Sydney property developer puts his art collection up for auction

Acquiring paintings from the Australian Indigenous Irruntja community – including an early significant work by Tommy Watson – turned Sydney property developer Trevor Chappell into an enthusiastic art collector.

Co-founder of Austcorp Group Limited in 1991 and now a well-known collector, Trevor then extended his art collection to include works by emerging and established Australian and international contemporary artists.

Initially, Trevor and his wife Carole collected for their own enjoyment. Soon after, the multi-million dollar collection was expanded and displayed in the Australia-wide offices  Austcorp.

Trevor’s love and appreciation of art was generously shared with family, friends, art lover and Austcorp members and clients.

The collection was given wide exposure with community groups invited to tour its many locations and events organised so prominent artists so that prominent artists within it – including Susan Norrie, Patricia Piccinini, Shen Jaiwei and Rebecca Smith – could attend and speak about their works.

This led to a stimulating interchange of ideas and engendered a greater appreciation and enjoyment of art.

Recently, the Chappell family reviewed their family estate planning and decided it was time for other art lovers to enjoy and treasure the collection.

Accordingly, it has asked Mossgreen to auction the collection from 6.30pm Monday October 9 in its Sydney office at 36-40 Queen Street, Woollahra.

Auction works range from artists like Clifford Possum Tjapaltjari (Worm Dreaming 1996), one of the 1970s pioneers of the original Western Desert art movement, to later generational marvels like Yukultji Napangati (Untitled 2007) – presently coveted by Australian and international private and institutional collections.

Non-indigenous Australian artists also feature prominently in the collection including works by Dale Frank, Peter Sharp, John Kelly, Melinda Harper, Dick Watkins and the spectacular remote Australian landscape photographs of Richard Woldendorp.

The piece de resistance in this category is Shen Jaiwei’s 1966 Beiging Jipu whose work extends from much acclaimed and valuable heroic Chinese revolutionary images to important portrait commissions by Denmark’s Princess Mary and Pope Francis.

The international part of the collection features renowned European and United States artists such as Ben-David Zadock, Terry Winters, Haluk Akakce, Steve Di Benedetto, Carroll Dunham, Bridget Riley and Rebecca Smith – daughter fo renowned sculptor David Smith.

At the same time as Trevor Chappell’s art collection goes under the hammer, the Hooper Collection of art works is being sold online with bidding closing at two-minute intervals from 9am Monday October 9 until the final lot is reached at 5.02pm.

Viewing of the art works in this auction can be seen from 10am-5pm Saturday and Sunday at 22 Pine Street, Flinders View in Queensland.