The digital catalogue for the upcoming Important Australian Art auction at Smith & Singer is now available to view online.

Among the highlights of the sale is Ethel Carrick’s magnificent Sur la Plage (On the Sands, Dinard) 1911 (lot 21, estimate $600,000-800,000, pictured above).  

It is not difficult to understand why Ethel Carrick has become one of the most highly regarded, appreciated and beloved of all Australian artists working during the first half of the twentieth century, and that her images of the beach, in particular, have captured our hearts and minds.

In exquisite compositions such as Sur la Plage (On the Sands, Dinard) 1911, the artist revels in the lively depiction of the warm sun enveloping a golden expanse of sand, while children play surrounded by elegantly dressed women.  The candy-striped bathing huts offer a sheltered refuge from the weather as well as privacy amongst the fellow pleasure-seekers.  Within this enclosed and vibrant scene Ethel Carrick evokes powerful memories that merge the past with the present and a yearning for such joyous times filled with the laughter of children and sound of waves breaking on the distant shore.

The exhibition will take place in Melbourne from Wednesday 10 August – Sunday 14 August, 10 am to 5 pm at 14-16 Collins Street, and in Sydney from Thursday 18 August – Wednesday 24 August, 10 am to 5 pm at 30 Queen Street, Woollahra.

The auction will be held at the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia, 111 Queen Street, Woollahra at 6.30 pm on 24 August 2022.