Frances Cummings
After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Queensland, Frances Cummings worked at Northern Rivers TAFE, Murwillumbah as a Lecturer in Visual Arts and was the Art Critic for the Gold Coast Bulletin newspaper. In 1986 she was appointed as the inaugural Director of the Gold Coast City Art Gallery. During her time at the Gallery Frances developed the Gallery’s Collection, including the purchase of William Robinson’s painting The Rainforest, after it won the Wynne Prize for landscape in 1990. The painting was part of the inspiration for the design of the HOTA Gallery and precinct on the Gold Coast. Frances went on to set up Pandanas Art Services, an art consultancy business and was employed as a Selector for Shapiro Auctioneers in Sydney. More recently she has acted as an Approved Valuer for the Federal Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.