Private Collectors, Public Benefactors: Ian & Judeen Airey

Mon 19 Feb 2024

Benefactors of the Gallery for 25 years, Ian and Judeen Airey recently raised the Collection’s holdings created by Japan-based French artist Paul Jacoulet from one work to 28. Here, the Aireys share something of themselves and their approach to collecting, and giving, with the wider Gallery community.

Paul Jacoulet ‘Une belle de Palaos’ 1935

Paul Jacoulet ‘Femme tatouée de Falalap. Ouest Carolines’ 1935

Our personal collection is very small, but it brings a warmth to our home that is unique to us. The first work of art we acquired was George Washington Lambert’s Head of a Woman, a pencil drawing created in 1912, in which he captures a nuanced expression of the human face. We were familiar with Lambert through our association with the Queensland Art Gallery; his paintings Portrait group (The mother) 1907 and Kitty Powell 1909 are Collection works we greatly appreciate. The influence of these earlier works is palpable in Head of a Woman, as Lambert’s style permeates every stroke of the pencil. In a strange way, the drawing created a link between our home and the Gallery. Head of a Woman is a key work in our collection; we display it in a central location and admire it regularly at mealtimes.

Our motivation to donate stems from the core values of our Christian culture, which emphasises the virtue of giving. We consider individuals to be intertwined with a collective spirit, which makes people members of a community — and we recognise that we are beneficiaries of the community into which we were born. Being truly privileged to have lived in Brisbane for so long, we feel a profound responsibility to contribute to its wellbeing. QAGOMA is the avenue along which we have chosen to express our appreciation.

We have discovered there is a genuine joy in philanthropy. Giving generates influences that transcend the act of contributing material resources: it’s about having a positive and meaningful effect on the lives of others. In the context of QAGOMA, giving is about building bridges between people; creating opportunities for people to understand the commonality that exists between us and enriches us all. Visual art is a powerful non-verbal medium to communicate this.

Paul Jacoulet ‘Chagrins d’Amour, Kusaie, Est Carolines’ 1940

Paul Jacoulet ‘Souvenirs d’autrefois, Japon’ 1941

Art serves as a unifying force through which we can identify shared experiences and transcend diverse backgrounds. Art sparks conversations, fosters empathy and becomes a shared language, expressing emotions that resonate universally. These are powerful motivators for us to contribute to QAGOMA’s success.

When we decided to fund four of the twelve panels of Albrecht Dürer’s ‘Apocalypse’ series, we were unaware that QAGOMA’s existing holdings had been initiated by the family of R Godfrey Rivers, who painted Under the jacaranda 1905 and was such an important influence in the establishment of the Queensland Art Gallery. What a wonderful privilege it is to have this juxtaposition with the Rivers family. The prints bring us pleasure and a quiet sense of satisfaction.

Of course, Dürer is a giant in art history and was influential in the Renaissance. We had the opportunity to visit the artist’s house in Nuremberg, and our Queensland Art Gallery connection with the Dürer works brought a special dimension to that visit. While there, we gained a broader appreciation of his extraordinary talent. His skillful mastery of various media, including painting, printmaking and engraving, distinguished him as a versatile and groundbreaking artist. Displays of his work attached to his house included images of his works which had been enlarged to many times their actual size. Even in these enlargement images, the quality of his craftmanship could not be faulted. Indeed, the works in the Collection reflect this. We have a growing sense of connection with the artist.

In the ‘Apocalypse’ series, Dürer is illustrating episodes from the Book of Revelations, the final book of the New Testament. His decision to tackle this esoteric subject matter demonstrates his intellectual ambition and spiritual depth. When one is close to the works, the artist’s mastery is unmistakable; and when one stands back, one is impressed by magnificent imagery, which is unforgettable.

Paul Jacoulet ‘Les joueurs, Chinois’ 1941

Paul Jacoulet ‘La fille du chef, Mogomog’ 1953

When we first began to engage with the Gallery, our focus was on paintings. Initially, we contributed to the Foundation Appeal to acquire Grace Cossington Smith’s Church interior c.1941–42. Then, through dialogue with the Gallery, we began to look at works on paper. First, our attention was drawn to the Dürer woodcuts. We were astounded by the quality of these works and our interest in prints on paper grew. The next opportunity was to fund two drypoint etchings by Picasso, from his ‘Le Saltimbanque’ phase. We never imagined we could afford a Picasso! Not that we needed any persuasion, but the deal was sealed when we learned that the works would be installed beside the Gallery’s iconic Picasso, La Belle Hollandaise 1905. This was special. Having developed an appreciation for prints on paper, we jumped at the opportunity when the Gallery became interested in developing a collection of works by Paul Jacoulet.

A French-born artist who lived much of his life in Asia, Jacoulet’s body of work, largely created during the first half of the twentieth century, is characterised by a unique fusion of Japanese and European artistic traditions. His unique cross-cultural appreciation complements the Gallery’s focus on the art and artists of the Asia Pacific region. Jacoulet created his works using a woodblock printing technique, not dissimilar to Dürer. Unlike the German master, however, Jacoulet introduced vibrant colour to his prints. To achieve this, he needed one woodblock for each colour in each work. The precision required to overlay each woodblock accurately was very demanding, but he achieved it with aplomb. We hope the viewing public appreciates the Jacoulet prints as much as we do.

Paul Jacoulet ‘Les paradisiers, Menado, Célébes’ 1937

Ian and Judeen Airey spoke with Lucy Whyte, then Bequest and Communications Officer, in November 2023.
This text is adapted from an essay first published in QAGOMA’s Members’ magazine, Artlines.

The first rotation of ‘Birds of Passage: Ian Fairweather and Paul Jacoulet’ is in Galleries 7 and 9 of the Philip Bacon Galleries, Queensland Art Gallery, from 24 February 2024 until 27 January 2025, with a second rotation opening in early February 2025 until late January 2026.