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The Johnstones 

Brian Johnstone

Brian William Wallace Johnstone was born in Mussourie, India, on November 20, 1920. His British father, Noel William Wallace Johnstone, had been a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian army, and Brian spent part of his childhood in India, before the family came to Australia.

Brian attended St Peter's College in Adelaide between 1933 and 1938. His greatest distinction at school was as a dramatic performer. A reference written by his second master in favour of Brian's application to attend the Royal Military College, Duntroon noted, "I doubt if I have ever seen a better school-boy actor".

Brian also performed well in the school cadets, reaching the rank of Sergeant by 1938. His decision to enrol at RMC, Duntroon did not surprise his teachers. He graduated from the College on June 18, 1941 and was in continuous full-time war service until 1949. During that time he saw operational service in Papua New Guinea, was seconded to duty with the Australian Military Mission in Washington in December 1945, and travelled to Greece with the United Nations Balkan Investigation Commission in 1947. He returned to Australia in March 1948. After a period as personal assistant to the Chief of General Staff, his release from the army was approved, to take effect 'not later than' June 19, 1949.

It was Captain Johnstone's final posting in July 1949, as Aide-de-camp to the Governor of Queensland, Sir John Lavarack, that brought him to Brisbane. In December 1950, Johnstone and his new wife Marjorie established the Johnstone Gallery, and for a seven-month period he was both Aide-de-camp and gallery director.

There is no consensus on where the idea for the gallery came from, as it was not something the Johnstones discussed with friends and associates. Brian probably began thinking about a new profession after the war ended, and his position as Aide-de-camp to the Queensland Governor may have given him a more than passing acquaintance with the Brisbane establishment. Pondering his future from Government House in 1949-50, perhaps he reflected on the fact that there was only one genuine commercial gallery in Brisbane - the Moreton Galleries.

Brian's interest in cultural affairs was wide and his opinions definite. He served for many years on the Brisbane City Council Historical and Arts Committee, and was the sponsor of an annual student architecture prize at the University of Queensland. However, he often did not agree with the art establishment, finding them too conservative, and was once quoted as saying that the Queensland Art Gallery trustees "could not recognise a piece of creative art from a seed catalogue". (The Johnstone Gallery Archive: Scrapbook 1971: RBHARC 7/ 1/14 p.142)

Architecture Prize	Scrapbook page
Brian Johnstone	"The River"

 

Marjorie Johnstone (nee Mant)

Born in Brisbane on December 30, 1911, Marjorie Mant was a popular and respected actress by the time she met Brian Johnstone in 1949. The Mants were a well-known family in Queensland and Marjorie grew up at "Wyandra", in Cintra Road, Bowen Hills (the present site of the Twelfth Night Theatre).

Marjorie went to school first at Craigard in Bowen Hills. In 1929 she was one of only eight girls to complete the senior examination at St Margaret's, in Brisbane's Ascot. In 1931 she passed her Associate of Trinity College London examination in elocution, and went on to study at the Royal College of Music and the Nielson Terry Guild of Art, both in London, in the early 1930s. She also attended the Royal Academy of Miming (Performers). In June 1936, The Link (the St Margaret's school magazine) reported:

Marjory [sic] Mant, the former Queensland Repertory and Arts Theatre player, is doing great things abroad. She took the lead in London in a repertory play, "While the Circus Passes By", of which Isobel Plowman is the author. It was played to crowded houses for two nights, and Marjory had five curtain calls.

(The Link, 1936, p.38-39)

Marjorie returned to Australia with the outbreak of war and worked at the Family Welfare Bureau in Sydney as an almoner. After the war ended she returned to Brisbane where she freelanced for the Australian Broadcasting Commission from 1946 or 1947.

By all accounts, Marjorie was an unforgettable character and remarkable woman, whose friends and acquaintances remember her zest for living, style and personality. Photographs of her as an actress evoke a strong and articulate presence, impeccable personal taste and a modish, elegant and confident style. She had a dramatic approach for every occasion, a talent that facilitated her theatrical career and came into its own during the life of the gallery.

On September 8, 1950, at 38 years of age, Marjorie married Brian Johnstone, and from that time on devoted her considerable energy toward their gallery's success. Although she had sidelined her acting career to support Brian's new initiative, it was to be a charismatic and successful partnership.

Marjorie Johnstone

Marjorie Johnstone

Life after the gallery years

Brian and Marjorie spent 22 years in the constant company of art, artists, their friends and clients, and their retirement, in December 1972, resulted in a substantial change of lifestyle for them.

In retrospect, it would seem that their decision to close the gallery had been percolating for some time. The gallery's success had been legion, but other issues were paramount: health, a desire for a less hectic lifestyle, and more than a modicum of gallery owners' fatigue.

By the second half of 1974, however, Brian had made what proved to be an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to re-enter the art trade on a part-time, consultancy basis. He printed and circulated stationery to clients, listing his address as "Wyandra" at 6 Cintra Road, the name of Marjorie's now-demolished former family home. However, it would appear that the recipients did not completely understand or embrace the services he offered: collectors he wished to appeal to had, by this time, developed relationships with other dealers and galleries; as for the artists, his proposals would have jeopardised the relationships they had entered into with new dealers.

Brian's misreading of the situation is surprising in light of his experience, but he may have anticipated absolute loyalty from both artists and collectors. It has also been suggested (Correspondence from David Dunstan with State Library of Queensland, 24 January 2003) that he also hoped to broaden his interests to include the sale of objects of an "international cultural character", and his acquisition of icons and antique furniture would support this. However, this small-scale activity did not prove successful.

Brian and Marjorie lived on at Cintra Road, with loyal friends and family regular visitors. Although Marjorie had a stroke in 1987, she outlived Brian, who died suddenly on 22 June 1988. Marjorie lived with a carer for many years, and had increasing health problems until her death on 26 June, 1993. However, she maintained her circle of devoted friends and was dearly loved and cared for until the end.

Brian and Marjorie had a partnership that inspired many, as this eloquent tribute from friend and colleague Nigel Sabine after Brian's death demonstrates:

[Brian] helped so many people - artists, collectors and co-workers - to realise much more of their potential than they might otherwise have done if Brian had not touched their lives with his especial genius for recognising and cultivating talent. It was a rare gift and there are many who enjoyed and benefited from it who are much richer in spirit for having known him.

Brisbane has been extremely fortunate that you both chose to lead your lives there, creating one of the most important focus points in Australia for a whole epoch of the Nation's art. I came to know you both through Brian's contact with the [Brisbane] City Council and know with what patience and energy he brought a consciousness of the importance of good painting to the City Hall Historical & Arts Committee over a period of some 12 years. But the significance of all that he did is of a much wider scope than the city - it is part of the history of Australian art.

...I very much wanted to tell you how much my association with you both has meant to me.

(Letter to Marjorie Johnstone from Nigel Sabine, 26 June 1988: The Johnstone Gallery Archive: Photograph Album: RBHARC 7/2/8)