The digital catalogue for the upcoming Important Australian Art auction at Smith & Singer is now available to view online.

Among the highlights of the sale is Arthur Streeton’s magnificent Romance in Blue and Gold (1932) (lot 32, estimate $300,000-500,000, pictured above).  

It is not difficult to understand why Arthur Streeton is one of the most highly regarded, appreciated and beloved of all Australian artists, and that his images of the ocean, in particular, have captured our hearts and minds.

In early 1932 Streeton visited Port Campbell and completed six major canvasses that responded to one of the most dramatic sections of Victoria’s entire coastline.  In such compositions created between the First and Second World Wars, Streeton expressed his concerns and ideals to present an Australian landscape that remained genuine, pure and clear; a landscape the reflected stability, resilience and fortitude; recaptured something uniquely Australian that had been feared as potentially lost; and looked to the future with promise and hope.  Romance in Blue and Gold has long been regarded as one of the artist’s finest and evocative subjects from this crucial period.

The exhibition will take place in Melbourne from Wednesday 2 November – Sunday 6 November, 10 am to 5 pm at 14-16 Collins Street, and in Sydney from Thursday 10 November – Wednesday 16 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 16 November 2022.