IMPORTANT AUSTRALIAN ART

The exhibition will be on view in Sydney today, Wednesday 17 April, 10 am to 5 pm, at 30 Queen Street, Woollahra.

Among the highlights of the sale is Brett Whiteley's magnificent Doves on the Balcony, Lavender Bay 1979 (lot 19, estimate $800,000–1,000,000, pictured above).  

Brett Whiteley is widely and appropriately celebrated as one of Australia’s great cultural identities: both a charismatic artist pop star and a phenomenally gifted draughtsman and painter.  Versatile and expansive, Whiteley’s oeuvre encompasses a wide range of media and subjects – in 1978, the year before Doves on the Balcony, Lavender Bay was completed, he became the first and only artist ever to win all three of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ prestigious painting prizes; the Archibald (portraiture), the Wynne (landscape) and the Sulman (subject/genre).

In Doves on the Balcony, Lavender Bay Whiteley achieved the ideal synthesis of all his skills, learned or guessed, providing us the ‘Great Glimpse’ of his and our world.  A perfectly formed and articulated statement reflective of the ‘very quiet, very minute and very silent’, Whiteley has produced in Doves on the Balcony, Lavender Bay a composition of quiet exhalation that elevates the soul and provides the ultimate statement on the highest achievements of Australian art.

The auction will be held at the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia, 111 Queen Street, Woollahra at 6.30 pm tonight, 17 April 2024.

For more information, please contact:

IMPORTANT JEWELS & WATCHES 

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

The May 2024 sale features an impressive selection of rich coloured gemstones that sit amongst sparkling diamonds. We also present a significant private Cartier Collection from Victoria. Elsewhere we see unique pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels, Stefan Hafner and Paspaley. The sale concludes with a selection of watches by Panerai, Patek Phillippe and Alfred Dunhill.

A particular highlight of the Collection is this stunning pair of 18ct white gold, diamond, emerald and onyx 'Panthère de Cartier' earrings, Cartier, 2004 (lot 49, estimate $55,000–75,000, pictured above).  

VIEWINGS

AUCTION IN SYDNEY
7 MAY 2024 l 6.30 PM
SMITH & SINGER 
30 QUEEN STREET, WOOLLAHRA

IMPORTANT AUSTRALIAN ART

The exhibition will be on view in Sydney from Friday 12 April – Wednesday 17 April, 10 am to 5 pm, at 30 Queen Street, Woollahra.

Among the highlights of the sale is William Dobell’s spectacular The Chamber Maid (1937) (lot 17, estimate $400,000–600,000, pictured above).

Dobell’s The Chamber Maid is one of his delightful, jewel-like compositions, created in London during the 1930s that established his reputation as an insightful observer of the mundane rituals and realities of everyday living as well as the theatrical and lively intercourse of social events and occasions.

Despite its relatively modest scale, The Chamber Maid offers a detailed and empathetic study of a subject that extolls respect and dignity. Much of the drawing is simply scratched into the wet paint with the handle of a brush, but all the wispy tiredness and frailty has been accurately noted and set down. The way in which it is actually painted adds to our understanding of the character.

The Chamber Maid was extensively published during Dobell’s lifetime and requested for loan for every major exhibition on the artist in Australia and overseas. Since 1970 the painting has remained largely hidden from view until now, re-emerging for public auction for the first time. We are particularly honoured to be entrusted with the sale of this rare and historic composition by one of Australia’s most celebrated artists.

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.

For more information, please contact:

The digital catalogue for the forthcoming MASTERPIECE private auction is now available to view online. 

Del Kathryn Barton is one of Australia’s most renowned contemporary artists who has worked across a broad spectrum of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, film and fashion.  Barton’s work is immediately recognisable, singular and expressive, and her appeal to collectors and curators is far-reaching.  Satellite Fade-Out 2011 exemplifies Barton’s ability to successfully fuse influences from the past and present to create an image that is simultaneously personal and universal.

Satellite Fade-Out is available to view in Sydney from Thursday 11 April – Wednesday 1 May 2024, 10 am to 5 pm at 30 Queen Street, Woollahra.

The private auction will be held at 6.30 pm, Wednesday 1 May, 2024.

To arrange a private viewing in Sydney please contact us on the details below.

Alternatively, register to bid now. 

 IMPORTANT AUSTRALIAN ART

The exhibition continues its Melbourne viewing from Friday 5 April – Sunday 7 April, 10 am to 5 pm, at 14-16 Collins Street.

Among the highlights of the sale is Brett Whiteley's magnificent Doves on the Balcony, Lavender Bay 1979 (lot 19, estimate $800,000–1,000,000, pictured above).  

Brett Whiteley is widely and appropriately celebrated as one of Australia’s great cultural identities: both a charismatic artist pop star and a phenomenally gifted draughtsman and painter.  Versatile and expansive, Whiteley’s oeuvre encompasses a wide range of media and subjects – in 1978, the year before Doves on the Balcony, Lavender Bay was completed, he became the first and only artist ever to win all three of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ prestigious painting prizes; the Archibald (portraiture), the Wynne (landscape) and the Sulman (subject/genre).

In Doves on the Balcony, Lavender Bay Whiteley achieved the ideal synthesis of all his skills, learned or guessed, providing us the ‘Great Glimpse’ of his and our world.  A perfectly formed and articulated statement reflective of the ‘very quiet, very minute and very silent’, Whiteley has produced in Doves on the Balcony, Lavender Bay a composition of quiet exhalation that elevates the soul and provides the ultimate statement on the highest achievements of Australian art.

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.

For more information, please contact:

The Guardian | Source AAP

Painting by influential Australian impressionist, unseen for more than a century, has been unveiled ahead of auction where it is expected to fetch up to $1.5m

7NEWS Australia | Melina Sarris

A slice of Australian history is up for grabs after being hidden behind closed doors for more than a century. The Arthur Streeton painting has been part of a private collection and will be sold in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The Canberra Times  |  Liz Hobday

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.

For more information, please contact:

IMPORTANT AUSTRALIAN ART

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 Arthur Streeton’s magnificent Sunlight at the Camp 1894 (lot 22, estimate $1,000,000–1,500,000, pictured above).

Arthur Streeton’s depictions of the sublimely beautiful environs of Sydney Harbour remain amongst the most beguiling, compelling and seductive of any landscapes produced by an Australian artist.

Sunlight at the Camp represents an expansive and exquisite record of the artist’s camp that was home to Streeton and his contemporary creative spirits, including Tom Roberts, during the early 1890s.  Here, the pigment is dragged across the canvas in a blaze of intense yellow, blue and pink hues, and sprinkled with deft touches of orange, green, russet and white highlights.  The combination of square and round brush strokes, applied with varying degrees of intensity, represent a masterclass in mark-making, eloquently conveying a shimmering view of land, water and sky.

The significance of the re-emergence of Arthur Streeton’s Sunlight at the Camp cannot be overstated.  Hidden from public view since its creation one hundred and thirty years ago, and known only to a handful of Streeton scholars, the painting dazzles in its technical as well as visual brilliance.  Not only does the painting rightfully and effortlessly claim its position as one of the finest works by the artist remaining in private ownership, but also offers a timely re-affirmation of the extraordinary and enduring legacy of one of Australia’s most influential creative practitioners.

The exhibition will take place in Melbourne from Wednesday 3 April – Sunday 7 April, 10 am to 5 pm at 14-16 Collins Street, and in Sydney 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.

For more information, please contact: