Famed for his depictions of nude Amazonian women often shown in historical or otherworldly settings, Lindsay was one of the most prolific Australian artists of the 20th century, creating works in all media, including oil paintings, watercolours, ink and pencil drawings, etchings and sculpture.
Since 1969, 8,843 artworks by Lindsay have been offered at auction alone, where his work has been a constant presence. The highest price achieved ever at auction for the artist has been held for 20 years, when Christies sold “Spring’s Innocence” in November 2002 for $280,000 hammer price.
That’s not to say that high prices for major works cannot be achieved today. The last big price above $200,000 including buyer’s premium was set by Sotheby’s (Smith & Singer) with the sale of “The Seventies” (1942), sold in May 2018 for $207,400 IBP or $170,000 hp.
The early 2000s were excellent years for Lindsay sales at auction, and it was Lawson-Menzies who offered 395 artworks and related items from the estate of Lindsay’s gardener Harry McPhee in October 2004 at their premises at The Rocks. Lawsons CEO Martin Farrah would remember this sale well and would be hoping for more of the same for the current 27 offerings.
Incidentally, The Green Drape, c.1960 (Lot 527 ), the last offering in the sale with expectations of $30,000-40,000, is the only one with this notable provenance. At that time, the oil painting carried estimates of $60,000-80,000 and sold for $48,000 hp.
Authenticity with all art is important, as well as cataloguing. Lawsons have been ably assisted in the sale by the highly respected Helen Glad, Norman Lindsay’s granddaughter.
Among the watercolours, there are some more modestly priced offerings, like Amber, c1935 (Lot 513 ), estimated at $8,000-12,000, or The Admirers, c1955 (Lot 515 ), with expectations of $12,000-16,000.
The oils include many voluptuous nudes, for example Olive, c1938 (Lot 504 ), estimated at $50,000-70,00, Pearls and Lace, c1950 (Lot 517 ), with hopes of $20,000-30,000 and Rita, c1935 (Lot 523 ), also estimated at $20,000-30,000.
Reminiscent of a 17th century Dutch tavern scene is The Party – Urs Graf Entertains and Study for Urs Graf, 1945 (Lot 514 ), with the highest pre-sale expectations of $100,000-150,000.
