One of Australia’s most valued artists and an old stager by contemporary standards, Tom Roberts (1856-1931), fetched the highest price at Menzies Melbourne auction on Wednesday June 30 for his work titled Portrait of C.S. Paterson 1888 (lot 34) – a credible $233,181.82 including buyer’s premium.
The painting is historically significant because it depicts Melbourne’s leading art director of the 1870s and 80s, Charles Stewart Paterson (1834-1917), whose firm...