Australian poll research guru auctions his Australiana collection

Collectors will once more be able to tap into the museum collection of Morgan Gallup Poll boss Gary Morgan and his wife Genevieve when Part Two is offered for auction from 6pm on Tuesday August 12 through Melbourne-based Leski Auctions at 727-729 High Street, Armadale.

Their East Melbourne home is a living celebration of their decades-long passion for artworks, sculptures, pottery, wood carvings and furnishings that reflect the two centuries of family history in Australia – and collectors first had their opportunity in December 2021 to avail themselves of some of the Morgan collection, which Leski Auctions was asked to oversee.

Gary’s great-grandfather William H. Williams jointly published the Diggers’ Advocate in 1853 only 18 years after Melbourne founder John Batman established the colony and, in the years following, founded several other publications.

Educated at Brighton and Melbourne Grammars, his father Roy in the 1940s established what was to become the best-known market research company in Australia, the Morgan Gallup Poll, which Gary took over during the 1960s and is still its executive chairman.

Gary and Genevieve’s enthusiasm for Australian works is renowned and, as their collection grew, they were able to lend several pieces to various museums, libraries and other institutions.

In this auction, collectors will see a wide range of Australian pottery from such luminaries as Bendigo Pottery, Merric Boyd, Grace Seccombe, Castle Harris, Marguerite Mahood, Philippa James, William Ricketts and Klytie Pate.

Of particular note is Merric Boyd’s 1921 vase with a wind-swept tree decoration (lot 36) and his 1946 self-portrait (lot 37).

A Marguerite Mahood art deco pottery statue of a lady in a green cape (lot 56) is another strong attraction – while Castle Harris’s rare pottery tree stump vase encircled by a bearded dragon lizard (lot 79) has to be seen to be believed.

Another of his works, a Remued rare pottery koala bookend is featured in lot 80.

One of the works is a good example of perennial favourite William Ricketts, whose works are perpetuated at the sanctuary bearing his name in Mt Dandenong, and appears at lot 105 – an Aboriginal boy mounted on granite stone, while another is a pottery kookaburra perched on a branch (lot 106).

Grace Seccombe also is prominent with a pottery galah statue (lot 108) among several other entries.

One of Australia’s leading artists John Perceval (1923-2000) and the last surviving member of a group known as the Angry Penguins who during the 1940s redefined Australian art, has several significant entries including a pottery bust entitled Angel (lot 117) with a catalogue estimate of $40,000-$60,000.

Another of his efforts is a signed hand painted tile top coffee table (lot 118).

Magnificent examples of Australian colonial furniture also are up for grabs with a 19^th century cedar secretaire bookcase (lot 165) originally belonging Irish-born judge Sir Redmond Barry (1813-1880) manufactured by Melbourne’s George Thwaites (Thwaites & Son) who provided high class pieces for Victorian mansions, homesteads and prominent institutional and public buildings from 1842 to 1889, carrying the highest estimate of $20,000-$30,000.

Sir Redmond was instrumental in founding several key Melbourne institutions such as the University of Melbourne and the State Library Victoria.

Another attributed George Thwaites creation – a circa 1880 cedar twin pedestal sideboard (lot 161) – is worth considering, while a circa 1850 cedar breakfront sideboard originally from Sydney (lot 168) by master cabinetmaker Andrew Lenehan has impressive credentials, given that a collection of his furniture is domiciled at New South Wales Government House.

Several significant paintings are in the auction including a gouache and pencil work entitled Kangaroo Stalking (lot 198) by Samuel Thomas Gill (1818-1880) famous for his drawings and watercolours of early Australian colonial life – many of which can be found in Canberra’s National Library, Sydney’s Mitchell Library and the National Galleries of Victoria and South Australia.

An extremely rare 1890 work entitled Sandringham Beach (lot 204) by Leon (Sonny) Pole (1871-1951) is another strong example of Australian art in the auction.