Five facts about getting the Met Masterpieces exhibition to Brisbane
Was it a coup? How did these paintings travel during COVID? What was the bill? We dive into the details behind QAGOMAs show-stopping blockbuster from the iconic New York institution.
The Studio, bringing yesterday’s European Masterpieces into our contemporary world. Photo ArtsHub.
‘This exhibition of European Masterpieces is one of the most significant of Western painting ever to travel to Australia, and the finest to be seen in Queensland,’ said Chris Saines, Director Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), to a huddle of eager journalists.
The rollcall of artists it includes, and their 65 ‘priceless’ works – as described by Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch, and each with multi-million dollar pricetags – unquestionably comprise the canon of Western art history charted across a massive 500-year trajectory.
Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.
Instagram: fairleygina
