James arrival at Prouds was in the declining years of department store galleries, or depARTmentals as they could be known, with increasing pressures from takeover merchants making boards of directors inhibited by the need to turn a profit.
James retired in 1987 and it was hardly a coincidence that Robert Haines resigned as director of the David Jones Art Gallery the same month.
After leaving the gallery, James went into business in a joint venture importing decorative artefacts, but tastes changed and it was no longer viable. An opportunity with a major backer to establish a new gallery, which he would have liked, fell through.
He sought a new life in Sri Lanka, but this did not work out and he came back settling in Adelaide and finally Sydney.
The gallery was well visited by artists and dealers although the Prouds empire was a highly commercial operation. Lin Bloomfield and Richard King were among the Sydney dealers who monitored its exhibition program from a competitive viewpoint and occasional consignments.
The artists who exhibited and could be encountered there ranged from Pro Hart through to James Gleeson to Lloyd Rees.
Befitting a store which had a large range in gifts it specialized in “affordable” art which major artists would have been happy to offload to this market, although paintings make difficult gifts.
His knowledge and taste must have been inhibited, but for years he managed to fill a very vital role in the art market. As well as the established artists, such as Norman Lindsay, young talent was encouraged.
A gay following developed around his occasional showing of Gleeson’s Mr America paintings.
However, the biggest mark was made by his shows of etchings and other prints with which he had become familiar at another department store with a gallery, Beard Watsons.
Tactful, with a calm command of sardonic humour, James fulfilled a very useful role at the very different market of those times and any celebration of his life is bound to be well supported by many members of industry and commerce that may have strayed in during their lunch times and are still with us.
James was probably too well equipped for the job. He was born and educated in Adelaide and studied formally at the Adelaide School of Arts and Crafts.
He furthered his knowledge by visiting major European galleries and bought secondary art there for the gallery whilst there. Dorothy Atkins, Geoff Hooper and Lionel Lindsay were given one man exhibitions. there important exhibition of Japanese colour prints 18th-20th century from the collection of Mrs G.M. Hall.
His exhibitions of book plates were particularly well supported, and book plate collecting had a major revival as a result of his exhibitions. One of Keith James favourite book plates was that of Captain de Groote who cut the ribbon on the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The furniture making radical politician's motto designed by Phyllis Shillito was inscribed in a book he wrote subsequent to the event: 'The sword is mightier than the scissors'. The motto was James type of humour.
He was a royalist and showing examples of royal memorabilia which also found a home at the gallery.
The policy of the gallery favoured the traditional and conservative and it covered painting, graphics and sculpture.
He was an Anglican who regularly attended church. A pastor from Hobart is expected to fly to Sydney to conduct a service on Tuesday 8th October at Northern Suburbs Crematorium at 2pm.
