New NGA director Gerard Vaughan says provenance is his first challenge The newly appointed director of the National Gallery of Australia, Dr Gerard Vaughan. The provenance issue. It's the biggest challenge facing the new director of the National Gallery of Australia, and the one that is top of his hit-list, just three days in. In his first press conference on Wednesday, Gerard Vaughan said the controversy that has lately been dogging the gallery, regarding the origin and ownership of several antiquities in the national collection, was front and centre of his agenda. The second century Buddha which was purchased by the NGA in 2007. "The issue has a high profile and it's an important issue, and one that's got to be dealt with," he said. I've said this to everyone who's asked me, and it's also an understanding I've got with the council of trustees, that this is my first big job to try and work out the way forward, an appropriate way that does the right thing for the collection, and the right thing in terms of the objects and countries of origin too. And that will be an ongoing process. In a highly stage-managed first appearance, Professor Vaughan was strategically placed in one of the gallery's most famous works with the most impeccable pedigree - Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles. But while that work had its fair share of controversy when it was acquired by the gallery in 1973 - due mostly to its then-exorbitant cost - it was nothing on what the NGA is now negotiating when it comes to past acquisition policies regarding Asian antiquities. The most recent controversy concerns an 1800-year-old sandstone Kushan Buddha bought from a New York dealer in 2007 for $US1.08 million, and whose provenance is now unclear. While he did not take any specific questions on the matter, Professor Vaughan said he had already launched a detailed briefing process regarding the collection. "It will be methodical," he said. I would like it to be relatively fast but we can't be too fast, because we must make sure that we get every bit of information we can, that we think about it carefully, that we understand the legal implications, and it will be step by step. But that is certainly my first challenge. He said he was devoted to blockbuster exhibitions, and was relishing the thought of raising the many millions of dollars that would be needed to build a much-anticipated new wing for Australian art - perhaps the second-biggest challenge for the NGA's fifth director. "I think this is an opportunity for the architect that's finally chosen to do something very special," he said. So what we really will have to have is firstly, a building that's appropriate for the collection, that is of outstanding architectural quality, that is of its time - very, very modern, very contemporary but also obviously is respectful of the existing building. I think that's all I can say at this stage, but look, it's going to be fun. He said while he was committed to presenting "interesting and important" exhibitions that highlighted the gallery's significant Asian and Pacific collections - his first official visitor this week had been the director of the National Museum and Art Gallery of Papua New Guinea - it was just as important to attract younger crowds. There is no question in my mind that one of the roles of a national institution is to reach out to our younger audiences, and make them interested and make what goes on here interesting. So that will be a top priority," he said. And while he had effectively retired two years ago from the top job at the National Gallery of Victoria, a position he held for 13 years, he said it had been hard for him to resist when he saw the position advertised in Canberra. "The truth of the matter is it's in the blood," he said. When this job was advertised, I thought look, I've got a lot to offer, I have the experience in both Melbourne and London, my contacts, my networking potential is strong around the world, and I love this institution as well, as our national institution I've always taken a great interest in it. And I thought okay, throw your hat in the ring and see what happens. And here I am.