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#29229

BONHAMS' INTRODUCTION:

Barbara Tribe is one of Australia's most significant sculptors. Born in Sydney in 1913 to British parents, she began her artistic studies at the age of 15 at East Sydney Technical College where she studied under Rayner Hoff. Hoff was instrumental in establishing her career, selecting her as an assistant for important commissions; most notably, the ANZAC Memorial in Hyde Park, Sydney. A year after her first solo show in 1934, Tribe became the first woman and first sculptor to win the New South Wales Travelling Art Scholarship. In the same year she left for England, establishing herself professionally, consistently exhibiting from the 1940s onwards at the Royal Academy and Royal Society of British Sculptors.

Whilst she experimented with her practice, she stayed consistent in the theme that informs her body of work: the miracle of creation, growth, and regeneration. Though she is best known as a sculptor, she also worked as a painter and printmaker.

Tribe lived in England for much of her life, though she was a keen traveller, spending much of her time in Thailand having discovered a foundry where she could cast her works in bronze. She did return to Sydney for a visit in 1966 and found her achievements unappreciated by the Australian audience. Over the 1990s, Sydney-based collector and art patron John Schaeffer AO became a major benefactor, helping to revive her career. He was a significant contributor to the 2000 publication of her monograph, 'Barbara Tribe: Sculptor' by Patricia McDonald. In 2004, Schaeffer established the Barbara Tribe Foundation, administered by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.

Tribe's portrait sculptures are represented in England and Australia, including in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra. The collection offered by Bonhams honours the friendship between the artist and benefactor, and his admiration for her works and indomitable spirit.

Copies of Patricia McDonald, 'Barbara Tribe: Sculptor', 2000, are available for purchase from Bonhams.

ABOUT THIS AUCTION:

This is a timed online format auction, meaning that bidders can participate in the auction via computer only. Bidding for the first lot closes at 2pm on Tuesday 28th, with a 1 minute delay between subsequent lots.

To bid online, go to: https://www.bonhams.com/auction/29229/a-focus-on-barbara-tribe-from-the-estate-of-john-schaeffer-ao/

Please remember to allow time to register, so don't leave your bidding to the last minute !

We assume that the viewing for this auction is by appointment, at the Woollahra rooms. In order to arrange an appointment, please contact the auction house by either of the following methods:
phone: (02) 8412 2222
email: info.aus.bonhams.com

If you are unable to view the items in which you are interested, we strongly encourage you to request a condition report. To do this, use the "Ask a Question" button on left hand side of the page of the lot in which you are interested (this enquiry will go directly to the auction house), or though the contact details above.

Please note that there is no additional bidding fee (on top of the buyer's premium) to bid online.

19 Jul 2023 ~ 2pm (AEST)

In order to bid, go to: https://www.bonhams.com/auction/29229/a-focus-on-barbara-tribe-from-the-estate-of-john-schaeffer-ao/
Woollahra, NSW Australia