- 168
ALBERT NAMATJIRA
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 AUD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Albert Namatjira
- GHOST GUM
Signed lower right
- Watercolour and pencil on paper
- 36 by 26 cm
Provenance
Tom Mathieson Gallery, Sydney
Private collection
Condition
The painting is framed behind glass and appears in excellent condition with no visible repairs or restoration. The work does not look to have been laid down however the work has not been viewed out of its frame.
"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. French, A., Saplings and Survivors - Portraits of Trees, in Seeing the Centre, The Art of Albert Namatjira 1902-1959, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2002, pp.116-129, for several related illustrations and discussion of the artists 'portraits of tress'
In most of his landscape paintings Namatjira positions a tree or trees on one side of the composition to produce a shallow space leading the eye to the scene beyond. In some paintings, however, the tree itself is placed prominently in the composition and becomes the subject of the work. According to French (ibid.), Namatjira invests the images of trees with symbols of the human condition: 'Trunks become torsos, branches arms. Bark functions for a tree in much the same way as skin does for a human being ...' French asserts that the eminent Australian art curator and historian Daniel Thomas based his 1979 revision of Namatjira's work 'on the expressive qualities of the format of the cropped tree'
In most of his landscape paintings Namatjira positions a tree or trees on one side of the composition to produce a shallow space leading the eye to the scene beyond. In some paintings, however, the tree itself is placed prominently in the composition and becomes the subject of the work. According to French (ibid.), Namatjira invests the images of trees with symbols of the human condition: 'Trunks become torsos, branches arms. Bark functions for a tree in much the same way as skin does for a human being ...' French asserts that the eminent Australian art curator and historian Daniel Thomas based his 1979 revision of Namatjira's work 'on the expressive qualities of the format of the cropped tree'