Find Lots

• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  Fine Australian & International Art
• Sale Date:
  23 Nov 2015 ~ 6.30pm
• Lot #:
  9
• Lot Description:
  Frank Jeffrey Edson Smart
  (1921-2013)
  Central Station (1) 1961
  oil on board
  61 x 76 cm
  signed lower left: JEFFREY SMART
• Provenance:
  Dr and Mrs H.V. Evatt, Sydney; Mr and Mrs Peter Carrodus, Canberra; Christies, Australian Paintings & Books, Melbourne, 21/08/1988, lot no. 551
• Exhibited:
  Jeffrey Smart, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 18-30 October 1961, cat. no.12, 60 gns; Australian painting: colonial, impressionist, contemporary, National Gallery Of South Australia, 1 March - 1 April 1962; Western Australian Art Gallery, 24 September - 24 October 1962; Tate Gallery, London, 23 January - 3 March 1963; National Gallery Of Canada, Toronto, 11 April - 5 May 1963, Vancouver Art Gallery, 6-22 June 1963, cat. no.193 (Collection Dr. & Mrs.H.V. Evatt, Sydney); Survey, National Gallery of
• References:
  James Gleeson, They're on their own, Sun, Sydney, 18 October 1961, p.35; Daniel Thomas, Australian painting: colonial, impressionist, contemporary, Griffin, Adelaide, 1962, p.47 (illus.); Sandra McGrath, Jeffrey Smart, Art and Australia, vol.7 no.1, June 1969, pp.32-39, p.37 (illus.); Keith Looby, The Absurd Beauty of Reality, Hemisphere, vol.16 no. 11, November 1972, pp.15-22, p.18 (illus.); Patrick MacCaughey, Jeffrey Smart: realism in three dimensions, New Lugano Review, vol.8-9 1976, p.116,
• Notes:
  The paintings of Jeffrey Smart are instantaneously recognisable to Australian art lovers. Featuring insular people set against harsh and brightly lit urban surroundings, their mysterious narratives have tantalized audiences since the 1940s. The arrangement of the figures within these tableaus brings to mind Piero della Francesca's Flagellation of Christ, the one image that Smart himself referred to as 'the most satisfying painting ever made.'1 In this timeless scene, Christ stands tied to a pole within an elegant tiled portico, seemingly unconcerned as the guards scourge him. To the right, three men in exotic costume stand in awkward conversation but there seems no definitive connection between the two scenes. The Flagellation has fascinated historians for over 500 years and for Smart in particular, the attraction was della Francesca's 'haunting placement of figures, gazing forth with unsmiling faces of deep detachment - figures that seem to have wandered into the scene like lost souls/last surviving souls/ or strangely knowing souls making some telling comment on their surroundings - that entices and intrigues viewers and critics.'2 Jeffrey Smart settled in Sydney in 1951 where he was employed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on the recommendation of Bernard Smith, taking on the much beloved role of Phideas, the art specialist on the Junior Argonauts radio program. He also took on teaching positions but by the late 1950s, he determined to tighten his belt and concentrate on painting. Following a poorly received exhibition at Sydney's Macquarie Galleries in 1957, Smart took stock of his situation. 'Collectors did not respond as positively to the 1957 show as he had hoped, and the sale of one of the few larger paintings .... encouraged him to think about scaling up and using bigger brushes. .... Smart did not exaggerate his new approach too much but changed scale enough for his exhibition at Macquarie Galleries in October 1961 to awaken the contemporary audience to a more competitive, muscular realist vision, seeing this exhibition as a turning point.'3 The Macquarie Galleries was one of the landmark galleries in Australian history. Started in 1925 by John Young and Basil Burdett, the gallery featured an enviable roster of artists including Grace Cossington Smith, William Dobell, Ralph Balson and Ian Fairweather. By 1961, it was managed by the redoubtable Treania Smith and thus commanded the serious attention of the local art critics and collectors. Anticipation was high and on the day after the opening, Smart stated in a newspaper social column that 'people were queuing up at 9.30(am) .... and the whole exhibition of paintings has been sold except for three.'4 It was also a high society crowd with Central Station being purchased by Dr H.V. 'Doc' Evatt, the notable politician and art collector. Central Station I is the perfect encapsulation of Smart's application of the possibilities suggested by della Francesca. Based on the geometry of the 'golden rectangle', the image is perfectly composed and still, bordered on three sides by deep shadows which emphasise the battered brick wall as much as the bare chested figure who stares beyond the frame as if listening to a far off sound. Ragged as they may appear, the gaps in the brickwork are actually critical punctuation points for the eye as it moves around the canvas in a trajectory that is itself repeated by the stylised nautilus shell design on the tiles at the base. This is a painting where nothing is left to chance, and 'the subtle baroque movement to the top edge of the picture'5 counters the banal anonymity of the remaining architecture. Critic James Gleeson considered it one of the five 'outstanding' works from the exhibition6 and Wallace Thornton celebrated the new maturity evident in Smart's paintings, writing that '(d)rama is not forced as in the past, but now has a chance to gain in intensity through a sense of mystery.'7 This is the first time this painting has been offered for sale in twenty-five years and is now known as Central Station I to distinguish it from a later version Central Station II 1974, purchased by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. 1 Janet Hawley, 'Jeffrey Smart', Encounters with Australian Artists, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, 1993,p.105 2 Janet Hawley, op cit, p.106 3 Barry Pearce, Jeffrey Smart, The Beagle Press, Sydney, 2005 p.122 4 'They're talking about - Neo-Realism', The Telegraph, Sydney, 19 October 1961, p.29 5 Barry Pearce, op cit., p.126 6 James Gleeson, 'They're on their own', Sun, Sydney, 18 October 1961, p.35 7 Wallace Thornton, 'Neo-realist sets his own pace', Sydney Morning Herald, 18 October 1961, p.2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Mossgreen would like to thank Stephen Rogers, Archivist for the Estate of Jeffrey Smart, for assistance in cataloguing this work
• Estimate:
  A$250,000 - 350,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

  Can't see the realised price? Upgrade your subscription now!

• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.