Queensland artists are cashing in on their creativity as they make their mark in the market
ART investment’s golden rule is buy what you like, and with Queensland artists producing world-class work, chances are you can’t lose.
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HE’S considered our greatest living artist. but William Robinson is quick to nominate someone else for the title.
“What about John Olsen?” Robinson suggests with typical humility. Now 90 Olsen is, of course, revered but it’s explained that we are talking about Queensland artists and even Robinson can’t argue with that.
Queensland’s art scene has talent to spare, with generations from Robinson down making their mark.
“Our artists are world class,” says Josh Milani, whose new gallery at West End opens today. He points out the Tate Modern in London has recently spent up on Queenslanders Vernon Ah Kee, Richard Bell and Judy Watson.
And at 82, Robinson is still hard at work at his home studio in Brisbane’s leafy west where he lives with his wife, Shirley. The venerable artist is one of few to have a museum in his honour while still breathing – the William Robinson Gallery at Old Government House.
If you measure success in monetary terms Robinson is second only to the late Ian Fairweather whose works now sell for millions. The auction record for a Robinson of $696,000 is, however, impressive. Robinson is sanguine about such matters and doesn't really think about his position in the art world.
“I don’t have any ambition anymore,” he says. “But I will never retire from painting while I can keep going. I didn't have any recognition in the early days and had a great deal of criticism.”
But winning two Archibald Prizes (1987 and 1995) put paid to much of that criticism. And Robinson went on to become our greatest living artist with his major landscape works ranked as Australian masterpieces.
His art dealer, Philip Bacon, says Robinson’s gradual rise to fame (he taught art for many years) and the equally gradual rise of prices for his work demonstrates that art is a good investment.
Bacon points out people who paid $900 for one of Robinson’s famous farmyard pictures in the 1980s are now selling them for $90,000.
Geoffrey Smith, chairman of auction house Sotheby’s Australia, says Robinson is hot property. “In November 2017 a 1993 work of his called Sunset and Rising Moon was estimated to sell at between $60,000 and $80,000 but went for $146,400.”
Smith says Queensland artists are good investments.
If you had a work by Ian Fairweather, for example, tucked away somewhere you might be instantly rich.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales paid $2.2 million for Fairweather’s The Last Supper after divesting itself in 2010 of another Fairweather, Gethsemane, which was purchased by Philip Bacon for $1 million.
Bacon generously donated that work to the QAGOMA collection and points out it would be worth much more than a million now.
Another Queensland artist who is, like Robinson, in the Philip Bacon Galleries stable and going gangbusters is Michael Zavros, 44, who lives in Brisbane’s rural bayside.
“His show last year sold out,” Bacon says, “The top price was $165,000. (Regularly people say) they saw Zavros 10 years ago when his paintings cost around $3000.”
Smith says in May this year a 2010 Zavros work called Debaser / Marc Jacobs came up for auction and was estimated to sell for $10,000 to $15,000 but went for $35,380.
Which proves that art is a good investment. But how to work out what to buy?
Jan Murphy, whose eponymous gallery in Fortitude Valley represents some of Australia’s top artists, including Ben Quilty, says first and foremost you should buy what you like. “That’s the golden rule,” Murphy says.
“Look at the artist’s history and do some research and talk to gallerists.”
Bacon says when you become informed “something will leap out at you”.
“But be prepared,” he says. “Because the perfect picture will always cost more than you wanted to pay. “You have to take a leap of faith or there will be regrets. “It’s a bit like real estate. We’ve all got stories about how we could have bought a block at Surfers Paradise years ago and didn’t.”
At the age of 28 Queenslander Monica Rohan is a rising star in the Australian art market.
She has had four exhibitions with Jan Murphy Gallery and is now also represented by Sophie Gannon Gallery in Melbourne, where she will have a show next month.
Her works are, according to Murphy, still “attainable” – selling for between $2500 and $6000, a steal considering what they might one day be worth.
“There’s a waiting list though,” Murphy explains.
“Her last show was snapped up as soon as it went up.”
Her 2015 exhibition in Melbourne sold out before it opened. “It’s a nice feeling,” Rohan says. “Its encouraging and makes you want to keep painting.”
Rohan, a graduate of the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, grew up on a dairy farm in Kerry Valley near Beaudesert.
She works in a shared studio named Outer Space at West End in Brisbane and can hardly keep up with demand.
Her early works featured colourfully painted fabrics in which figures (often herself) were depicted, sometimes face down. They attracted attention for their beauty and emotional honesty.
Now she has moved on to chairs and trees with the same emotional frankness that has attracted fans.
Murphy says Rohan “plugs into feelings that 99.9 per cent of us have”.
Rohan says people respond positively to the psychological content of her work. As for her success and the increasing prices for it: “I don’t think about money,” she says. “I think about my work.”
If you’re a budding collector, maybe think about both.
TOP 10 ESTABLISHED QUEENSLAND ARTISTS
1. Ian Fairweather, 1891-1974.
Fairweather was an eccentric character who lived as a hermit in a shack on Bribie Island. His works now sell for millions.
2. William Robinson, 82.
He’s our greatest living artist and his large landscape works now sell for more than $500,000.
3. Michael Zavros, 44.
His highly stylised, meticulously rendered drawings and paintings depicting everything from men’s suits to luxurious interiors and exotic chickens sell for up to $165,000.
4. Ray Crooke, 1922-2015. Dubbed Australia’s Gauguin (a title he eschewed) Crooke lived much of his life in Cairns. His works now sell for up to $170,000
5. Margaret Olley, 1923-2011. She was educated in Brisbane and spent some of her career here so we’re claiming her. She is one of Australia’s most loved artists and her sumptuous paintings sell for as much as $150,000
6. Vernon Ah Kee, 51. His works range from drawings of his ancestors to hard hitting text-based art and installations which sometimes offer a commentary on underlying racism. Prices range from $500 for a print to $150,000 for major works.
7. Lawrence Daws, 91. Daws is our senior artist, a printmaker and painter who is still working. His paintings are often mystical, always beautiful and sell for as much as $150,000.
8. Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, c1924-2015. Born on Bentick Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, she became an indigenous art star in her 80s. There is huge interest in her work in the US and Europe. Her works sell for up to $120,000, and rising.
9. Davida Allen, 66. Allen’s career got a boost when she won the Archibald Prize in 1986. Her lively figurative expressionist works now sell for as much as $90,000
10. Tracey Moffatt, 57.
Arguably our most famous artist internationally she is renowned for video and photography work. Her photos sell for $1000- $50,000.
TOP 10 EMERGING QUEENSLAND ARTISTS
1. Monica Rohan, 28. Her paintings sell like hot cakes for between $2500 and $6000 which is still reasonable for anyone starting a collection.
2. Sam Cranstoun, 30. He works in multiple mediums and his work is affordable at the power end with prices starting from around $750 but going up to $20,000 for major work.
3. Gerwyn Davies, 33. ???
4. Dylan Jones, 25. A graduate of Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, he uses a palette knife to produce vibrant expressionist paintings that sell for between under $1000 and up to $4000.
5. Aaron Butt, 24. A QUT graduate, he works in representational painting but also dabbles in conceptual art. Works sell for between $1000 up to $3000.
6. Elizabeth Willing, 30. People may recall her colourful wallpaper at the Museum of Brisbane last year. Her work includes collage, sculpture and performance based. Recently exhibited with Tolarno Galleries at the Melbourne Art Fair, her works sell for up to $5000.
7. Claudia Moodoonuthi, 22. Originally from the Gulf of Carpentaria her prints, paintings and sculptures sell from $1000 to $6000.
8. Ryan Presley, 31. Lives in Brisbane and his paintings and works on paper are challenging and fun. His work depicting money featuring Aboriginal figures is very popular. He’s still collectable with works from $5000 to $15,000.
9. Claudia Greathead, 25. Painterly enigmas and strange narratives populate her works. Very collectable indeed with prices from $400 to $2000.
10. Elisa Jane Carmichael, 31. From North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), she was a hit at the recent Cairns indigenous Art Fair. Her textiles and paintings sell from $1000 to $6500.
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