DONALD FRIEND

George Dunn, London
Private collection, Melbourne
Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's, 22 August 1994, lot 33
Australian and International Paintings, Christie's, 26 & 27 August 2003, lot 73
Private collection, Sydney; purchased from the above

Paul Hetherington (ed.), The Diaries of Donald Friend (vol. 3), National Library of Australia, Canberra, 2005, pp. 48, 83

Good condition. Some cupping and small cracks upper left and upper right. UV inspection confirms no retouching.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Bored with London, depressed by the onset of a bout of gonorrhoea and (as always) in search of something new, towards the end of 1949 Donald Friend travelled to Italy, eventually arriving on the island of Ischia, off the Neapolitan coast, in December. The present work was painted early in the new year, shortly after Friend paid a visit to another Australian expatriate, Jeffrey Smart. Friend recorded in his diary for 4 January: "...I stayed a couple of days with Jeff Smart up in his hill village of Testaccio, and since I've returned have spent most of the time on two successful paintings - a boy in a motley-coloured jacket, and an old woman with a fisher-boy..." 

He sold the painting just six months later, when he was back in London and staying in a friend's apartment in Princes Gate Mews. "...[Rex] Nan Kivell came to see the rest of my work two evenings ago, didn't like the oils, said they were unsaleable, but last night George Dunn came to inspect the place, fell madly for the painting I did in Ischia of a boy in a patchwork jacket, and bought it."

Dunn's enthusiasm is understandable. The Motley Jacket is a rich and harmonious patchwork of red ochre, burnt sienna and terre verte, the colour pattern given structure and form by Friend's confident, fluent black line. It also contains a subtle homage to Pablo Picasso: the patterned coat recalls the modernist master's many harlequin figures, while the boy's face has something of the 'Iberian' proto-cubism of Picasso's heads from circa 1906-07.