From the very first lot, birds dominate in many of the paintings offered by Deutscher + Hackett in their 142 lot fine art auction held in Sydney on 27th August.
They take off with Margaret Preston’s “For a little Girl”, 1929, to her lot 2 “Lorikeets”, 1925, and go on to a very large iconic Whiteley “Orange Fruit Dove”, 1969 – all in the first ten lots.
Clifton Pugh’s playful “A Feral Cat” includes a couple of birds, still unaware of the danger, and likewise Arthur Boyd’s black swan in “Shoalhaven – Hillside with Bushfire” appears completely unperturbed by the raging fire behind.
Del Kathryn Barton features a nightingale delicately perched on the shoulder of her subject in lot 24, while “Gumingi (Magpie Geese)” dominate Lin Onus’ large canvas.
Arthur Boyd again includes hungry galahs in his troubling “Nebuchadnezzar eating Grass”, while Brett Whiteley’s colour screenprint “Silver Eye” is more peaceful.
Lot 82 offers Albert Tucker’s “Ibis in the Gully”, while Sidney Nolan gives us “Bird of Prey”. Last but not least, are we allowed to include Lynn Chadwick’s colour lithograph “Winged Couple”?
And here are Dave’s Faves (not all including birds):
Lot 1 – Margaret Preston, For a Little Girl, 1929, est. $40,000-$60,000. Preston’s painting full of promises
Lot 10 – Brett Whiteley, Orange Fruit Dove, Fiji, 1969, est. $650,000-$850,000. Bird Brain Brett
Lot 13 – Albert Tucker, Woman, 1950, est. $60,000-$80,000. Flaunt it!
Lot 26 – Jeffrey Smart, Second Study for Matisse at Ashford, 2004, est. $220,000-$280,000. Cut-out and keep
Lot 31 – John Olsen, Paella by the Sea, 2014, est. $35,000-$50,000. Food for thought
Lot 33 – Bill Henson, Untitled 1985/86, est. $10,000-$15,000. Spend some on Henson
Lot 34 – Alex Seton, Inflatable Crown (Regency), 2014, est. $5,500-$8,500. Be King for a Day!
Lot 68 – Bertram Mackennal, Salome, c1895, est. $10,000-$15,000. Slicing Salome
Lot 83 – Albert Tucker, Joy Hester, 1983, est. $10,000-$15,000. Joy of Joys
Lot 103 – Noel McKenna, Big Softdrink Bottle, Freshwater Creek, Victoria, 2004, est. $5,500-$8,000. Coca Cola is it!
Lot 104 – Euan MacLeod, Carrying Boat, 2006, est. $2,500-$3,500. Stop the Boats
Lot 116 – Pro Hart, The Geebung Boys at Play, 1964, est. $10,000-$14,000. Go Pro!
Lot 126 – Roland Wakelin, Country Landscape with Houses and Factory in Distance, 1950, est. $4,000-$6,000. Roland’s Rollin’ Hills
Lot 132 – Donald Friend, Garden Party Ceylon, 1960, est. $3,000-$5,000. Ceylon High Society
Lot 142 – Max Dupain, Portrait in two Mirrors, 1938, est. $4,000-$6,000. Max mirrors modernism
If you would like more information on any of the lots and would like a due diligence report, please contact us on phone 02 9977 7764 or info@bhfineart.com.
Lotd 31 to 36 are a special feature in the sale: they are all donated by the artists to benefit the Edmond Capon Fellowship. Bill Henson, Lindy Lee, John Olsen, Alex Seton, Tim Storrier and Guan Wei have contributed works to help fund the exchange of staff of museums in Asia and the Art Gallery of NSW to learn from each other.
The Sydney preview is held from 21 to 26 August at 55 Oxford Street, Surrey Hills, and online at Deutscher + Hackett.
The auction takes place on Wednesday, 27 August, at Paddington Town Hall. We will be attending, so if you would like us to bid on the night, let us know. Happy to assist.
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