Brisbane art dealer Philip Bacon’s art sale of the century opens this weekend
Brisbane’s nationally renowned Philip Bacon Galleries are clearing out some treasures, so you can get a Brett Whiteley, Charles Blackman, Margaret Olley or Arthur Boyd for half the normal price. SEE THE LIST SO FAR
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Philip Bacon’s Brisbane stockroom is legendary, and visitors to his eponymous gallery in Fortitude Valley often wish they could get a look at what’s down in his basement.
Now the man regarded by many as Australia’s leading art dealer is bringing a selection of works worth around $2 million up into the daylight with an art sale that opens to the public on Saturday at 482 Brunswick St.
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That space, a former antiques store, is owned by Bacon and is just next to Philip Bacon Galleries and Jan Murphy Gallery, which straddle the corner of Arthur and Brunswick streets.
Having that space vacant at the moment inspired Bacon to offer this rare treat for art lovers.
“The space was temporarily vacant so the stars all aligned,” Bacon says.
“We last did this in 2008 and people loved it. Mind you it got a bit ugly though.
“There can be a bit of grabbing and fighting over pieces often between people who should know better.
“I think some people who attended last time had honed their skills at the Myer half-yearly clearance.”
Bacon chuckles at the thought. He’s not averse to enthusiasm from his buyers and is happy to do a bit of sideshow-style spruiking. And he has plenty to spruik about because he happens to have a stable of artists and a stockroom that reflects the art history of our nation.
Bacon is not shy about the novelty of slashing prices and says there will be “something for everyone” and it is indeed a mind boggling array of Australian art on offer.
“We have well over 200 items by some of Australia’s biggest names in the art world including Ray Crooke, John Coburn, Arthur Boyd, Margaret Olley, even Brett Whiteley and Sidney Nolan,” Bacon says
“Many of the works in this sale have never been on the walls.
“There are works from deceased estates or divorces or from people downsizing.
“There are a lot of art books as well and some limited edition prints for as little as $10-$20.
“I’ve decided to do it now just prior to Christmas because it would be a great thing to be able to put a Charles Blackman or a Lloyd Rees under the Christmas tree.
“But buyers will need to do their own gift wrapping.”
There is a whole wall of work of Charles Blackman and a lovely charcoal from 1962, Christabel (Blackman), which depicts the late great artist’s daughter and that would usually sell for $14,500 but has been reduced to $9200.
The Charles Blackman Moreton Bay painting is discounted from $16,500 to $11,200.
A 1979 etching by Brett Whiteley, Nectar (Addiction) Portrait of Paul Verlaine, was $12,00 and is now just $7,800.
One of the most striking pieces in the show is by the late Queensland artist Ray Crooke, who was known as the Gauguin of Australia because of his colourful works depicting the tropics and the islands of the South Seas.
Crooke’s 1985 oil painting Lovers, Fiji was $45,000 but has been reduced to $27,000.
Robert Dickerson’s acrylic painting The Visitor has been reduced $26,500 to $15,500 and Margaret Olley etchings that should sell for $8800 are now just $6600.
Olley, the revered Brisbane artist, exhibited at Philip Bacon Galleries and was a close friend of his.
The sale includes contemporary work, more traditional fare and historic works by the likes of Hans Heysen, Charles Conder and Rupert Bunny.
There are rare works by early Queensland artists including Isaac Walter Jenner, who is well represented in the QAGOMA collection and is described by Philip Bacon as “the father of Queensland art”.
There are also works by Queensland artists William Bustard, Vida Lahey, Charles Lancaster and recent work by William Robinson.
If contemporary art is your thing, there’s a huge male nude painted in 2001 by former Brisbane boy Peter Churcher (who now lives in Barcelona) entitled Unable to Watch. That large and magnificent oil painting would normally sell for $30,000 but is now just $18,000. There is also work by local favourites including Lawrence Daws, Ralph Wilson, Peter Anderson and others from Bacon’s impressive stable.
“There’s quite a lot of history in this show,” Bacon says.
“Most galleries just represent artists, they don’t accumulate the way I do but then again most dealers may not be as old as I am.
“But people always seem fascinated by what I have in my stockroom.”
And now the art in that stockroom is coming out of the basement and into the light.
Bacon is relaxed about the whole thing being a bit like a Harvey Norman clearance, and says he’s looking forward to people’s reactions and even perhaps the odd scuffle between art lovers.
The Philip Bacon Galleries Art Sale is open to the public at 482 Brunswick Street from 11am this Saturday, November 21. It is then on from Tuesday, November 24, until the following Saturday, November 28.
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