James Mollison (20 March 1931 – 19 January 2020) was acting director of the
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
(NGA) from 1971 to 1977 and director from 1977 to 1989. He was director of the
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum.
The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
from 1989 to 1995.
Early life and career
Mollison was born in
Wonthaggi, Victoria
Wonthaggi is a seaside town located south east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Known originally for its coal mining, it is now the largest town in South Gippsl ...
, and graduated from Secondary Teachers College (now part of the Faculty of Education of the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...
). He was education officer at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1960 and 1961 and director of ''
Gallery A
Gallery A was a mid-century Australian gallery that exhibited contemporary Australian art. It was established in 1959 at 60 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, and then relocated to 275 Toorak Road., South Yarra. A second Gallery A venue was opened and run ...
'',
Toorak, in 1964 and 1965. He was director of the
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
The Art Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest and largest regional art gallery in Australia. Established in 1884 as the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery by the citizens of Ballarat, both the building and part of its collection is listed on the Victorian H ...
in 1967 and 1968.
National Gallery of Australia
From 1969 to 1971, Mollison was the executive officer for the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board (CAAB) and exhibitions officer in the
Commonwealth Prime Minister's Department. His original responsibilities were to advise on the Government's acquisition of art (only the acquisition of Australian art was authorised), to catalog the national collection and to arrange exhibitions of Australian art overseas.
Nevertheless, the
Gorton
Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw.
A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hig ...
Government's failure to appoint a director of the NGA required that Mollison become involved in the development of the design for the building. In November 1970, the CAAB decided that he would be redesignated as assistant director (development).
The new prime minister,
William McMahon
Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, ...
, announced the appointment of Mollison as acting director of the NGA in October 1971,
and tenders for construction of a Gallery building were called in November 1972 to house paintings which had been collected and displayed around Parliament House, in Commonwealth offices, including diplomatic missions overseas, and State Galleries since 1910.
He was notable for establishing the Gallery and building on the collection that had already been assembled of mainly Australian paintings by purchasing icons of modern western art, most famously the 1974 purchases of ''
Blue Poles
''Blue Poles'', also known as ''Number 11, 1952'' is an abstract expressionist painting by American artist Jackson Pollock. It was purchased amid controversy by the National Gallery of Australia in 1973 and today remains one of the gallery's ma ...
'' by
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...
($1.3m), and ''Woman V'' by
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning (; ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married painter El ...
($650,000). These purchases were very controversial at the time, but are now generally considered to be reasonable acquisitions. In retrospect Mollison's reputation was redeemed over time, citing the attention of the purchase as being good for the gallery.
He also built up the other collections, often with the help of donations. Starting in 1973 Mollison secured funding from Philip Morris to acquire contemporary Australian photography for the ANG, though Ian North was not appointed Foundation Curator of Photography until 1980. In 1975 Arthur Boyd presented several thousand of his works to the Gallery. in 1977 Mollison persuaded
Sunday Reed
Sunday Reed (born Lelda Sunday Baillieu) (15 October 190515 December 1981) was an Australian patron of the arts. Along with her husband, Reed established what is now the Heide Museum of Modern Art.
Personal life
Reed was born on 15 October 1905 ...
to donate
Sidney Nolan's remarkable
Ned Kelly
Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...
series to the ANG. In 1981,
Albert Tucker and his wife presented a substantial collection of Tucker's collection to the Gallery. As a result, the ANG now has one of the finest collections of Australian art.
In 1976 the newly established ANG Council advertised for a permanent director to fill the position that Mollison had been acting in since 1971. The new prime minister,
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Fraser was raised on hi ...
, announced the appointment of Mollison as director in 1977, and the new Gallery building was opened by
Queen Elizabeth II in 1982.
His successor, Dr
Betty Churcher
Elizabeth Ann Dewar Churcher (''née'' Cameron; 11 January 193131 March 2015) was an Australian arts administrator, best known as director of the National Gallery of Australia from 1990 to 1997. She was also a painter in her own right ea ...
, said that when she took over in 1990 he "was of almost legendary stature
ndhad single-handedly built a great and comprehensive collection from the ground up; indeed he had presided over the collection for more than twenty years with great flair, and over the institution for seven years—it was in the truest sense, his Gallery, his professional achievement."
Mollison retired as director in 1989 and moved to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
to become director of the
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum.
The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
.
He was appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1984 and promoted to Officer (AO) in 1992 for service to arts administration.
James Mollison died on 19 January 2020 at the age of 88.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mollison, James
1931 births
2020 deaths
Australian curators
Officers of the Order of Australia
Members of the Order of Australia
Recipients of the Centenary Medal
Directors of the National Gallery of Australia
People from Wonthaggi
University of Melbourne alumni
Australian art gallery directors