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Visual art

Today

“Bulletproofglass #2”, a 2002 photograph by Rosemary Laing, at Deutsche Bank.

The new Medici in art collecting? Investment banks in Australia

Bulge-bracket finance firms are defying global trends and investing in fine artwork. How do their Australian offices look?

This Month

David Rowe cartoons for April 2025

David Rowe is a multiple Walkley award-winning cartoonist. He draws a daily political cartoon and one for the Chanticleer column.

Carol Jerrems’ Vale Street, 1975, the image for which the late Australian photographer is best known, blew through its estimate to set a record for an Australian photograph.

A record-setting photo and a $2.5m number plate

The biggest auction of the year so far delivered $10 million in sales and a record price for an iconic image, while a small plate brings a big price.

NGA director Nick Mitzevich with Edvard Munch’s Man With Horse (1918), which has been purchased for the gallery by Geoff Ainsworth.

Biggest gift completes ‘unfinished business’ at National Gallery

The Canberra institution finally has a work by one of the 20th century’s most influential painters, Edvard Munch of The Scream fame, thanks to philanthropist Geoff Ainsworth.

Former AGNSW director Michael Brand and his deputy turned replacement Maud Page, pictured together in 2017.

Senior staff depart Art Gallery of NSW amid tension at the top

The chief operating officer and chief of staff have both left the institution following a change of directors.

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Cryptocurrencies are gaining traction among even the most conservative art auctioneers.

Why the art market has an eye for crypto

Everyone wins: buyers avoid taxes, and auction houses make money.

Yayoi Kusama’s retrospective at the NGV is set to become the biggest-selling art show in Australian history.

NGV’s ‘Kusama’ to become biggest-selling art show

The 96-year-old Japanese woman, whom few Australians had heard of four months ago, is set to be responsible for the country’s most popular ticketed art exhibition ever.

March

Daddy Warbucks (Anthony Warlow) and Annie (Lucille Le Meledo) in rehearsal for John Frost’s 2025 production.

From Annie to Zimmer: the must-see shows to catch in April

Take a break from the hard-knock life with our monthly selection of the best live entertainment around the country.

Artist Khaled Sabsabi; Creative Australia chairman Robert Morgan (left) and CEO Adrian Collette.

‘Shouted into submission’: Monash Uni stops Sabsabi show

The cancelled artist’s gallerist has blasted Creative Australia for not having his client’s back.

Brett Whiteley’s Untitled Red Painting III, 1961, in oil on board, is estimated at $450,000 to $650,000 in Menzies’ Important Australian and International Art auction in Sydney on April 9.

From £450 to $1m: Early Whiteleys emerge with a rich backstory

In 1961 the young Australian artist paid close attention to the pretty Californian art student who bought two of his works in London.

Chateau La Coste.

How to make the most of the south of France’s best art

From land art in the mountains to pop art on sun-soaked islands, here’s your guide to following the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur art route.

Inside the homes of Australia’s most connected art collectors

Ever wondered how to showcase artwork to let them shine? A new book peeks into the homes of prominent art collectors around the country.

Incoming AGNSW director Maud Page at the gallery on Friday.

Art Gallery Of NSW gets first female director after 154 years

Maud Page, the long-time deputy of outgoing director Michael Brand, has been selected to step up at the institution, which gets 2 million visitors annually.

Gallerists Joanna Strumpf (left) and Ursula Sullivan with a shimmering pink ceramic piece by sculptor Linda Draper.

The Australian gallery that made art fun turns 20

Sullivan+Strumpf co-founders Ursula Sulllivan and Joanna Strumpf have been turning the gallery scene on its head since their share-house days of wild parties.

Sirius Cove, 1895, by Arthur Streeton carries an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000 in Smith & Singer’s auction of Important Australian Art to be held in Sydney on April 8.

130 years on, Australian art history comes out of the woodwork

An Arthur Streeton painting of a hallowed art location and a canvas that rocketed Brett Whiteley towards his eventual fame will be auctioned in April.

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Ben Quilty’s ‘Australian Landscape Mazda 121’ was seized from a drug syndicate as an outworking of the Australian Federal Police’s Operation Fuji.

Whiteley, Quilty among artists collected by crime syndicate

Forget Lamborghinis or brass knuckles. This Melbourne drug syndicate preferred Australian paintings such as Ben Quilty’s Mazda 121, which has now made $73,621 for the Commonwealth.

Double Wanjina, c.1978, by Alec Mingelmanganu, carries an estimate of $8000 to $12,000 in Deutscher + Hackett’s March 26 auction of Important Australian Indigenous Art.

A Canadian estate sale bargain is about to deliver a 200 times return

A wood carving snapped up at an estate clearance for the price of lunch turns out to be something quite rare and valuable.

American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein’s Peanut Butter Cup, 1962. The work’s consignor is Sydney-based collector and philanthropist John Kaldor.

Roy Lichtenstein delivers $2m payday for John Kaldor

At 89, one of Australia’s top arts philanthropists is downsizing his personal collection, starting with this “early Pop Art masterpiece”.

February

The new building (right) follows the curve of the 2003 building; a new sculpture park meandering between.

One couple’s decades-long devotion to Australian art has a new home

The Eva and Marc Besen Centre is a state-of-the-art gallery and storage space where back-of-house and front-of-house are one and the same.

February 28, 2025

David Rowe cartoons for February 2025

David Rowe is a multiple Walkley award-winning cartoonist. He draws a daily political cartoon and one for the Chanticleer column.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/visual-art-1msv