View source for Archive:Johnstone Gallery

The '''Johnstone Gallery''' was a leading private gallery located in the suburb of [[Bowen Hills]] in [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]], [[Australia]]. It was co-owned by [[Brian Johnstone]] and his wife, [[Marjorie Johnstone]]. 

==Unique Character==

The Johnstone Gallery had a rather unique character. It was housed in a privately owned, purpose built, Gallery in a large sub-tropical rainforest setting. Owners Brian and Marjorie Johnstone were extremely successful gallery curators and apart from having their own unique collection of Australian and overseas art, they managed to attract leading Australian Artists such as Sir [[Sidney Nolan]], [[Robert Dickerson]] and others to exhibit their artworks at special exhibitions.

The heydays of the Johnstone Gallery occurred in post-war Brisbane. Brisbane was sadly not known for great visual art offerings outside the [[Queensland Art Gallery]]. 

Not content with just operating their gallery, Brian and Majorie Johnstone opened their sub-tropical rainforest garden for the staging of the theatre productions. Between [[24]]-[[27 April]], [[1962]], Twelfth Night Theatre, then situated in inner city Wickham Terrace, staged [[Aristophanes]]' ''[[Lysistrata]]'' with the set and costumes designed by Quentin Hole. It was a unique moment in the history of theatre in Brisbane.

==More Than Just a Gallery - A Unique Cultural Complex==

Brian and Marjorie Johnstone were not content with just operating their gallery. They truly wanted to establish a unique suburban artistic precint in Brisbane. With this in mind they planned as early as 1966 to form a committee to establish a theatre on part of the ground the gallery occuppied. This would later become the place for the building of the current [[Twelfth Night Theatre]]. Prior to the commencement of the building of the theatre, a production of ''[[Undermilkwood]]'' by [[Dylan Thomas]] was staged in a tent on the site of the future theatre. Building work began in [[1969]]. The theatre opened in [[February]] [[1971]] at the Bowen Hills site under the direction of [[Joan Whalley]] with two production, ''[[A Flea In Her Ear]]'' by [[Georges Feydeau]] and ''[[The Rose and The Ring]]'' by [[William Makepeace Thackeray]]. The Johnstones were delighted, as Brian wrote to [[Sidney Nolan]]:

"...with the new half-million dollar theatre next door, the establishment is now nicely rounded off, so perhaps one of these days Marjorie and I will be able to play ladies and gentlemen of the art world!"
<ref>Letter from Brian Johnstone to Sidney Nolan, [[24 March]] [[1971]]: The Johnstone Gallery Archive: Sidney Nolan Correspondence File: RBHARC 7/3/69</ref>

The theatre is still fuctioning today under the directorship of [[Gail Wiltshire]].                 

==Legacy==

Although the Johnstone Gallery no longer exists, the artistic vision of Brian and Marjorie Johnstone lives on not only in the memories of those who knew them personally, the artists who held exhibitions at their gallery and the many people who visited as patrons but also by the extensive Johnstone Gallery Archive held in trust for the people of Queensland at the [[State Library of Queensland]]. The Johnstones were ground breakers and Brisbane owes them a great mark of gratitutde for the considerable work that they achieved.

==References==
<references/>

==External Links==
*[http://www.jga.slq.qld.gov.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=1340&cid=9028&gid=16/ Johnstone Gallery Archive] Provides a comprehensive history of the Johnstone Gallery and Twelfth Night Theatre - using primary sources from the time.
*[http://www.twelfthnighttheatre.com.au/ Twelfth Night Theatre website] Official theatre website.