Show me the Monet: It's all Gogh at the gallery in Canberra

Apr 17, 2010, 6:13 GMT

Sydney - Canberra's National Gallery called in additional security guards Saturday to deal with thousands of would-be patrons vying for the last tickets to what is already Australia's most-visited art exhibition.

More than 435,000 people have paid to see the 112 paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, Claude Monet and other impressionists and post-impressionists on loan from the Musee d'Orsay in France.

The blockbuster Masterpieces from Paris exhibition is to open for 32 hours non-stop on its final weekend before being packed up and shifted to Tokyo.

Gallery head Peter Naumann said everything possible was being done to keep the queue orderly and the patrons in a good mood.

'We're going to have a sausage sizzle happening here, other activities for kids, storytelling on Saturday night,' he said. 'I think we're all going to be wearing our pyjamas for most of the night and wandering around.'

The popularity of the exhibition topped The Impressionists, a 1994 show in Melbourne that also brought in works from the Musee d'Orsay and drew 371,000 visitors.

Thousands have complained about long waits and being pushed passed the paintings at high speed.

'If you haven't seen it and you want to see it with not too many people around, come in the middle of the night' was Naumann's recommendation.