The club, which wielded enormous influence in Melbourne society in its heyday, was unable to weather the economic downturn and sagging membership.
And now it is all up for sale. As in any closing down sale, everything must go. An eclectic offering covers a myriad of military memorabilia from paintings and prints to medals, swagger sticks, rifles, swords, propellers of a German aeroplane, a pair of General Sir Thomas Blamey's military riding boots, World War II Instrument of Surrender, signed off Rabaul, PNG, on September 6, 1945 and a handful of enemy medals and much, much more. Non-military items for offer include everything else from a tall wooden cigar humidifier, leather couches china, beds, gym equipment and even ovens and sinks.
The auction, which is a joint sale between Deutscher and Hackett and Artemis, will be held on July 21 and 22 and totals 473 lots of which 190 are works of art, and 284 militaria and collectables. Artemis Auctions is a joint venture between Deutscher and Hackett and Mossgreen Auctions. Only 219 of the lots carry estimates, the remainder are marked as no reserve in the catalogue. The total value of the lots which have been assigned estimates are $986,000 low estimate to $1.4 million high estimate. The collection is difficult to value being dominated by militaria and thus a more reduced and specialized market will be interested in bidding on the items. Figures ranging from one to two million dollars have been reported in the press as expected from the sale. However in today’s current economic climate, with the narrow subject matter and considering there are no major works on offer, these figures could prove to be optimistic.
The highlight of the sale will be the offering of the two dozen Streeton landscapes. They are unusual records of conflict insofar as they display the quiet scenery affected by war, rather than bloody battles of men and machine that so often typify war themed paintings. The Australian War Memorial is reportedly interested in the collection.
Streeton joined the club when he returned to Melbourne in the 1920s. In 1926 he donated his works on offer, and this highlights the conundrum when placing donations such as this to auction. Many of the items being put to auction have been donations and bequests, and relatives are now being placed in the position of having to bid to retrieve belongings that were once part of the family estate. Ballarat Art Gallery’s Gordon Morrison touched on the matter in a recent interview with the ABC's Dominic Brine, "There are issues when an institution, even an institution like a club, does decide to sell off a thing like an art collection, …There are issues about the protection of the rights of people who've maybe donated those works." (a podcast of the interview is available on abc.net.au)
As a war artist, Streeton continued to focus on landscapes, rather than scenes depicting battle. Streeton’s works have been criticised for failing to concentrate on the fighting soldiers. Unlike the more famous wartime works depicting the definitive moments of battle, Streeton painted more in the style of military still life, which highlighted the more mundane, less action filled, everyday moments of the war. Streeton observed that, "True pictures of battlefields are very quiet looking things. There's nothing much to be seen, everybody and thing is hidden and camouflaged."
The Streeton’s on offer are of various media. The estimates are a wide range of prices from the very affordable Ruins, Peronne, 1918 a pencil and wash on paper, with a pre-sale estimate of $2,000–$4,000 to more substantial works such as Troops Bathing, Glisy, 1918, oil on canvas, estimate $80,000–$120,000. Two other high end Streeton’s on offer are The Ballarat Dump, St Gratien, 1918, oil on canvas at $80,000–$120,000 and German Naval Gun, Chuignolles, 1918, another oil on canvas with a pre-auction estimate of $80,000–$120,000.
Streeton's famous and much admired impressionist palette can be seen at its height in some of these 1918 war paintings. In particular Péronne Cathedral And Nissen Huts, 1918 a watercolour and pencil on paper with an estimate of $10,000–$15,000 and Ruined Church, Flamincourt, c1918 also a watercolour and pencil estimated at $8,000–$12,000 should attract keen interest. Likewise Sunset, Amiens, 1918 an oil on canvas at $50,000–80,000 and Field Hospital, Abbeville, 1918 at around $25,000–$35,000 are expected to attract interest from Australia's public institutions due to their subject matter and beauty. Lots 446 to 469 are a range of facsimile prints of Streeton’s works, all without reserve.
Similar Streeton’s that have come to market over the last five years are small in number. In 2007, Rouen (1912) a watercolour was sold for $3,385 while another watercolour, Amiens Cathedral managed $5,280. The highest price reached for a watercolour was $11,750 back in 2004 for Armiens, France c. 1918. Oil paintings that have come to the market achieved $40,800 in 2007 for Middle Harbour (Dressing Station), France 1918. This same work sold two years earlier for $33,600. Other war-themed sales have included Sisters Take Cover, Abbeville 1918 - $31,200 - oil on canvas on board in 2007, with Bomb Officers' Quarters, Glisy (The Western Front) 1918 – managing $21,600 - oil on canvas in 2004.
There are some half a dozen offerings by Sir William Alexander (Bill) Dargie, an official World War II artist. Dargie was head of the Victorian National Gallery Art School from 1946 to 1953. He has won the Archibald prize eight times. The estimates for Dargie’s works range between a low estimate of just $2,000 to the highest at $30,000. Several other lots that may draw interest see Hermanus Willem Koekkoek’s Wounded Cavalry Returning, oil on canvas with an estimate of $30,000–$50,000 and an Alfred Strutt Hauling The Gun, oil on canvas at $20,000–$30,000.
Two items that sum up the sadness of the closing are Lot 388, “The Brass Nameplate For The Naval And Military Club” and “A Coat Of Arms Of The Naval And Military Club” with Motto – Uniter Agamus (United Service). Both items have no reserve. The club's medal collections have caught the eye of local and international buyers. Donated by former members, the medals are rare and in fine condition, some dating to the Boer War.
