Colonial Australia
1801 Observations on the Coasts by Flinders
2014 SOLD for £ 290K by Sotheby's
Joseph Banks was the naturalist of Cook's first voyage. President of the Royal Society in 1778, he sent British explorers and scientists all around the world, including Vancouver, Bligh and Flinders, and had a direct role in the colonization of New South Wales on the south coast of New Holland.
In 1798, Matthew Flinders was appointed lieutenant in charge to navigate around Van Diemen's Land. A skilled cartographer, Flinders was accompanied by the surgeon and botanist George Bass. This trip was a success: the explorers show that Van Diemen's Land, later renamed Tasmania, is an island.
In 1800 and 1801, Flinders had three maps printed by Arrowsmith in London. He inserts them in 1801 in a small book dedicated to Banks, titled Observations on the coasts of Van Diemen's land, on Bass's strait and its islands, and on part of the coasts of New South Wales, intended to accompany the charts of the late discoveries.
The name of Bass to designate the strait between New South Wales and Tasmania will soon become official. The next trip of Flinders is another feat: in 1803 he completed the first circumnavigation of New Holland. He will be a promoter of the use of the word Australia instead of New Holland.
The 1801 book is extremely rare. A complete copy with its three maps was sold for £ 290K from a lower estimate of £ 150K by Sotheby's on September 30, 2014, lot 479.
In 1798, Matthew Flinders was appointed lieutenant in charge to navigate around Van Diemen's Land. A skilled cartographer, Flinders was accompanied by the surgeon and botanist George Bass. This trip was a success: the explorers show that Van Diemen's Land, later renamed Tasmania, is an island.
In 1800 and 1801, Flinders had three maps printed by Arrowsmith in London. He inserts them in 1801 in a small book dedicated to Banks, titled Observations on the coasts of Van Diemen's land, on Bass's strait and its islands, and on part of the coasts of New South Wales, intended to accompany the charts of the late discoveries.
The name of Bass to designate the strait between New South Wales and Tasmania will soon become official. The next trip of Flinders is another feat: in 1803 he completed the first circumnavigation of New Holland. He will be a promoter of the use of the word Australia instead of New Holland.
The 1801 book is extremely rare. A complete copy with its three maps was sold for £ 290K from a lower estimate of £ 150K by Sotheby's on September 30, 2014, lot 479.
1813 New South Wales Holey Dollar
2015 SOLD for A$ 480K by Noble Numismatics
The holey dollar is an unusual coin and a symbol of the early days of Australia at the time of Macquarie. The initiative is however probably not due to the dynamic governor but to the British government, as similar experiments have been tried in Canada and in the Caribbean.
The challenge was to maintain a monetary circulation in settlements devoid of exportable commodities, from which the currency was leaving with the foreign merchant ships. The Spanish silver coin worth eight reales dominated these maritime transactions. The British idea was to transform these coins by providing them with a higher local value than the original in order to prevent them from leaving the territory for melting.
In November 1812, the British Government sent to Macquarie 40,000 coins of eight reales. Their delivery from Madras on a ship of the East India Company was successful.
The Spanish piece is punched. The outer ring and the detached core got an additional strike in the name of New South Wales at the date of 1813. The hollowed ring valued at five shillings is named the holey dollar while the central part valued at 15 pence is pejoratively nicknamed the dump. The freed convict to whom this operation had been entrusted was a good worker: almost all 40,000 pieces were processed.
The new currency was declared legal by Macquarie but it was not uniform because the origin of the coins was varied. The most prestigious for a collector of today are the holey dollars struck on a Madrid coin. According to the Australian press, one of them was sold for AUD 550K in a private sale in early May 2015.
On July 28, 2015, Noble Numismatics sold for A$ 480K from a lower estimate of A$ 350K a holey dollar struck on a 1792 coin of eight reales from Mexico City, lot 1382. Another example on an 1808 Lima coin, passed in the same sale, lot 1383. Here is the link to the article posted by Numismatic News.
The challenge was to maintain a monetary circulation in settlements devoid of exportable commodities, from which the currency was leaving with the foreign merchant ships. The Spanish silver coin worth eight reales dominated these maritime transactions. The British idea was to transform these coins by providing them with a higher local value than the original in order to prevent them from leaving the territory for melting.
In November 1812, the British Government sent to Macquarie 40,000 coins of eight reales. Their delivery from Madras on a ship of the East India Company was successful.
The Spanish piece is punched. The outer ring and the detached core got an additional strike in the name of New South Wales at the date of 1813. The hollowed ring valued at five shillings is named the holey dollar while the central part valued at 15 pence is pejoratively nicknamed the dump. The freed convict to whom this operation had been entrusted was a good worker: almost all 40,000 pieces were processed.
The new currency was declared legal by Macquarie but it was not uniform because the origin of the coins was varied. The most prestigious for a collector of today are the holey dollars struck on a Madrid coin. According to the Australian press, one of them was sold for AUD 550K in a private sale in early May 2015.
On July 28, 2015, Noble Numismatics sold for A$ 480K from a lower estimate of A$ 350K a holey dollar struck on a 1792 coin of eight reales from Mexico City, lot 1382. Another example on an 1808 Lima coin, passed in the same sale, lot 1383. Here is the link to the article posted by Numismatic News.
1817 Sketchbook of Australia
2009 SOLD for A$ 900K by Sotheby's Australia
In 1817, a soldier named Edward Close arrives in Australia. At that time, travel memories are recorded in watercolors.
The sketchbook which is ascribed to Close with certainty is a valuable reminder of Australia when Macquarie was governor of New South Wales. After brief stops in Rio or in Madeira, our military shows Australia, especially Sydney. This small town of less than 10,000 inhabitants was founded thirty years earlier by Captain Phillip, who said that this site was the most beautiful harbour in the world.
In this collection of thirty drawings, the harbour is still surrounded by windmills and bush, the only boats are tall sailing ships. The amateur artist was interested in local life, and shows settlers, soldiers and convicts.
Despite or thanks to a reputation for despotism, the Macquarie governorship was essential for the social development of Australia. Then began the difficult transformation of the island from prison to civilization.
This eye witness of the birth of a nation was sold for A$ 900K from a lower estimate of A$ 400K on May 5, 2009 by Sotheby's Australia. Another sketchbook by the same author, of similar description, is stored at the National Library of Australia.
The sketchbook which is ascribed to Close with certainty is a valuable reminder of Australia when Macquarie was governor of New South Wales. After brief stops in Rio or in Madeira, our military shows Australia, especially Sydney. This small town of less than 10,000 inhabitants was founded thirty years earlier by Captain Phillip, who said that this site was the most beautiful harbour in the world.
In this collection of thirty drawings, the harbour is still surrounded by windmills and bush, the only boats are tall sailing ships. The amateur artist was interested in local life, and shows settlers, soldiers and convicts.
Despite or thanks to a reputation for despotism, the Macquarie governorship was essential for the social development of Australia. Then began the difficult transformation of the island from prison to civilization.
This eye witness of the birth of a nation was sold for A$ 900K from a lower estimate of A$ 400K on May 5, 2009 by Sotheby's Australia. Another sketchbook by the same author, of similar description, is stored at the National Library of Australia.
1834 Ben Lomond by Glover
2013 SOLD for £ 1.74M by Christie's
John Glover was a good English landscape painter, although he failed to be elected to the Royal Academy. Idealizing the landscape to make it more expressive, he was closer to classic artists than to Constable and enjoyed being compared to Claude Lorrain.
In 1829, three of his sons leave for Van Diemen's Land in a boat of convicts. They were free, assessed by the fact that they had acquired some grants of farmers' land. A lot of boldness was needed for moving into that large island whose main use was penitentiary, and which will become the Tasmania.
John follows them in 1831. His previous success as an artist and farmer allowed him to obtain in 1832 a very large estate on the slopes of Ben Lomond mountain. According to the practice of his time, he used his watercolor sketches to achieve more ambitious oil paintings.
The discovery of the undisclosed landscapes of his new country generated to Glover a great creativity. In 1834, he assembled 63 paintings including 38 local subjects for an exhibition to be held in London in the following year.
One of the paintings of the London exhibition, oil on canvas 77 x 115 cm, was sold for £ 1.74M by Christie's on September 26, 2013, lot 11. Ben Lomond is on the horizon as seen from the property of a neighbour of the artist. Four men are walking in the countryside. We are told that they are busy catching opossums.
In 1829, three of his sons leave for Van Diemen's Land in a boat of convicts. They were free, assessed by the fact that they had acquired some grants of farmers' land. A lot of boldness was needed for moving into that large island whose main use was penitentiary, and which will become the Tasmania.
John follows them in 1831. His previous success as an artist and farmer allowed him to obtain in 1832 a very large estate on the slopes of Ben Lomond mountain. According to the practice of his time, he used his watercolor sketches to achieve more ambitious oil paintings.
The discovery of the undisclosed landscapes of his new country generated to Glover a great creativity. In 1834, he assembled 63 paintings including 38 local subjects for an exhibition to be held in London in the following year.
One of the paintings of the London exhibition, oil on canvas 77 x 115 cm, was sold for £ 1.74M by Christie's on September 26, 2013, lot 11. Ben Lomond is on the horizon as seen from the property of a neighbour of the artist. Four men are walking in the countryside. We are told that they are busy catching opossums.
von GUERARD
1
1856 Geelong
1996 SOLD for A$ 1.98M by Christie's
Melbourne was created in 1835 by free settlers attracted to the fertile banks of the Yarra river. The simultaneous discovery in 1851 of gold nuggets on various sites in the neighborhood brings all kinds of adventurers. On the same year the Victoria colony was separated from New South Wales.
The 41 years old Austrian artist Eugene von Guerard landed in 1852 to take his share in the gold rush. In 1855 he found it more lucrative to exploit his artistic training. He now travels in all directions inside the new colony to make sketches of the landscapes already transformed by the colonists. He then paints the oils on canvas in his studio for the use and vanity of the rich owners.
A former student of Düsseldorf Academy, he was attracted to the romantic landscape and admired Fridrich. In Australia, this communion with nature allows him to interpret humble corners of the countryside for a clientele of wealthy farmers. The view of a tree nursery in the Yarra valley realized in 1855 for its owner was probably his first Australian order. This oil on canvas 60 x 91 cm passed at Bonhams on June 26, 2013, lot 17.
Von Guerard takes great care to express the warm and pleasant colors of the Victorian land : jade, turquoise, amber. A view of the countryside at Geelong, oil on canvas 155 x 89 cm painted in 1856, was sold for A$ 1.98M by Christie's on April 29, 1996. It was acquired in 2006 for A$ 3.8M by the Geelong Art Gallery in a private sale brokered by Christie's. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Geelong, a port in the state of Victoria 65 km southwest of Melbourne well linked with the gold fields of Ballarat, will soon be the second city of the state of Victoria.
The 41 years old Austrian artist Eugene von Guerard landed in 1852 to take his share in the gold rush. In 1855 he found it more lucrative to exploit his artistic training. He now travels in all directions inside the new colony to make sketches of the landscapes already transformed by the colonists. He then paints the oils on canvas in his studio for the use and vanity of the rich owners.
A former student of Düsseldorf Academy, he was attracted to the romantic landscape and admired Fridrich. In Australia, this communion with nature allows him to interpret humble corners of the countryside for a clientele of wealthy farmers. The view of a tree nursery in the Yarra valley realized in 1855 for its owner was probably his first Australian order. This oil on canvas 60 x 91 cm passed at Bonhams on June 26, 2013, lot 17.
Von Guerard takes great care to express the warm and pleasant colors of the Victorian land : jade, turquoise, amber. A view of the countryside at Geelong, oil on canvas 155 x 89 cm painted in 1856, was sold for A$ 1.98M by Christie's on April 29, 1996. It was acquired in 2006 for A$ 3.8M by the Geelong Art Gallery in a private sale brokered by Christie's. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Geelong, a port in the state of Victoria 65 km southwest of Melbourne well linked with the gold fields of Ballarat, will soon be the second city of the state of Victoria.
2
1856 Hobart Town
2016 SOLD for A$ 1.53M by Menzies
Painted in 1856 by Von Guerard, a View of Hobart Town with Mount Wellington in the background, oil on canvas 61 x 92 cm, is very appealing with its peaceful cove animated by few small boats.
It is historically important because it shows the development of the city in the very year when it was declared as the capital of the newly created Tasmania. Hobart Town will become simply Hobart in 1881.
This painting was sold by Menzies for A$ 1,47M on September 24, 2014 and for A$ 1.53M on June 23, 2016, lot 38. Please watch the video shared by the auction house:
It is historically important because it shows the development of the city in the very year when it was declared as the capital of the newly created Tasmania. Hobart Town will become simply Hobart in 1881.
This painting was sold by Menzies for A$ 1,47M on September 24, 2014 and for A$ 1.53M on June 23, 2016, lot 38. Please watch the video shared by the auction house:
3
1861 Mr John King's Station
2017 SOLD for A$ 1.95M by Deutscher and Hackett
Mr John King's Station, oil on canvas 40 x 84 cm by von Guerard, was sold for A$ 1.95M from a lower estimate of A$ 800K by Deutscher and Hackett on August 30, 2017, lot 10. It was painted in 1861 from sketches made on that property in November of the previous year. It is estimated AUD 800K, lot 10.
The art of von Guérard glorifies these very new conquests of civilization. What is important here is not the horizon treated in a Humboldtian rigor but the garden and the field that retreat the boundaries of wilderness. His themes and compositions are reminiscent of Frans Post's didactic paintings in Brazil two centuries earlier.
Two small groups in a resolutely opposite attitude populate the Station in a direct evocation of their clash of cultures which is rare in the art of von Guérard.
Far away but in full light Mr King and his gardener cultivate their roses. In the foreground an Aboriginal family group is in the shade. They gave up their resistance to the white man but ignore the agriculture. Among them the little crouching girl reaches out towards a dead parrot that was probably carried by the dog. The preparatory drawing of this child is identified : it was made in 1855 by the artist near Adelaide.
The art of von Guérard glorifies these very new conquests of civilization. What is important here is not the horizon treated in a Humboldtian rigor but the garden and the field that retreat the boundaries of wilderness. His themes and compositions are reminiscent of Frans Post's didactic paintings in Brazil two centuries earlier.
Two small groups in a resolutely opposite attitude populate the Station in a direct evocation of their clash of cultures which is rare in the art of von Guérard.
Far away but in full light Mr King and his gardener cultivate their roses. In the foreground an Aboriginal family group is in the shade. They gave up their resistance to the white man but ignore the agriculture. Among them the little crouching girl reaches out towards a dead parrot that was probably carried by the dog. The preparatory drawing of this child is identified : it was made in 1855 by the artist near Adelaide.
1866-1873 Sideboard by McLean
2010 SOLD for A$ 600K by Sotheby's Australia
The long reign of Victoria marks the triumph of the British industrial development and the access to the modern world for the most remote settlements. The first colonial exhibition was held in 1866 in Melbourne, head city of Victoria state, under the designation of Intercolonial Exhibition of Australasia.
These exhibitions were temporary showcases where the best craftsmen were invited to increase their clientele by presenting their most complex and best finished pieces.
Peter McLean, Scottish cabinetmaker, had probably seen the Kenilworth buffet at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. This piece is a tour de force of joinery. Made in the typical style of medieval reference so much appreciated during the Victorian era, it adorns with some logics the great hall of Warwick Castle.
Located in Melbourne from 1853, McLean presented a huge sideboard in the exhibition of 1866 and continued to improve it until the Universal Exhibition of London in 1873. This buffet inlaid with precious woods is extensively carved on the theme of the creation and progress of the colony of Victoria: pioneers, aborigines, allegories, animals, industrial activities.
This monumental piece of furniture 3.5 m high, 3.4 m wide and 92 cm deep was sold for A$ 600K by Sotheby's Australia in October 26, 2010.
These exhibitions were temporary showcases where the best craftsmen were invited to increase their clientele by presenting their most complex and best finished pieces.
Peter McLean, Scottish cabinetmaker, had probably seen the Kenilworth buffet at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. This piece is a tour de force of joinery. Made in the typical style of medieval reference so much appreciated during the Victorian era, it adorns with some logics the great hall of Warwick Castle.
Located in Melbourne from 1853, McLean presented a huge sideboard in the exhibition of 1866 and continued to improve it until the Universal Exhibition of London in 1873. This buffet inlaid with precious woods is extensively carved on the theme of the creation and progress of the colony of Victoria: pioneers, aborigines, allegories, animals, industrial activities.
This monumental piece of furniture 3.5 m high, 3.4 m wide and 92 cm deep was sold for A$ 600K by Sotheby's Australia in October 26, 2010.
1888 North Shore by Roberts
2020 SOLD for A$ 920K by Menzies
Born in Dorchester, England, Tom Roberts moved with his parents to the suburbs of Melbourne in 1869, at the age of 13. He decided to study art and spent three years in England, from 1881 to 1884.
Roberts was influenced by the European avant-gardes, and more specifically by the effectiveness of the stroke in Whistler's art. He decides to become the interpreter of the Australian landscape in all its specificities of light, space and heat and meets the local impressionists, McCubbin and Streeton.
Tom Roberts and Charles Conder exchange ideas on art. In March 1888 Roberts makes a three week visit to Sydney. He is staying with the family of his young friend, with whom he explores the artistic potential of the port, considered not without reason by Australians as the most beautiful natural harbour in the world.
On November 19, 2020, Menzies sold for A$ 920K a view of the North Shore, oil on panel 26 x 35 cm painted by Roberts in 1888, lot 28. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Far from downtown, this view shows the docking of the ferry at Milson's Point, many years before the construction of the bridge. The beautiful Australian autumn morning brings a spectacular mix between the luminosity of the white houses and the mist from the smoke of the steamboats. The smoke featured as a symbol of modern life is reminiscent of the Gare Saint-Lazare series by Monet.
This painting is an outdoor sketch for the oil on canvas 46 x 72 cm of the same scene, held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Roberts was influenced by the European avant-gardes, and more specifically by the effectiveness of the stroke in Whistler's art. He decides to become the interpreter of the Australian landscape in all its specificities of light, space and heat and meets the local impressionists, McCubbin and Streeton.
Tom Roberts and Charles Conder exchange ideas on art. In March 1888 Roberts makes a three week visit to Sydney. He is staying with the family of his young friend, with whom he explores the artistic potential of the port, considered not without reason by Australians as the most beautiful natural harbour in the world.
On November 19, 2020, Menzies sold for A$ 920K a view of the North Shore, oil on panel 26 x 35 cm painted by Roberts in 1888, lot 28. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Far from downtown, this view shows the docking of the ferry at Milson's Point, many years before the construction of the bridge. The beautiful Australian autumn morning brings a spectacular mix between the luminosity of the white houses and the mist from the smoke of the steamboats. The smoke featured as a symbol of modern life is reminiscent of the Gare Saint-Lazare series by Monet.
This painting is an outdoor sketch for the oil on canvas 46 x 72 cm of the same scene, held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
1893 Bush Idyll by McCubbin
1998 SOLD for A$ 2.3M by Christie's
Australia had lived its own way of life. Its convicts, rough peasants and gold diggers made its reputation. It is time to get back to the civilization as it is understood in old Europe.
The leader of this new artistic movement is Frederick McCubbin. Born in Melbourne, he is an authentic Australian. He has not yet visited Europe but his frenzy for reading inspires his art.
The term Impressionists used by his group in 1889 has generated a confusion that continues today on the real influences that applied onto these new pioneers.
By transposing into the Australian bush the gentle theme of pastoral scenes, they are mostly extending the classics, from Corot to Bouguereau through Bastien-Lepage. Later, when McCubbin will develop a more expressive painting, his model will be Turner.
Bush Idyll is one of his most famous paintings from this transition period. Amidst a plant surrounding typical of the bush, a young piper charms his girlfriend who is idly listening to him with a kindness worthy of Morisot.
This large oil on canvas 120 x 222 cm painted in 1893 was sold for A$ 2.3M by Christie's on August 17, 1998. It passed at Christie's on September 26, 2013. The 1998 result is referred in the pre sale press release of 2013. The image is shared with attribution Source Material, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
The leader of this new artistic movement is Frederick McCubbin. Born in Melbourne, he is an authentic Australian. He has not yet visited Europe but his frenzy for reading inspires his art.
The term Impressionists used by his group in 1889 has generated a confusion that continues today on the real influences that applied onto these new pioneers.
By transposing into the Australian bush the gentle theme of pastoral scenes, they are mostly extending the classics, from Corot to Bouguereau through Bastien-Lepage. Later, when McCubbin will develop a more expressive painting, his model will be Turner.
Bush Idyll is one of his most famous paintings from this transition period. Amidst a plant surrounding typical of the bush, a young piper charms his girlfriend who is idly listening to him with a kindness worthy of Morisot.
This large oil on canvas 120 x 222 cm painted in 1893 was sold for A$ 2.3M by Christie's on August 17, 1998. It passed at Christie's on September 26, 2013. The 1998 result is referred in the pre sale press release of 2013. The image is shared with attribution Source Material, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
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