Gallery to review archiving after Whiteley research request
Published on 28 August 2018
The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery is conducting a review of its archiving and auditing practices after being unable to locate a Brett Whiteley drawing from the mid-1970s.
City of Launceston General Manager Michael Stretton said the museum is undertaking a search for the pencil drawing by the famed Australian artist after it was contacted by researchers inquiring about the work earlier this year.
Mr Stretton said the artwork - titled Waves V - was purchased by the gallery in 1976 and had been recorded as having entered the museum's collection. However, there had been no further record of the item since that time and it has never been displayed.
"Staff have undertaken a preliminary search of the gallery's storage containers, however at this point we have been unable to locate the drawing," Mr Stretton said.
"We have also been in contact with various past QVMAG staff members who were employed when this work was acquired, however, we have been unsuccessful so far in obtaining information since acquisition.
"The QVMAG's collection is extensive, with more than 200,000 individual items and, unfortunately, it remains possible the work has been incorrectly catalogued at some point in the past 42 years and will be difficult for us to locate.
"We'd like to assure people that the contemporary archiving practices the museum employs these days are very different to the antiquated methods of record-keeping used during the 70s, and that the museum will make every effort to locate the work in question. This is a process that may take many months.
"At this stage, we believe it's likely the artwork is simply mis-catalogued within our collection. We're reviewing our archiving and cataloguing practices to ensure we're doing everything possible to meet best practice in this area, but with no record of the work since shortly after it was acquired in the 1970s, the probability is that this is the result of an error several decades ago.
"As part of the Launceston City Deal's 'Smart Cities' work, we are planning on expanding the digitisation of our collection, which will also enable an extensive audit of the collection.
"Once that process is complete, we will have a significant and improved understanding and governance of our collection."
Mr Stretton said that the Council had made Tasmania Police aware of the situation, but had not made an official request for an investigation at this stage.
"We have also been in contact with the manager of Mr Whiteley's legacy to explain the situation. It is disappointing we're in this situation but we are doing everything possible to locate the artwork," Mr Stretton said.