The Deutscher + Hackett fine art auction on 28 August features very important artworks from two outstanding art collections.
These collections span two very different, yet important times in Australian art history: early modernism and contemporary Australian art, and complement each other beautifully in our view. They are also both great examples in how to collect art in a considered fashion.
The first 36 lots are made up from the Ken and Joan Plomley Collection of Modernist Art, and feature the linocuts from the Grosvenor School – think Claude Flight, Cyril Power, Ethel Spowers or Evelyne Syme -, and outstanding works by Margaret Preston and Roy de Maistre, a distant relative of Ken Plomley. You’ll also see a number of wonderful watercolours by Queenslander Kenneth MacQueen, and a sprinkling of Roland Wakelin, Grace Cossington Smith and Lloyd Rees.
The catalogue essay is well worth reading (who knew that Roy de Maistre’s father Etienne was a famous horse trainer who won the Melbourne Cup five times?)
Lots 55 – 71 feature works from the pARTners Art Collective, assembled by a group of Melbourne collectors between 2006 and 2016, striving to put together a museum quality collection of contemporary Australian art. Included are works by urban Aboriginal artists Gordon Bennett, Brook Andrew and Danie Mellor, and photorealistic paintings by Sam Leach, Natasha Bieniek and Juan Ford.
Other outstanding paintings include a striking Jeffrey Smart, a sublime Fred Williams, two 1950s Charles Blackmans from his Schoolgirl and Alice series and a large psychedelic Howard Arkley Australian dream … be prepared for a rather extensive “Dave’s Faves”!
Go and view the 130 lot strong sale in person if you can:
– in Melbourne, 105 Commercial Road, South Yarra, from 15 to 18 August
– in Sydney, 16 Goodhope Street, Paddington, from 22 – 28 August
The auction is held on Wednesday, 28 August, 7 pm, at the Cell Block Theatre, National Art School, Darlinghurst.
If you are looking to advance your art collection in a meaningful way, get in touch with us for discreet and independent pre-purchase advice, bidding at the auction and after-purchase management.
Email us at info@bhfineart.com or phone 02 9977 7764 to discuss how we can assist you in your collecting journey.
Dave’s Faves for the D+H Auction on 28 August are:
Lot 1 – Roy de Maistre, Gerberas, 1926, 76.5 x 51 cm, est. $80,000-120,000. Your own permanent flower showLot 7 – Roy de Maistre, Interior (Sam Courtauld’s Villa, France), 1948, 61 x 51 cm, est. $60,000-80,000. Play it again, SamLot 9 – Margaret Preston, Indoor Still Life, 1913, 53.5 x 65.5 cm, est. $150,000-200,000. Life before smashed avocado and chia seedsLot 16 – Cyril Power, The Tube Station, c1932, 26.5 x 29.5 cm, est. $25,000-35,000. Don’t miss this train!Lot 20 – Ethel Spowers, Melbourne from the River, c1924, 19 x 22.5 cm, est. $10,000-15,000. Take your pick – Power or SpowersLot 33 – Kenneth MacQueen, Early Morning, 1934, 37 x 41.5 cm, est. $8,000-12,000. This should be on your horizonLot 39 – Roland Wakelin, Hotel Scene, c1950, 102.5 x 121 cm, est. $45,000-65,000. Must be Al DenteLot 40 – Arthur Boyd, Berwick Landscape, c1948, 51 x 61.5 cm, est. $45,000-65,000. Boyd Berwick BeautyLot 41 – Sidney Nolan, Dust Storm over Darwin, 1951, 75 x 106 cm, est. $80,000-120,000. Slim and DustyLot 45 – Fred Williams, Silver Landscape, 1968, 88.5 x 106.5 cm, est. $380,000-450,000. This silver landscape is pure goldLot 49 – Ben Quilty, Crash Painting, 2010, 140 x 190 cm, est. $60,000-80,000. Quilty invents the crashscapeLot 50 – Dale Frank, When asked how he acquired his fine collection of French empire clocks…., 2005, 200 x 200 cm, est. $30,000-40,000. ClockophonyLot 54 – Cressida Campbell, Milton Park, 1989, 71 x 75.5 cm, est. $40,000-60,000. Garden of Earthly Delights (with thanks to Bosch)Lot 57 – Danie Mellor, Bayi Dambun (Glades of Dusk and Shade), 2014, 100 x 120 cm, est. $25,000-35,000. Streeton had his blue, Klein had his blue – and Mellor has his tooLot 63 – Jan Nelson, Walking in Tall Grass, Lucy 2, 2010, 77.5 x 59.5 cm, est. $12,000-16,000. Invitation to ContemplationLot 66 – Kate Shaw, Björk (Birch), 2013, 60 x 180 cm, est. $4,000-6,000. Reflection of PerfectionLot 68 – Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, Cluster with Purple Beakers, 2011, 8 pieces, 33 cm width, est. $5,000-7,000. Not dishwasher safeLot 72 – Attributed to Frederic Hardwicke, Fanny Hardwicke: A Native with a Ringtailed Possum, Van Diemen’s Land, c1822-24, 27.5 x 22 cm, est. $20,000-30,000. Hello Possums!Frederick McCubbin, View from Mount Macedon, c1907, 35.5 x 51 cm, est. $60,000-80,000. Majestic McCubbinLot 102 – Olive Cotton, Teacup Ballet, 1935 printed 1991, 35 x 28 cm, est. $10,000-15,000. Time for a cuppa?Lot 104 – Eric Wilson, Street Scene, c1937, 46 x 72 cm, est. $10,000-15,000. Neat StreetLot 108 – Lloyd Rees, Sydney Harbour, 1933, 18.5 x 26 cm, est. $15,000-20,000. No devil in this detailLot 111 – Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack, Abstract, 1956, 18 x 24 cm, est. $2,000-3,000. Important German Bauhaus artistLot 120 – Noel McKenna, Unplaced Effort, 1992, 40 x 50 cm, est. $5,000-7,000. Just horsin’ aroundLot 122 – Brook Andrew, Ignoratia (Kookaburra), 2003 (from “Kalar Midday” series), 124 x 200 cm, est. $12,000-16,000. Book Brook’s KookasLot 130 – Murray Griffin, Magpies (1), 1932, 15 x 20.5 cm, est. $2,000-3,000. The Pies have it
