It was the Sunday afternoon answering machine message Terry Ingram hoped no one would hear. A hungry young reporter at The Australian Financial Review, he had the nation’s arts scoop of the century and wanted the story to himself.

Ingram called the press office at the then Australian National Gallery 50 years ago this weekend, seeking comment for a story about the Whitlam government’s shock decision to buy Blue Poles. The Jackson Pollock masterpiece was set to become a centrepiece of the collection.