THE death of Hobart gallery owner Dick Bett is a great loss for the arts community, leaders in the field said yesterday.
Bett Gallery director Dick Bett, 63, died on Monday after an illness.
This year he celebrated 25 years of his gallery, which he ran with wife Carol, daughter Emma and son Jack.
Arts Tasmania deputy director Steve Kyne said yesterday Bett fostered creative talent and broadened the appeal of art.
“What made him different was that he did not just act as a seller of art, he created markets for artists,” Mr Kyne said.
“He nurtured up-and-coming artists, for example Richard Wastell, [who is] now a really significant artist.
“We can have the best art schools and creative talent, but it’s about getting it out to the market to people who buy it and appreciate it.”
Bett, who was named a Member of the Order of Australia, General Division (AM), for his contribution to the field, has supported other Tasmanian artists including Philip Wolfhagen, David Keeling, Raymond Arnold and Barbie Kjar.
His daughter Emma Bett will continue as manager of the gallery.
“He was such an inspirational leader and such an important figure in the arts community,” Ms Bett said.
“He worked with so many Tasmanian artists and I think a lot of people have been touched by him in many ways. We have been really touched by people’s support at this very sad time.”
Salamanca Arts Centre chief executive Rosemary Miller said Bett’s many friends at the centre were saddened by his death.
“Dick was a warm, welcoming, caring and active member of the arts community who helped to establish the reputations not only of the many artists he worked with, many of whom were graduates of the UTAS School of Art, but of Hobart as a creative centre for the visual arts,” she said.
Hobart alderman and former long-time mayor Rob Valentine, a supporter of the arts, said it was a terrible loss.
“His drive and enthusiasm for raising the profile of artists was second to none,” he said. “He’ll be sorely missed, a real character of the arts community in Hobart, that’s for sure. Our hearts go out to his family at this time.”
