However, the thing which I remembered most from our chat was his throwaway line that over the past two months he had not been home once before midnight. As a dedicated professional, first as the director of the British Museum Development Trust and then as director of the National Gallery of Victoria, the pressure had been relentless for more than two decades. His children had in part grown up in the gallery and for the gallery to be successful he felt that he had to be visible and present on deck seven days a week.

He returned to his first love,  art history, and the writing of a book on art collections in Australia, but after two years out of the fold, he has once more entered the fray.

The directorship of the National Gallery of Australia is something of a poisoned chalice. There is no other art position in Australia which attracts so much scrutiny.  This dates back to the early 1970s when the federal Liberal Party decided to attack the Whitlam government by attacking the then-director of the Australian National Gallery, James Mollison, over his purchase of Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles, as an example of reckless spending.  Hindsight shows what a misguided attack that was! Now viewed as a priceless masterpiece, a national treasure and a destination piece which brings big bucks into the tourist coffers of the national capital, to my knowledge there has never been an apology for this act of philistine vitriol. Whitlam was dismissed, but the collateral damage to the position of the director of the National Gallery of Australia (as it was renamed in 1982) has continued ever since. All subsequent directors, Betty Churcher, Brian Kennedy and Ron Radford, have been targeted, in different measures, lampooned and undermined by politicians and elements in the national media. Surely enough is enough and we should ask that the new gallery director is given a fair go. 

Having observed Gerard Vaughan ever since our university days, one can only say that the gallery will be in a very safe pair of hands. Famous for his meticulous command of detail, diplomatic in his dealings with those in the corridors of power and the captains of industry, and with a flair for fund-raising, Gerard Vaughan is a formidable appointment.

Perhaps the most important, yet rarely mentioned thing, is that Gerard Vaughan is passionate about art. In private moments I have seen him looking at some beloved art object with moistened eyes. One has to dismiss the idea that he is a man who is only interested in the "old masters". This is complete rubbish. He has presided over some of the major purchases of indigenous art, contemporary Australian and international art, as well as European art. Melbourne is the premier European "old masters" collection in the country by a matter of light years and it is small wonder that its director would promote some of the major strengths of its fabulous collection.

Late last year I had a couple of books published, a monograph on Victoria-based sculptor Jock Clutterbuck, and a big book on a major private art collection. Gerard Vaughan launched the first book. He had read the text in great detail, knew the sculptor, had observed Clutterbuck's recent developments and spoke as a scholar for some 35 minutes at the launch in an astute assessment of the book. The other book was launched in Sydney, by a luminary in Sydney's art world, who had flicked through the book and asked me what it was about while making our way to the rostrum. For me this anecdote sums up the difference between Gerard Vaughan and many other art professionals and gallery directors in this country.

By appointing Gerard Vaughan to the National Gallery's top job we are appointing a fine scholar, a consummate art professional, an experienced gallery director and fund-raiser, but above all, a passionate and devoted person who loves art and has devoted his life to its advocacy. We are fortunate to have attracted him and let's try not to politicise this appointment or to stir up unnecessary controversy. The present is a bleak time for public art galleries in Australia, with limited support from governments and mounting pressure on the philanthropic dollar. The National Gallery of Australia is the country's flagship gallery and I sincerely hope that its fifth director will be welcomed and supported by the Australian art community.