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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  The Estate of Ann Lewis AO
• Sale Date:
  07 Nov 2011 ~ 6pm
• Lot #:
  125
• Lot Description:
  Ralph Balson
  (1890–1964)
  In 1941 Ralph Balson became the first Australian artist to hold a one-person exhibition dedicated to purely abstract painting. Balson died at the age
  Oil on canvas board
  136 x 97cm
  Gallery A certificate of authenticity label on reverse
• Provenance:
  Gallery A, Sydney
• Notes:
  In 1941 Ralph Balson became the first Australian artist to hold a one-person exhibition dedicated to purely abstract painting. Balson died at the age of 74 in August 1964, a few months before Gallery A Sydney opened, and the majority of his paintings were held in his estate, some of them in poor condition. The director of Gallery A, Max Hutchinson, wrote to the artist's son in April 1965, 'As Gallery A stands for similar principles to Mr. Balson we would be honoured to hold in our galleries, in both Melbourne and Sydney, a retrospective exhibition. It would not greatly affect us whether the paintings were or were not for sale.' From 1967 to 1969, Gallery A held annual exhibitions of paintings from different stages of Balson's creative life. James Gleeson commented in his review of the first exhibition, 'Balson has now replaced Olsen as the young painters' father-figure.' (James Gleeson, The Sun Herald, 29 October 1967.) John Murphy; Max Hutchinson (1925-1999) established Gallery A in Flinders Lane, Melbourne in 1959. Originally involved in industrial and furniture design, Hutchinson was inspired by the sculptor, Clement Meadmore (1929-2005), to begin exhibiting contemporary Australian art, particularly abstract painting and sculpture, in his showrooms. Hutchinson wished to expand Gallery A to Sydney. He formed a partnership with fellow directors, Ann Lewis, Rua Osborne and later Rowena Burrell, and the gallery opened in November 1964. Gallery A Sydney was located at 21 Gipps Street Paddington in a colonial Georgian cottage that was refurbished as a simple, white-walled gallery. In 1970 a subsidiary of the gallery opened in New York. In 2009 a retrospective exhibition, Gallery A Sydney, 1964-1983, was curated by John Murphy. A number of artworks from the collection of Ann Lewis were shown in this exhibition.
• Estimate:
  A$15,000 - 20,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Art

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