Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd Australia, Britain, 1920-99
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About Arthur Boyd
A member of one of the most distinguished 'art' families of Australia, Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd was born in Melbourne in 1920. He was instructed by his father in the art of ceramics, and painting in the Heidelberg tradition by his grandfather and held his first exhibition in Melbourne at the age of 17, In the early forties Boyd came under the influence artist Yosl Bergner, and took painting lessons from Danila Vassilieff, an expressionist artist. He was an active member of the Angry Penguins and shared a studio with John Perceval. In 1960, Boyd moved to London and from 1970 divided his time between Britain, Tuscany and the Shoalhaven River, NSW. He has represented Australia twice at the Venice Biennale, honoured with the Order of Australia for services to the arts and the Companion to the Order of Australia. Boyd is also an accomplished sculptor and ceramist and was responsible for the design of the tapestry in the reception hall at Parliament House, Canberra.
Arthur Boyd is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1967 of 6,240, of which 4,349 (70%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $1,952,000 for Drowned Bridegroom (1959) sold by Sotheby's in August 2018. In addition to this sale, a further 8 works by this artist have been sold for over $1 million. This year 157 works have been offered for sale. Works by Arthur Boyd are held by the Art Gallery of NSW, National Gallery of Victoria and a further 12 major public national galleries (see list below).
Arthur Boyd is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McCulloch, Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch-Childs. The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006. Page 274
- Germaine, Max. Artists and Galleries of Australia, Volumes 1 & 2, Third Edition. Craftsman Press, Sydney, 1990. Page 70
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 289
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- Australian Prints + Printmaking, a database listing printmaking artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region based on the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
Artists' Resale Royalty
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
Yes, eligible, subject to the artist satisfying the residency test. The artist is alive or has been deceased for less than 70 years. Contact the Copyright Agency for information on the residency test.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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