Rex E. Battarbee Australia, 1893-1973
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Where to buy or sell art works by Rex Battarbee
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About Rex Battarbee
Reginald Ernest (Rex) Battarbee was born in Warnambool, Victoria in 1893. A war injury prevented him returning to his life on the land, and he studied commercial art in Melbourne.. However he developed a preference for landscape ppainting, and became known as a watercolour artist. His fame spread as a result of his patronage, teaching and development of the Arunta school of Aboriginal artists in Central Australia. In 1932, in company with John Gardener, he made his first visit to Central Australia. On a second trip in 1934 he met Albert Namatjira who, under his guidance, was to become the leading Aboriginal painter in the Centre. Battarbee later founded a gallery in Alice Springs.
In our database, 193 works by Rex Battarbee are listed as being offered for sale, the earliest in 1973, of which 141 (73%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $12,057 for Ghost Gum 1959 sold by Evans Hastings Valuers & Auctioneers in November 2020. This year one work has been offered for sale. Works by Rex Battarbee are held by the Art Gallery of South Australia, National Gallery of Australia and a further three major public national galleries (see list below).
Rex Battarbee 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 246
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 285
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- Australian Prints + Printmaking, a database listing printmaking artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region based on the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
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.
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