ALBERT TUCKER

Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney 
Private collection, Sydney; purchased from the above late 1970s

Brown and silver timber frame, beige cloth mat and white lacquered timber mount. Good condition
"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."

When the wandering native returns home, the impact is invariably significant. So it was with Albert Tucker, made the more meaningful when he settled in the countryside at Hurstbridge outside Melbourne and absorbed the bush after his experiences of the cityscapes of Europe and the USA. Gavin Fry, in his richly presented book on Tucker, describes the moment: 'At Hurstbridge he was spellbound by the bush around him, the sight, sound and smell of nature pressing up against the windows of his studio. He began to paint and draw the forms and colours of 'his' patch of bush. Close-ups of the massive eucalypt trunks, with their peeling stringy bark, long drooping leaves and great burls supplanted the cratered landscape of his outback imagination. The birds which played, fought and nestled in the branches within arm's length are often seen in these paintings, their actual feathers collaged to the canvas, adding to the new feeling for colour which came with the new subject matter. ¹

This experience gave birth to a new series of paintings in which the rich plumage of native birds provided a colour note of splendour within the primal mystery of the Antipodean forest. The numerous paintings that resulted, including the present work, are among the artist's most popular works. Odysseys and probing questions about the condition of man are momentarily put aside in his enthrallment with nature and her splendours, as Tucker forges another element in his extraordinary repertoire of defining images of Australia.

1. G. Fry, Albert Tucker, The Beagle Press, Sydney, 2005, p. 198