Oswald Walters Brierly Australia, New Zealand, 1817-94
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About Oswald Brierly
Sir Oswald Walters Brierly, was born in Chester, England, on 19th May, 1817 and arrived in Australia in 1841. A marine painter and topographer, Brierly came to Australia with Captain Boyd, commander and owner of the yacht Wanderer, to work as manager of a fishery at Boydtown, near Twofold Bay on the south coast of N.S.W. Boyd had built and staffed Boydtown which comprised an inn, church, residence and a row of fishermen's houses designed after the style of Scottish crofters' cottages. Brierly stayed at Boydtown as manager for one year and painted his dramatic South Sea Whaling off Twofold Bay, which was later acquired for the Art Gallery of N.S.W. Brierly also painted what was probably the first mural done in Australia, H.M.S. Rattlesnake in a Squall off the Island of Timor, for the dining-room of a private home at Mosman, Sydney. A copy of this work by C. E. S. Tindall is now in the Mitchell Library, Sydney. Brierly also sailed on Rattlesnake at the invitation of the master, Captain Owen Stanley. In 1867 Brierly returned to England as a member of the Duke of Edinburgh's staff, and after a short stay, made further journeys to Australia. He was appointed marine painter to Queen Victoria in 1874 and became Curator of Painted Hall, Greenwich Hospital, in 1881. He was knighted in 1885.
The total number of works by Oswald Brierly offered for sale by auction since 1967 is 133, of which 73 (55%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $25,850 for East Boyd, Twofold Bay, New South Wales sold by Christies in November 2001. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2023. Works by Oswald Brierly are held by the Queensland Art Gallery, Ian Potter Museum of Art and a further three major public national galleries (see list below).
Oswald Brierly 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 283
- Kerr, Joan. Dictionary of Australian Artists, Painters, Sketchers, Photographers and Engravers to 1870. Oxford University Press, Australia, 1993. Page 95
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 290
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 29
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.
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