With over 380 lots in the upcoming Art | Australian & International auction at Theodore Bruce, there’s a diverse and interesting collection, with known market proponents including Fred Williams, Norman Lindsay and Pro Hart on offer alongside Zimbabwean Shona Sculptures and intriguing, lower-profile artists such as Joan Meats and Ernesto Arrisueno. Included in the sale are two works by Lucy Culliton, Australia (b.1966). Above: Lucy Culliton's Landscape Flinders Ranges 2008, oil on board, estimated at $2,000 - $4,000
Joan Meats was a British-born artist, who lived and exhibited in the Illawarra region from 1962 to 2003. A former nurse, army transport driver and an art teacher, she was a Sulman Art Prize finalist, and the subject of survey exhibitions at Wollongong City Gallery in 1985 and 2008. Like much of her oeuvre, Moth (Lot 6191), beautifully juxtaposes the familiar and unfamiliar in a dreamlike botanical milieu. The painting was presented to The Hon. Neville Wran at Wollongong City Gallery’s official opening in 1978 and is now on offer from the collection of his private secretary. Taking a significantly different approach to the canvas, Lucy Culliton paints landscapes that she is deeply familiar with. A winner of the Mosman Art Prize in 2000 and the Kedumba Drawing Award in 2004, Culliton is the only female Australian artist to be a finalist in the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes in the same year (2016). There are two oil paintings on offer, both titled Landscape Flinders Ranges (Lot 6176) and (Lot 6177). Another auction standouts include a whimsical oil painted on a book cover, Red Eye Dragon Fly by Pro Hart (Lot 6238), a vibrant limited-edition silkscreen from Scottish conceptual artist, Bruce McLean, Air Con (Lot 6056), and an etching/aquatint by Fred Williams, Sapling Forest 1962 (Lot 6022), illustrated in the 1968 publication, Fred Williams Etchings by James Mollison. While Peruvian/Australia artist, Ernesto Arrisueno has the serene still life, Coffee & Tea (Lot 6210). Arrisueno initially trained in and won several awards for his architectural drawing, a skill evident in the meticulously finished surface. The Zimbabwean Shona Sculpture movement emerged in the 1950’s, rose to international prominence in the 1960’s, and has continued for over 60 years, with artists often drawing from themes of African identity, spirituality and nature. The selection on offer here are small sculptures, ranging from 13 to 30cm, crafted from the colourful Kwekwe serpentine stone that typifies much of the genre.
