Cressida Campbell and John Coburn lead an impressive line-up of paintings in Lawsons October Fine Art sale in Sydney on 19 October 2023, including important works by Garry Shead, Jon Molvig and Jessie Constance Traill. From a private collection, the untitled characteristically bold painting by John Coburn (above), possibly produced mid-to-late 70s or 1980, is one of the few black-and-white paintings produced by the artist whose palette was predominantly colours.
The Verandah, 1987 (Lot 501 ), is one of a series of woodblocks produced in the late 80s that was instrumental in launching Campbell’s career. Situated at the home of Lynne Clarke (Russell Drysdale’s daughter) The Verandah displays Campbell’s keen observation for objects within a composition but also simply her appreciation of good interior decorating. An iconic image, the screenprint editions which were later produced, initially of 99 followed by Artist’s Proofs, continues to be one of the more widely sought after images by the artist.
In recent years John Coburn has become increasingly popular. From a private collection, the characteristically bold painting (Lot 507 ), possibly produced mid-to-late 70s or 1980, is one of the few black-and-white paintings produced by the artist whose palette was predominantly colours.
Jon Molvig’s niche but dedicated market will be impressed by Town Nocturne,1955 (Lot 505 ) which was presented at Macquarie Galleries in 1955 as part of a joint exhibition with Ian Fairweather and has remained within a private collection for over 50 years.
Following is an early 70s landscape scene by John Olsen (Lot 506 ). A spatially sparse and flattened landscape articulated by compositions of line and colour, this work on paper belongs to a significant period in Olsen’s career in which he was pursuing his newly found philosophies of representation which informed his life’s work.
The whimsical and lyrical narratives of Garry Shead’s D H Lawrence Series of the early 90s continue to charm collectors. Purchased from Kenthurst Galleries in the early 2000s and has remained within a private collection since, The New World (Lot 508 ) tells the story of two protagonists arriving in a historic township positioned along a familiar southern coastline of New South Wales where they encounter a monument of a kangaroo holding a rifle; the kangaroo is a reference to the Digger movement lead by Lawrence’s protagonist in the novel Benjamin ‘Kangaroo’ Cooley and is a encounter that is often revisited by Shead in the series.
Sydney Bridge V, 1930 (Lot 564 ) is from a celebrated series of etchings Building the Harbour Bridge 1927-1931 by important printmaker Jessie Constance Traill. Examples of the series are currently in the collection of the Art Gallery of NSW. The artist ceased producing etchings after the 30s, works from the Bridge Series are a rare sighting at auction.
