IMPORTANT AUSTRALIAN ART

The exhibition will be on view in Melbourne from Wednesday 8 November – Sunday 12 November, 10 am to 5 pm, at 14-16 Collins Street.

Among the highlights of the sale is Sidney Nolan’s spectacular Desert Bird 1948 (lot 14, estimate $500,000–700,000, pictured above).  In 1948 Nolan produced an extraordinary series of Queensland outback subjects that launched his national and international career.  Renowned for their highly individual and intuitive response to the Australian landscape and its inhabitants, compositions from this series are held by numerous Australian and international public institutions.

Desert Bird bears a particularly distinguished provenance to match its high quality.  The work was purchased by the grandfather of the present owner in early 1949 and was later acknowledged by Nolan as his first painting sold to an independent collector.  Extensively included in major exhibitions and publications, Desert Bird has long been revered as one of Nolan’s finest compositions from the period remaining in private ownership.  We are particularly honoured to be entrusted with the sale of this painting, which since its creation has formed part of the same family collection.

Following Melbourne, the Sydney exhibition will take place from Thursday 16 November – Tuesday 21 November, 10 am to 5 pm at 30 Queen Street, Woollahra.

The auction will be held at the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia, 111 Queen Street, Woollahra at 6.30 pm on 21 November 2023.

For more information, please contact: