Louis V. Kahan Australia, 1905-2002
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by Louis Kahan
Auction Houses
About Louis Kahan
Born in Austria in 1905, Kahan studied extensively in Europe before coming to Australia in 1947. He lived in Melbourne for most of his time in Australia and supervised the design of the decor for the National Theatre in 1951. In the early 1960s he began a series of drawings of writers for the magazine, 'Meanjin' and later did a series for the Melbourne 'Age'. This led to his winning the Art Gallery of New South Wales Archibald Prize for his portrait of author Patrick White.
Louis Kahan is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1972 of 787, of which 553 (70%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $11,045 for Shearers sold by Lawsons in April 2022. This year 12 works have been offered for sale. Works by Louis Kahan are held by the National Gallery of Victoria, National Portrait Gallery and a further nine major public national galleries (see list below).
Louis Kahan 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 564
- Germaine, Max. Artists and Galleries of Australia, Volumes 1 & 2, Third Edition. Craftsman Press, Sydney, 1990. Page 360
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 329
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
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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