doors n November 2001 at the Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney and ending at Queensland Art Gallery in April 2002, the "Belle-Ile : Monet, Russell and Matisse in Brittany" exhibition welcomed over eighty thousand visitors. The work of art on display included six paintings by Monet, fourty one by Russell and five by Matisse as well as a bust representing Mrs Russell by Rodin. Thanks to the combination of paintings by three reknown artists and judicious choice of works displayed, this event has had a great impact in Australia and beyond its borders. It enabled australians to rediscover their great painter to whom an exhibition had already been devoted in their country in 1978. Until today neither had he acquired popularity with the public at large, nor with searchers torn beetween the appeal of the West and the pure national paintings.

The number of press articles about our exhibition, as well as the professionalism of their authors in most cases has contributed without doubt to this successful result. We can only deplore taht untruths have been carelessly released by some unworthy press agents. For instance, we may mention the supposed destruction of many of Russell's in the bombing of Monte Cassino in 1944. This has more to do with rumors and imagination ruther than pure history. However this has nothing to do with other excellent article about Russell from the Bulletin magasine published on the 4th November 1997 and written by Sarah Turnbull. We also regret that one of the authors of the exhibition's catalogue, Mr Albie Thoms, wrote under his name a number of facts and biographical details concerning John Russell which were in reality discovered thanks to Claude Guy Onfray's researches *.

Nevertheless we must congratulate ourselves for the good relation we established with Mrs Ursula Prunster, the curator of the exhibition and to whom our association provided an amount of help much appreciated during months that preceeded the event. We wish her all the best in her next project : an e xhibition dedicated to Russell and Van Gogh. Good luck.

* Russell et la lumière en héritage, by Claude-Guy Onfray, Office d'édition du livre d'histoire, Paris 1995.
et Catalogue of the exhibition J.P. Russell, un impressionniste australien. Authors : Patrick Jourdan, Jean-Claude Lesage, Claude-Guy Onfray, Hilary Spurling, Musée des Jacobins editions, Morlaix, 1997.

(By courtesy of Miss Cindy Quinio)