Philip William (Phil) May Britain, Australia, 1864-1903
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by Phil May
Auction Houses
About Phil May
Born in England in 1864, May became one of the most famous cartoonists and caricaturists of his time. He arrived in Australia in 1886 and worked on the staff of the "Bulletin". May spent less than three years in Australia, but during this time exerted considerable influence on the Australian art world. He shared a studio in Katoomba with Blamire Young before moving to Melbourne. In 1888 he returned to London, becoming a well known figure in Fleet Street.
In our database, 92 works by Phil May are listed as being offered for sale, the earliest in 1972, of which 64 (70%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $1,175 for Beautiful Lady sold by Lawson~Menzies (now trading as Menzies) in July 2002. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2023. Works by Phil May are held by the National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of NSW and a further five major public national galleries (see list below).
Phil May 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 668
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 342
- 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…
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.