It is not often that art lovers have such an extended chance to obtain a slice of Australian history – however, as the comprehensive Australian art collection assembled by superannuation giant Cbus from 1992 to 2007 continues to be offered at auction, this is exactly what is happening.

Part III, dealing with Traditional and Modern Art – the second of three timed online auctions – is now on the Deutscher and Hackett website and ends from 7pm Tuesday August 16.

The Australian art collection, engineered on behalf of superannuation giant Cbus by legendary artworld figure the late Dr Joseph Brown (1918-2009), continues to entice auction goers in the first of three timed online August auctions from 7pm Tuesday August 9 at 105 Commercial Road, South Yarra.

The first sale on July 27 featured 100 “highlight” paintings that realised more than $9 million.

This August 9 auction is expected to result in a much lower but still healthy more than an $800,000 return from the 71 paintings on offer.

Part 2 of the collection of 18^th century English porcelain, sterling silver, clocks and telescopes Melbourne enthusiast Paul Mitchell has assembled over the past 45 years will be among 1000 items Christian McCann Auctions is offering in a two-day sale from 12pm Saturday August 6 and continuing from the same time Sunday August 7 at 7 Harper Street, Abbotsford.

Mitchell decided to auction his collection in order to pursue his new interest in book binding in the United Kingdom.

It often takes far-sighted visionaries to change the course of history – never more true than for the Australian art industry.

In the late 1980s, legendary Melbourne-based artworld figures Dr Joseph Brown (1918-2009) and Professor Bernard Smith (1916-2011) sensed that important Australian artworks were significantly undervalued and surreptitiously being snapped up by overseas buyers instead of remaining in the country.