Submitted by aarAdmin on Tue, 04/20/2021 - 00:00
It is probably no surprise that Rupert Bunny’s (1864-1947) important circa 1899 religious painting St Veronica (lot 23) scooped the pool at Melbourne-based Gibson’s Auctions Australian & International Art sale on Sunday April 18 with a $26,840 (including buyer’s premium) result.
It is a powerful and timeless image that portrays the legend of Veronica witnessing Jesus carrying the cross for his crucifixion and offering her veil as a towel.
The image of his face was then miraculously transferred onto the cloth and Bunny tries to show the event in an act of subtle realism.
Sidney Nolan’s (1917-1992) Gallipoli Soldier circa 1977 (lot 24) was a close second at $25,620, while the Artist’s Studio (lot 21) by an unknown artist brought a credible $14,640.
An interesting auction highlight was Ian Bent’s On the Fence 1967 (lot 118) which sold for $14,030.
This was the second highest price for one of his auction paintings and coincidentally occurred on the third anniversary of his death.
David Boyd (1924-2011) was among the top 10 results with his work Etude for Herself with Her Cello (lot 125) which changed hands for $10,980 and four paintings achieved the same figure of $9760.
These were Hugh Sawrey’s (1919-1999) Yarding the Horses Alexandria Downs NT (lot 31), Eric Thake’s (1904-1982) Back Stage Theatre 1943 (lot 106), Robert Taylor-Ghee’s (1863-1951) Herding the Sheep (lot 129)and Ernest Buckmaster’s (1897-1968) Still Life – Silver and Grapes 1934 (lot 182).
Clifton Pugh (1924-1990) round out the top 10 with An Old Fence 1989 (lot 93) which sold for $8540.
