Tommy McRae, with William Barrak is one of the instantly recognisable nineteeth century Australian indigenous artists. He was born in the Upper Murray region and as a youth worked on Brocklesby Station of later Tom Roberts fame. Around the mid 1860s, after sometime down at Echuca where he made drawings under the name of Barnes, McRae settled near Corowa, at Wahgunyah on the Victorian side of the Murray. He died at the nearby Lake Moodemere Aboriginal Settlement in 1901. It was vigneron Roderick Kilborn who apparently supplied McRae with materials and encouraged him to make sketch books for sale. All his drawings were in ink. Some were on loose sheets. Tommy McRae's style is unique and revolves 'around the delicate use of the silhouette, suggestion of space and brevity, but faithfulness in the observation of local flora and fauna'. Ref: A. Sayers, Aboriginal Artists of the 19th Century, OUP, Melbourne, 1994. Various themes engaged the artist but the most common were the hunt and the battle scene.
In our database, 39 works by Tommy McRae are listed as being offered for sale, the earliest in 1988, of which 28 (72%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $228,000 for Sketchbook sold by Deutscher and Hackett in March 2013. This year one work has been offered for sale. Works by Tommy McRae are held by the National Gallery of Victoria, National Gallery of Australia and a further three major public national galleries (see list below).
Tommy McRae is listed in the following standard biographical references:
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.
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