Lesbia Thorpe Australia, 1919-2009
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by Lesbia Thorpe
Auction Houses
About Lesbia Thorpe
Born in Melbourne in 1919, Lesbia Thorpe studied in Sydney under Datillo Rubbo from c1935 to 1941, and at the London Central School of Arts & Crafts from 1953 to 1954. A painter, printmaker and theatrical designer, she has is mainly known for her woodcut colour prints. She moved back to Melbourne in 1947 and held numerous solo exhibitions in Melbourne from that year. She was a member of the Society of Women Painters & Sculptors and exhibited with them from 1956 to 1959 and also the Secretary of the Melbourne Graphic Artists Group with whom she exhibited in 1957, She was awarded the Victorian Artists Society Prize in in 1959. During the 1970s she taught regularly for the Council of Adult Education in Melbourne.
We have records of art auction sales by Lesbia Thorpe from 1978 and in total 169 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 119 (70%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $2,600 for Fitzroy Gardens sold by Leonard Joel in July 1989. This year one work has been offered for sale. Works by Lesbia Thorpe are held by the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and a further five major public national galleries (see list below).
Lesbia Thorpe is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McCulloch, Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch-Childs. The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006. Page 951
- Germaine, Max. Artists and Galleries of Australia, Volumes 1 & 2, Third Edition. Craftsman Press, Sydney, 1990. Page 671
- Germaine, Max. A Dictionary of Women Artists of Australia. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1991. Page 440
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- Australian Prints + Printmaking, a database listing printmaking artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region based on the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
Artists' Resale Royalty
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
Yes, eligible, subject to the artist satisfying the residency test. The artist is alive or has been deceased for less than 70 years. Contact the Copyright Agency for information on the residency test.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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