An iconic image by Gert Sellheim achieved a new world record price at auction at Swann Galleries, New York, on 11 November. On estimates of U$3,000 – 4,000, ‘Australia – Surf Club’ from 1936 soared to US $24,000 (incl. buyer’s premium), report David Hulme and Brigitte Banziger.
An iconic image by Gert Sellheim achieved a new world record price for an Australian poster at auction at Swann Galleries, New York, on 11 November, when it soared to US $24,000 (incl. buyer’s premium)
According to Nicho Lowry, president of Swann Galleries, bidding for this superb Art Deco poster was fierce with several phone bidders battling it out. The US prevailed with the poster going to an American art deco collector, while an Australian was the underbidder.
The condition certainly helped the record, as did the poster’s rarity. It was classified as B+ / A-which clearly stirred interest.
The previous record for an Australian travel poster was held by a poster featuring Bondi Beach from 1929 by Percy Trompf (1902- 64), selling for US $12,000 incl. b.p. - also set by Swann Galleries in November 2008.
Nicho Lowry points out that Australia has produced some of the best travel poster designers, namely Percy Trompf, James Northfield, Eileen Mayo and Gert Sellheim.
Sellheim is a name not many would be familiar with. As George Rayner Hoff is famous for designing the Holden logo, so Sellheim should be recognised for creating that other Australian iconic logo, the Flying Kangaroo for Qantas.
Born in 1901 in Estonia of German parents, Sellheim migrated to Australia in 1926, He worked from the 1930s as an industrial and commercial designer, and produced posters mainly for the Australian National Travel Association. In 1939, he won the Sulman prize for his decoration of the building of the Victorian Government Tourist Bureau.
Sellheim was one of the first to draw inspiration from Aboriginal imagery; in 1948, his two-shilling stamp celebrating Aboriginal art won a stamp-design competition. (Biography of Sellheim at Australian Dictionary of Biography - http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/sellheim-gert-hugo-emmanuel-11655).
About The Author
Brigitte Banziger and David Hulme are the principals of Banziger Hulme Fine Art Consultants, established since 2003. With their combined experience of over 40 years, they provide private collectors as well as companies and public institutions with independent expert art valuations.
In addition to their appraisals for insurance, family law, deceased estates and market values, they assist clients with transparent advice when buying or selling an individual artwork or an entire collection, for some of Australia’s most significant private collectors.
David Hulme is an approved valuer for the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, and both Brigitte and David are members of the Art Consulting Association of Australia, where David served as President from 2015 to 2019.
David Hulme is a regular art market critic and commentator on the Australian art market and has been interviewed by numerous media, including the 'Australian Financial Review', 'The Australian' and 'The Sydney Morning Herald'. He has also been interviewed on Network 10’s 'The Project', on the ABC’s Radio National Breakfast show with Hamish MacDonald, the ABC’s 'The Business' program amongst many others.
