A very special offering from Lawson-Menzies awaits us on 19 June: almost a quarter or 85 lots of the 337 strong sale are made up from the Hoong Loh collection of contemporary Australian art … Who? we wondered, until we read the illuminating introduction to the catalogue, learning along the way about some of the unsung heroes of art collecting.
Hoong Loh has been collecting since the 1980s, starting with abstracts by Judy Cassab and John Coburn, moving in the 1990s to figurative works by the likes of Rick Amor, Euan MacLeod and Stephen Bush, and in the 2000s, the collector expanded to new media and genres such as photography, sculpture and aboriginal painting … and titled the collection “The Very High and the Loh Variety” – love a collector with a sense of humour.
Not surprisingly David has picked a good number from this treasure trove for his faves.
There are also several beautiful and very reasonably priced prints and mixed media works by Brett Whiteley from the estate of the former husband of Whiteley’s late daughter Arkie.
Here are Dave’s Faves for your enjoyment:
Lot 2 – Dorothy Braund, Hanging out the Sheet, 1968, est. $2,000-$3,000. Breezy, Brown and Braund
Lot 5 – Rick Amor, Town by the Sea, 1990, est. $3,000-$5,000. “Nighthawks”
Lot 7 – Euan MacLeod, Sky/Wall 1992, est. $7,000-$10,000. One to watch
Lot 14 – Noel McKenna, (i) Boston Terrier (ii) Owl (iii) Girl and Cat (iv) Show Jumper, 2001/02, est. $4,000-$6,000. Animal Magic
Lot 28 – Rick Amor, Old Quarry by a Freeway, 1991, est. $14,000-$18,000. Jeffrey Smart’s dark-sided alter ego?
Lot 32 – Bill Henson, Untitled 2000/01, est. $14,000-$18,000. Haunting
Lot 43 – Brett Whiteley, (Portrait of Arkie Whiteley), est. $20,000-$30,000. Serene
Lot 53 – Martin Sharp, (Man walking on the moon, c1972), est. $25,000-$35,000. Oh look, Martin’s spaced out again!
Lot 58 – Margaret Olley, Blackberries and Harbour, c1989, est. $50,000-$70,000. Fruity and Fun
Lot 70 – Christian Waller, The Great Breath, 1932 (7 linocuts) est. $7,000-$10,000. Sometimes the art of linocuts is not all about Ethel Spowers
Lot 93 – John Coburn, The Picadors, est. $5,000-$7,000. Pick me!
Lot 108 – Dick Roughsey, Sharing Dugong, Mornington Island, 1981, est. $4,000-$,6000. Life in paradise
Lot 120 – William Dobell, Fishermen, est. $6,000-$8,000. Tiny but Triumphant
Lot 140 – Jason Benjamin, The Beginning starts at the end, 2007/08, est. $3,000-$5,000. Start Bidding Then!
Lot 150 – Deborah Pauuwe, Lime Dream 2002, est. $2,000-$3,000. Please Purchase Paauwe Photos
Lot 215 – Yvonne Audette, Construction with Collage 1963, est. $2,000-$3,000. Beautifully Built
Lot 239 – John Santry, Vacant lot, est. $1,000-$2,000. Nothing vacant about this lot
Lot 310 – Brett Whiteley, Small Willow, 1991, est. $1,800-$2,600. Whiteley’s Wiley Willow
Lot 313 – Brett Whiteley, The Back of the Asylum, St. Remy, 1983, est. $1,200-$1,800. Brilliantly Brett
Lot 327 – Albert Tucker, Night Image 1973, est. $2,000-$3,000. A rare, good and large colour lithograph
You can view selected works in Melbourne from 5 to 8 June at 1 Darling Street, South Yarra.
The full viewing in Sydney is held from 12 to 19 June, at 12 Todman Avenue in Kensington, and the auction is there on Thursday, 19 June at 6.30 pm.
Happy to assist you with thoughts, feedback and also comprehensive due diligence reports and bidding on the night. Contact David on 02 9977 7764 or email info@bhfineart.com.
An end note as the end of the financial year is fast approaching: if your superannuation fund holds artworks that need valuing, please let us know as soon as possible. We are currently providing valuations for numerous collectors, and would be delighted to assist you as well.