Ask the officials of most Australian art museums about their priorities, and you’ll almost certainly hear about community and First Nations First. In reality, what’s most important for all these institutions are the attendance figures. Although the politicians who hold the purse strings may profess an undying commitment to social justice, the only way to secure your funding is by getting numbers through the door.
This is why we have exhibitions such as Monet to Matisse: Defying Tradition, at the Art Gallery of South Australia, featuring some outstanding works from the collection of the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio. It may not be a rival for the major collections in New York, Chicago, Boston or Washington D.C., but Toledo is one of a host of art museums in the United States with a collection any Australian institution would envy.
As usually happens, the Toledo Museum is undergoing a major renovation and is able to send its holdings on tour, for a suitable fee. The AGSA, as the sole Australian venue, is enjoying the surge in attendances these collection shows virtually guarantee. Even though the first lines of the gallery directors’ joint catalogue statement dutifully acknowledge the native lands upon which their museums stand, this is of little relevance to those viewers keen to feast their eyes on works by Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, Whistler, Manet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Modigliani, Bonnard, Vuillard, De Chirico, Braque, Picasso, Mondrian, Monet and Matisse – to list only the major drawcards.