Smith & Singer

Melbourne Exhibition Opens - Important Australian Art

April 1, 2024

IMPORTANT AUSTRALIAN ART

The exhibition will be on view in Melbourne from Wednesday 3 April – Sunday 7 April, 10 am to 5 pm, at 14-16 Collins Street.

Among the highlights of the sale is Fred Williams’ spectacular Landscape (1976-1977) (lot 21, estimate $1,400,000–1,800,000, pictured above).  

Fred Williams made his reputation in the 1960s with paintings of studied elegance – spare, restrained, even minimal mark-making – with each series transitioning smoothly into the next. By contrast, the 1970s proved to be the most radical and turbulent period in his art as he embraced a broader range of experiences and colour.  As Memory Holloway succinctly declared: ‘Now there just seems to be more of everything: more colour, more details, greater exuberance, and more courage to take chances …’ (Memory Holloway, ‘Travelogue in an Experimental Style’, The Australian, Sydney, 16 June 1978, p. 10)

Landscape certainly demonstrates the truth of this assessment in its daring use of space and colour and application of pigment.  Inspired by the acacia-studded scenery of Cottles Bridge and Panton Hill, Landscape offers a summation of this revolutionary series of flowering acacias, bush ponds and dirt roads.  A work of exceptional quality, gravitas and stature, Landscape was acquired from the suite of major solo exhibitions by Fred Williams that travelled to public and commercial galleries in 1978 and is offered for public auction for the first time.

Following Melbourne, the Sydney exhibition will take place from Thursday 11 April – Wednesday 17 April, 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 17 April 2024.

  EXPLORE SALE  

For more information, please contact:

Geoffrey Smith
Chairman
+61 (0)418 889 656 
[email protected]


Emily Walker 
Administrator, Art
+61 (0)3 9508 9900
[email protected]

Gary Singer 
Chief Executive Officer & Director
+61 (0)418 337 788 
[email protected]


David Mackay 
Gallery Manager, Sydney   
+61 (0)2 9302 2402
[email protected] 

   
Pictured above 

FRED WILLIAMS 1927-1982   
Landscape (1976-1977)  
oil on canvas 
183 x 152.5 cm 
Estimate $1,400,000–1,800,000
© Estate of Fred Williams/ Copyright Agency, 2024

VIEW LOT

 

CONTACT INFORMATION +

Specialists

Geoffrey Smith

Geoffrey Smith

Chairman

Australian & International Art 
Melbourne  |  Sydney 
T: +61 (0)3 9508 9900 
T: +61 (0)2 9302 2402 
E: Geoffrey Smith
Gary Singer

Gary Singer

Chief Executive Officer & Director

Australian & International Art 
Melbourne  |  Sydney 
T: +61 (0)3 9508 9900 
T: +61 (0)2 9302 2402 
E: Gary Singer
       
Emily Walker

Emily Walker

Administrator

Australian & International Art 
Melbourne 
T: +61 (0)3 9508 9900 
E: Emily Walker
David Mackay

David Mackay

Gallery Manager

Sydney 
T: +61 (0)2 9302 2402 
E: David Mackay

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