Following on from the success of The Fred and Elinor Wrobel Collection: A Curated Salon in April, Bonhams is offering a second group of works - The Fred and Elinor Wrobel Collection: The Artist's Eye, focusing on landscapes, scenes of the harbour and beach life. Quintessentially part of the Australian psyche is Sidney Nolan's representation of Ned Kelly. In Jerilderie, 1956. Nolan depicts Kelly mounted on horseback, fused with his iconic centaur-like silhouette striding into Jerilderie, the location of the infamous bank heist in 1879. This small, prized work is undoubtedly a highlight of the collection.
The Wrobels' astute eye and considered approach and their continuing support of women artists led them to two of the most important acquisitions in the collection: Grace Cossington Smith's Thanksgiving Service, 1945-46 (Lot 10 ) and Hilda Rix Nicholas' Children at Mount Annan, Holbrook (Lot 40 ). Each of these works are closely related to important paintings, both held in the collection of the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane. Each is focused on Australian life of the period - Thanksgiving Service, 1945-46 reflecting on life following the end of the war and Children at Mount Annan, Holbrook relates to the often-overlooked role of females on the land.
The Wrobels responded deeply to themes that told the Australian story. Quintessentially part of the Australian psyche is Sidney Nolan's representation of Ned Kelly. Jerilderie, 1956 (Lot 57 ) belongs to a small group of curtain or backcloth studies designed in response to his successful Redfern exhibition of the 'second series' in 1955. Nolan depicts Kelly mounted on horseback, fused with his iconic centaur-like silhouette striding in to Jerilderie, the location of the infamous bank heist in 1879. This small, prized work is undoubtedly a highlight of the collection.
Following the Wrobel collection is the Important Australian Art auction which begins with the estate of Dr Edward Jackson AM and Mrs Cynthia Jackson AM who launched Primavera at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Highlights include works by Godfrey Miller (Lot 102 ), Donald Friend (Lot 105 ), Arthur Boyd (Lot 104 ) and Lloyd Rees (Lot 108 ). Also on offer are major works by Howard Arkley (Lot 130 ), A fresh to market Sidney Nolan Antarctic painting which has been repatriated from New York (Lot 137 ), as well exceptional still lifes by Nora Heysen (Lot 113 ) and Margaret Olley (Lot 140 )
