John William (Will) Ashton Australia, 1881-1963
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by Will Ashton
Auction Houses
About Will Ashton
John William (Will) Ashton was born in York, England, in 1881 and moved to Australia with his family in 1884. He studied in Adelaide under his father, James Ashton; in St Ives, Cornwall under Julius Olsson and Algernon Talmadgeand at the Academie Julien, Paris. On his return from his studies in England and Europe, Ashton held successful exhibitions of his impressionist pictures of popular resorts and from then on spent much of his life travelling and repeating this initial success. As a prolific painter of this type of picturesque work Ashton became a strong and influential opponent of the modern movement in Australia.
Will Ashton is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1969 of 2,178, of which 1,567 (72%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $99,000 for Victory Celebration, Martin Place, Sydney sold by Deutscher and Hackett in April 2008. This year 30 works have been offered for sale. Works by Will Ashton are held by the Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery of South Australia and a further seven major public national galleries (see list below).
Will Ashton 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 222
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 280
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
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.
Access to the database is available on either a monthly or annual subscription. During the subscription period you have unlimited access to the site. If you would like to subscribe, please proceed to our Subscription Form.