The Guardian  |  Sian Cain

Two works by Sidney Nolan that haven’t changed hands since they were painted more than 70 years ago – including one believed to be the first he ever sold commercially and a Christmas gift to his wife – are heading to auction this month.

IMPORTANT AUSTRALIAN ART

The exhibition will be on view in Melbourne from Wednesday 8 November – Sunday 12 November, 10 am to 5 pm, at 14-16 Collins Street.

Among the highlights of the sale is Sidney Nolan’s spectacular Desert Bird 1948 (lot 14, estimate $500,000–700,000, pictured above).  In 1948 Nolan produced an extraordinary series of Queensland outback subjects that launched his national and international career.  Renowned for their highly individual and intuitive response to the Australian landscape and its inhabitants, compositions from this series are held by numerous Australian and international public institutions.

Desert Bird bears a particularly distinguished provenance to match its high quality.  The work was purchased by the grandfather of the present owner in early 1949 and was later acknowledged by Nolan as his first painting sold to an independent collector.  Extensively included in major exhibitions and publications, Desert Bird has long been revered as one of Nolan’s finest compositions from the period remaining in private ownership.  We are particularly honoured to be entrusted with the sale of this painting, which since its creation has formed part of the same family collection.

Following Melbourne, the Sydney exhibition will take place from Thursday 16 November – Tuesday 21 November, 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 21 November 2023.

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 Howard Arkley’s spectacular Shadow Factories 1991 (lot 12, estimate $800,000–1,000,000, pictured above).

Shadow Factories, a work of complexity and exuberance, bursts with a disruptive profusion of colours, shapes, patterns and textures.  One can sense Arkley’s delight in selecting and collaging from magazine cuttings and interior design swatches that were then photocopied, projected onto the canvas, and meticulously coloured, undergoing their own construction and transformation.

One of only seven major compositions on the cityscape theme in Arkley’s remarkable oeuvre – all of which are tightly held in private collections – the present Shadow Factories forms the last in the sequence.  Offered for the first time for public sale, Shadow Factories remains a composition of enduring appeal that represents a defining moment within the history and development of twentieth century Australian art.

The exhibition will take place in Melbourne from Wednesday 8 November – Sunday 12 November, 10 am to 5 pm at 14-16 Collins Street, and in Sydney from Thursday 16 November – Tuesday 21 November, 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 21 November 2023.

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 Charles Blackman’s magnificent Girl with Flowers (1958) (lot 17, estimate $700,000–900,000, pictured above).

Whilst Charles Blackman is best-known for his series of ‘Schoolgirl’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ subjects, there is a third sequence of major consequence: the works generally described as his ‘Girls and Flowers’ or ‘Faces and Flowers’ paintings.  Created during the late 1950s, these remarkable images are progressively assuming their rightful position as both a highlight of Blackman’s extensive oeuvre as well as a seminal component within the history of figurative painting in twentieth century Australian art.

Offered for auction for the first time, we are honoured to present Girl with Flowers, created during one of the most desirable periods in Blackman’s career and included in the seminal Antipodean exhibition in August 1959.

The exhibition will take place in Melbourne from Wednesday 8 November – Sunday 12 November, 10 am to 5 pm at 14-16 Collins Street, and in Sydney from Thursday 16 November – Tuesday 21 November, 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 21 November 2023.

For more information, please contact:

IMPORTANT AUSTRALIAN ART

Consign now to our forthcoming auction of Important Australian Art.

In August, Smith & Singer achieved a sale total in excess of $14.5 million (including buyer’s premium) that combined excellent sold rates of 121% (by value) and 85% (by volume) combined with outstanding performances against estimates.

Smith & Singer continued its market leadership in the sales of art at auction in Australia and has established 5 of the 10 highest prices in Australia this year to date, including the auction record for Australian sculpture.

Building on the resounding success of our auctions of fewer works of higher value combined with unparalleled in-house scholarship, our carefully curated November 2023 auction will include significant examples of historical, modern and contemporary Australian art.

To participate in this momentous sale, please contact our highly experienced specialists for a confidential appraisal.

You may also use our appraisal estimate form. 

Smith & Singer are honoured to present Brett Whiteley’s exceptional masterpiece Yellow 1975 for private auction at 5.00 pm, Tuesday 10 October 2023.

Included in Brett Whiteley’s solo exhibition at Bonython Art Gallery, Sydney, in 1975, the work immediately received rapturous reviews:

‘The River is the third theme he explores and from this comes perhaps the most beautiful painting in the show.  Titled Yellow, it is the image of a curving white river splitting the space of a yellow background punctuated by tall blue cypress trees.  In the foreground a pond plays host to a white-necked crane and a timid brown rabbit.  The painting is one of Whiteley’s most lyric and poetic works to date.’ (Sandra McGrath, ‘Whiteley’s Homage to Matisse’, The Australian, Sydney, 25 October 1975, p. 26)

Yellow was acquired by the present owners from its initial exhibition in 1975 and has remained hidden from public view for almost half a century.  Reproduced here for the first time in colour and in its full glory, the re-emergence of Yellow is a cause for celebration. 

We are particularly delighted to be entrusted with the sale of Yellow, a masterpiece in Brett Whiteley’s oeuvre and a key composition within the history and development of landscape painting in Australia.

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

Pictured top 

Lot 7

SIDNEY NOLAN 1917-1992 
Crocodile 1963 
synthetic polymer paint on composition board 
152.5 x 122 cm 
Estimate $15,000–25,000
Sold for $92,500  
© The Sidney Nolan Trust. All rights reserved,
DACS/Copyright Agency, 2023 

VIEW LOT

The exhibition will be on view in Sydney today, Monday 18 September from 10 am – 5 pm, and on Tuesday 19 September from 10 am – 2 pm, at 30 Queen Street, Woollahra.

This remarkable collection of 42 paintings by Australia’s most internationally celebrated and collected artist, spans Sidney Nolan’s highly productive and inventive career from 1957 to 1987.  Significant examples from Nolan’s Eliza Fraser, Ned Kelly, African, Bathers, Oedipus, Gallipoli, and Silk Road series are represented by large-scale compositions in oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas and composition board that reveal the artist as the truly extraordinary innovator and trailblazer for which he is justly renowned.

All works in the sale carry the same modest estimate of $15,000–25,000 and represent exceptional buying.

The auction will be held at Smith & Singer, 30 Queen Street, Woollahra at 6.30 pm on 19 September 2023.

The exhibition will be on view in Sydney from Saturday 16 September – Monday 18 September from 10 am – 5 pm, and on Tuesday 19 September from 10 am – 2 pm, at 30 Queen Street, Woollahra.

This remarkable collection of 42 paintings by Australia’s most internationally celebrated and collected artist, spans Sidney Nolan’s highly productive and inventive career from 1957 to 1987.  Significant examples from Nolan’s Eliza Fraser, Ned Kelly, African, Bathers, Oedipus, Gallipoli, and Silk Road series are represented by large-scale compositions in oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas and composition board that reveal the artist as the truly extraordinary innovator and trailblazer for which he is justly renowned.

All works in the sale carry the same modest estimate of $15,000–25,000 and represent exceptional buying.

The auction will be held at Smith & Singer, 30 Queen Street, Woollahra at 6.30 pm on 19 September 2023.

IMPORTANT AUSTRALIAN ART

Consign now to our forthcoming auction of Important Australian Art.

In August, Smith & Singer achieved a sale total in excess of $14.5 million (including buyer’s premium) that combined excellent sold rates of 121% (by value) and 85% (by volume) combined with outstanding performances against estimates.

Smith & Singer continued its market leadership in the sales of art at auction in Australia and has established 5 of the 10 highest prices in Australia this year to date, including the auction record for Australian sculpture.

Building on the resounding success of our auctions of fewer works of higher value combined with unparalleled in-house scholarship, our carefully curated November 2023 auction will include significant examples of historical, modern and contemporary Australian art.

To participate in this momentous sale, please contact our highly experienced specialists for a confidential appraisal.

You may also use our appraisal estimate form.