- 160
ROVER THOMAS (JOOLAMA)
Estimate
500,000 - 700,000 AUD
bidding is closed
Description
- Rover Thomas (Joolama)
- ORD RIVER
- Natural earth pigments and natural binders on plywood
- 90 by 180 cm
Provenance
Painted at Warmun (Turkey Creek) in 1984
Mary Macha, Perth
The Holmes à Court Collection, Heytesbury, cat. no. 1348
Sotheby's, Important Aboriginal Art, 28 June 1998, lot 34
Private collection, Switzerland
Mary Macha, Perth
The Holmes à Court Collection, Heytesbury, cat. no. 1348
Sotheby's, Important Aboriginal Art, 28 June 1998, lot 34
Private collection, Switzerland
Condition
The painting appears to have has no repairs or restoration and it ishoused in its original 'Holmes a Court' box frame. It is much richer in colour than the catalogue image and first hand inspection is recommended. There are many scratches and scuffs which are visible in the catalogue reproduction, along with areas of pigment loss, particuarly in the area of teh white 'dots'. The painting appears in the same condition as it was when sold by sotheby's a decade ago, and is most probably in the same or very similar condition as to when it was first sold by Mary Macha.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
Cf. For another painting featuring the Ord River, see Rover Thomas' Lake Argyle, 1986, in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, in Thomas, R. with K. Akerman, M. Macha, W. Christensen and W. Caruana, Roads Cross: The paintings of Rover Thomas, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 1994, pp.17, 58 illus.
An exceptional example from the early period of the artist's career, the painting features bold drawing and a visual tactility resulting from the combination of earthy pigments and reddish resins, and the juxtaposition of the brushy areas of paint, the gritty texture of the yellow ochre and the matte quality of the black paint. Rover's intuitive compositional sense is also evident in this work: the landscape is drawn from the artist's knowledge of the landscape and his conceptualisation of the topography, rather than from the experience of seeing the place from above.
In topographic terms, the Ord River is depicted running laterally across the picture surface, and the tributary Dugurukayn runs vertically to meet it. In the elbow of the junction, the yellow suggests Spinifex growing around the base of the hill, Arijuna. As a result of a governmental decision to 'populate' the north of Australia, in 1961 the township of Kununurra on the Ord River was established and two years later the Ord River Dam was completed to form Lake Argyle, with the intention to open up the land for agricultural purposes. The site has ancestral associations: adjacent to the dam, on the lake side, is a place where a star fell to earth in the Dreaming
An exceptional example from the early period of the artist's career, the painting features bold drawing and a visual tactility resulting from the combination of earthy pigments and reddish resins, and the juxtaposition of the brushy areas of paint, the gritty texture of the yellow ochre and the matte quality of the black paint. Rover's intuitive compositional sense is also evident in this work: the landscape is drawn from the artist's knowledge of the landscape and his conceptualisation of the topography, rather than from the experience of seeing the place from above.
In topographic terms, the Ord River is depicted running laterally across the picture surface, and the tributary Dugurukayn runs vertically to meet it. In the elbow of the junction, the yellow suggests Spinifex growing around the base of the hill, Arijuna. As a result of a governmental decision to 'populate' the north of Australia, in 1961 the township of Kununurra on the Ord River was established and two years later the Ord River Dam was completed to form Lake Argyle, with the intention to open up the land for agricultural purposes. The site has ancestral associations: adjacent to the dam, on the lake side, is a place where a star fell to earth in the Dreaming