Donated by Sir William Dixson in memory of David Scott Mitchell, 1942
Inspired by the style of doors that graced the entries of some of America’s most significant public buildings, the bronze portico doors illustrate various elements of Australian history. The central doors honour European explorers of Australia; the left side shows the navigators who explored Australia’s coast and the right side, the explorers who travelled inland (the individual panels identify each explorer by name). The reliefs on the bordering doors were originally planned to depict the various arts and sciences represented in the Library’s collection, but the principal librarian William Ifould rejected the concept in favour of panels illustrating scenes from the lives of Australian Aboriginal people.
Planning for the doors began in the early 1930s, however Ifould’s vision for ‘a beautiful pair of bronze entrance doors’ quickly became embroiled in controversy. Much debate focused on the subject matter, particularly the Aboriginal panels, which some thought should feature portraits of governors. The process also came under fire. Ifould’s tight control was criticised in the press, with comments that the artists should be selected by public competition, while a perception that an enemy-alien had been chosen to create the central doors was seen as outrageous (Arthur Fleischmann was in fact Slovakian born). The cost of the doors was also criticised, with many arguing that the money would be better spent on home defence.
The Sydney press nicknamed sculptor Daphne Mayo, who produced all 18 panels for the eastern doors, ‘Miss Michelangelo’. In 1960 she was appointed as the first woman trustee of the Queensland Art Gallery.
Footnotes
D J Jones, A Source of Inspiration and Delight, 1988, p 89
Among the critics of Ifould’s vision for the doors was the Daily Telegraph, which commented, ‘Mr Ifould is an excellent librarian, but is he capable of judging a piece of sculpture?’
Footnotes
D J Jones, A Source of Inspiration and Delight, 1988, p 90
At the time, the employment of ‘enemy alien’ Arthur Fleischmann was widely criticised. Fleischmann was, in fact, a Slovakian artist who had fled Europe in 1939. He settled in Sydney and went on to play an active and distinguished role in the arts and have a long association with the Library.
Footnotes
http://www.fleischmann.org.uk/biogaust.html-Image of Fleishmann
Principal librarian William Ifould recognised that the doors were ‘somewhat of a luxury’ and approached benefactor Sir William Dixson to donate the doors in honour of the Library’s other great benefactor David Scott Mitchell. The deal was arranged following a game of golf at Killara Golf Club on Sydney’s North Shore.
Footnotes
D J Jones, A Source of Inspiration and Delight, 1988, p 86
After training in Brisbane, Daphne Mayo moved to London to study at the Sculpture School of the Royal Academy. As a result of her work, she travelled to France, Italy, England, Canada and United States. Mayo eventually settled in Brisbane, and was commissioned to create the Brisbane City Hall tympanum (1927–30), the Queensland Women’s War Memorial, Anzac Square (1929–32) and relief panels for the original chapel at Mount Thompson Crematorium (1934).
New Zealand-born sculptor Frank Lynch arrived in Australia in 1922 after serving in World War I. His other notable works include a portrait of Dame Nellie Melba and The Satyr, a bronze sculpture in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens. Lynch also drew cartoons for Smith’s Weekly and the Bulletin.
Ralph Walker was a sculptor and printmaker based in Sydney. He is best known for his work at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
With fellow sculptor Lyndon Dadswell, Daphne Mayo and Arthur Fleischmann staged the Three Sculptors exhibition at the David Jones Art Gallery in 1946, Sydney’s first sculpture exhibition for many years. According to the Sydney Morning Herald’s art critic, ‘The exhibition … shows how inadequate this most neglected of arts still remains here.’
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