Born in Scotland in 1832, John MacKennal was apprenticed to a Liverpool sculptor and studied at Collegiate Institution, Liverpool, before his arrival in Victoria in 1852. He worked on the goldfields before engaging in an architectural modelling business in Melbourne. He received commissions for portrait busts, medallions and carvings. A foundation member of the Victorian Academy of Art, he frequently contributed to overseas exhibitions. Mackennal was awarded a medal at the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1873 for his medallic work. MacKennal was the father of Sir Edgar Bertram MacKennal.
We have records of art auction sales by John Mackennal from 1988 and in total 10 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 10 (100%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $10,800 for A Collection of Ephemera and Reliefs sold by Leonard Joel in October 2009. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2023. Works by John Mackennal are held by the National Gallery of Australia.
John Simpson Mackennal is listed in the following standard biographical references:
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.
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.