An 1863 painting of a racehorse named General (Lot 39 ) owned by Thomas Chirnside, a major Victorian landholder known for the historic Italianate mansion he built in the 1870s at Werribee, almost doubled its high $30,000 catalogue estimate when it changed hands for $56,120 (including buyer’s premium) at Gibson’s Art and Photography auction in Melbourne on Monday June 15.
The painting was featured on the catalogue front cover and was part of a pleasing result for the auction house, which held its first live auction with limited room numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic Australia-wide lockdown has begun to ease – selling 89 per cent by value of the works on offer.
An 1863 painting of a racehorse named General owned by Thomas Chirnside, a major Victorian landholder known for the historic Italianate mansion he built in the 1870s at Werribee, almost doubled its high $30,000 catalogue estimate when it changed hands for $56,120 (including buyer’s premium) at Gibson’s Art and Photography auction in Melbourne on Monday June 15.
General tasted considerable racing success and in 1862 alone won the Geelong Steeplechase, the Victorian Turf Club Handicap Steeplechase and the Victorian Jockey Club Handicap Hurdles.
Frederick McCubbin’s (1855-1917) Evening, South Yarra (Lot 78 ) pastel on paper was the second top selling item at $19,520 followed closely by Robert Dickerson’s Young Girl in Bush (Lot 64 ) at $18,300.
Various other paintings also performed strongly – among them Portrait of a Maori Chief 1917 (Lot 37 ) painted by the New Zealand School that sold for $12,200, two and a half times its high catalogue estimate.
Two works – a silver gelatin photograph entitled Five at the South Pole circa 1912 (Lot 44 ) by Lieut. Henry R. Bowers and Maori Elders (Lot 57 ) by New Zealand artist Vera Cummings (1891-1949) – each brought $7930 on a respective $1500 and $3000 high estimate.
Alatyite Altyerre (Spinifex Dreaming) 1994 (Lot 84 ) by renowned Australian indigenous artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye (circa 1910-1996) also was popular, changing hands for $7320 – while Mandy Martin’s The Land of El Dorado 1999 (Lot 120 ) at $6710 as another successful outcome.
Selling for $6100 each were Robert Dickerson’s Mother and Child (Lot 118 ) and Clifton Pugh’s Rockpools circa 1954 (Lot 119 ).
About The Author
Richard Brewster has been writing about the antiques and art auction industry for almost 25 years, first in a regular weekly column for Fairfax's The Age newspaper and also in more recent times for his own website Australian Auction Review. With over 50 years experience as a journalist and public relations consultant, in 1990 Richard established his own business Brewster & Associates in Melbourne, handling a wide range of clients in the building, financial, antiques and art auction industries.
