Louis Le Breton France, Australia, New Zealand, 1818-66
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by Louis Le Breton
Auction Houses
About Louis Le Breton
Born in France in 1818, Louis Le Breton was a naval surgeon, draughtsman and lithographer specialising in nautical subjects. It was while working as a naval surgeon on board the 'Astrolabe' bound for Australian waters that his talent as an artist was noted, and after the death of the expedition's official artist he took over the artistic duties. Le Breton's visits to the South Pacific took him to Tasmania Port Essington, the Northern Territory and New Zealand.
Our database records art auction sales of works by Louis Le Breton from 1978 and in total 34 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 20 (59%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $41,400 for View of Hobart-Town, Van Diemen's Land sold by Sotheby's in August 1998. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2020. Works by Louis Le Breton are held by the National Gallery of Australia, Christchurch Art Gallery and a further two major public national galleries (see list below).
Louis Le Breton 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 604
- Kerr, Joan. Dictionary of Australian Artists, Painters, Sketchers, Photographers and Engravers to 1870. Oxford University Press, Australia, 1993. Page 455
- Gil Docking, with additions by Michael Gunn covering 1970-90. Two Hundred Years of New Zealand Painting, David Bateman Ltd., New Zealand, 1990 Page 22
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 146
- 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…
No, ineligible. The artist has been deceased for more than 70 years.
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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