Samuel Charles Brees Britain, Australia, New Zealand, 1809-65
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by Samuel Charles Brees
Auction Houses
About Samuel Charles Brees
Born in England in 1810, Samuel Brees accepted a position as the second Surveyor General to the New Zealand Company in 1841. In his spare time he recorded his surroundings in pencil and watercolour, illustrating New Zealand colonial life. On his return to England these were published in Pictorial illustrations of New Zealand in 1847, which was reprinted in 1848 and 1849. In 1851 he went to Australia, again practicing as an architect, but died returning to England in 1865,
Our database records art auction sales of works by Samuel Brees from 1986 and in total 31 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 30 (97%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $23,504 for Five Early Watercolours of Historical Importance, Two with Pencil Drawings on Reverse (pair) sold by Webb's in June 1998. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2023. Works by Samuel Brees are held by the Auckland Art Gallery and Christchurch Art Gallery.
Samuel Charles Brees 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 281
- Kerr, Joan. Dictionary of Australian Artists, Painters, Sketchers, Photographers and Engravers to 1870. Oxford University Press, Australia, 1993. Page 93
- Gil Docking, with additions by Michael Gunn covering 1970-90. Two Hundred Years of New Zealand Painting, David Bateman Ltd., New Zealand, 1990 Page 32
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 28
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
- 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…
No, ineligible. The artist has been deceased for more than 70 years.
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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