Lawsons June Fine Art sale features works by Australian modernists, notably women artists from three distinct artistic movements. Still Life by Alison Rehfisch (Lot 502 ) estimated at $5,000 – 7,000 is a later work in the artist’s career yet demonstrates her commitment to the genre of still life painting, colour and modernist principles in painting.
Portrait, landscape and still life were equally explored genres for both artists, however they are predominately associated with the latter. White Daisies in Brown Bowl, c1908-1914 (Lot 536 ) is an early and more subdued painting in comparison to Lahey’s often admired vibrant watercolour compositions. The soft portrait of a woman Reading by Alice Bale (Lot 537 ) is an exquisite example of the immediate intimacy that Bale is able to repeatedly capture in her portraits.
The Sydney art scene during the 1960s nurtured abstract artists, and among the key figures of the movement was Margo Lewers. Lewers in the 60s was at the height of her career, and in 1967 her portrait painted by Judy Cassab won the Archibald Prize. By the mid-1950s and through to the 60s, Lewers expressionism had matured from previous experimentations with what was predominantly formal and geometric abstraction. Abstract 1968 (Lot 561 ) is small however bold in expression and is representative of an important period of Lewers career.
Sidney Nolan’s Untitled (Figure & Bird) (Lot 503 ) is part of a series of works produced in the late 60s by where figures are positioned against an expansive landscape. By way of colour and brush strokes Nolan reveals movement and depth to what is seemingly at first a flat painting. These works are minimal in terms of representation, yet they command attention.
The recurring impressions of Namatjira’s Central Australia (Lot 505 ) provide at once a sense of grandeur and tranquillity. The current example is demonstrative of Namatjira’s innate understanding of composition, colour, light and shadows, and his ability to reveal the intrinsic patterns in the landscape.
Over recent months Lawsons have been offering works from the Estate of the Frederick Leist’s granddaiughter. A much-desired scene of Bathers overlooking a coastal landscape (Lot 570 ) and a WWI oil painting of Yrpes, 1917 (Lot 538 ) are among the highlights. Leist was appointed an official war artist in September 1917, attached to the 5th Division AIF and worked twice in France between September to December 1917 and from June to August 1918. The present painting is a study for a larger painting of the same title currently in the Australian War Memorial Collection.
