Mike Rann's refusal to come to the party may be a $1m mistake

CHRISTOPHER Menz's refusal to renew his contract as director of the Art Gallery of South Australia is a misfortune for the gallery and reflects poorly on the Rann government's commitment to funding the arts in a state that prides itself on culture.

AGSA has a remarkable collection. It is one of four institutions that, between them, cover most of what matters in Australian art, together with the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney and the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.

The AGSA has the best coverage of historical European art after the NGV.

It is also a particularly congenial and humane environment for the enjoyment of art.

Under Menz's leadership, the gallery has achieved much with a very modest budget. It made the most of its rich historical collections, for example, in last winter's impressive Making Nature: Masters of European Landscape Art.

Building on strength in the field of Australian art, the gallery produced a comprehensive Hans Heysen survey (now showing in Tasmania) and before that Misty Moderns: Australian Tonalists 1915-1950, exhibitions that contributed to our understanding of Australian art history. One of the most ambitious of last year's exhibitions, in a different field altogether, was The Golden Journey: Japanese Art from Australian Collections. This was a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the rich holdings of Japanese art in Australia, supported by a fine and scholarly catalogue.

Such shows, and many more, have been mounted with an operating budget of $5.7 million, which is about $1m less than that of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, even though AGSA is a more important institution and has achieved much more with its money.

All Menz wants, apparently, is that extra million. The Premier replies that he has spent several million on capital projects but bureaucrats always prefer spending money on capital projects to spending it on people. It sounds like a case of spoiling the ship for a halfpennyworth of tar.

Christopher Allen is The Australian's national art critic