Maxwell Joseph (Max) Watters Australia, 1936-2020
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by Max Watters
Auction Houses
About Max Watters
Born in Muswellbrook, New South Wales in 1938 and worked for the local electricity commission for 28 years. Watters had no formal art training when he started painting in the late 1950s and switched from portraiture to landscapes in 1962 and first came to the public's attention with a joint exhibition at Gallery A, Sydney in 1964. His landscapes usually depict area around where he lives in the Upper Hunter Valley in New South Wales. He has since exhibited widely and is represented in the National Gallery, Canberra and several provincial collections. In March 2004, Frank Watters signed over his collection which featured works from many of Australia's greatest contemporary artists to the Muswellbrook Shire. Max Watters passed away in Muswellbrook in 2020. He was the younger brother of artist and gallerist Frank Watters who also passed away in 2020.
The earliest auction listing we have for Max Watters is in 1985 and in total 40 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 34 (85%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $4,173 for View Hebden Road sold by Shapiro Auctioneers in February 2022. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2023. Works by Max Watters are held by the Art Gallery of NSW and National Gallery of Australia.
Max Watters 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 1008
- Germaine, Max. Artists and Galleries of Australia, Volumes 1 & 2, Third Edition. Craftsman Press, Sydney, 1990. Page 716
- 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.
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