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• Auction House:
  W T Macalister
• Sale Name:
  40 Years of Leo Bensemann
• Sale Date:
  28 Mar 2012 ~ 6:30pm (NZDT)
• Lot #:
  9
• Lot Description:
  Leo Bensemann
  (1912-1986)
  In 1961, after a fairly lean period in the later 1950s (only six works were shown in Group Shows between 1955 and 1959), Bensemann turned vigorously t
  Oil on board
  595 x 780
• References:
  LB to DGL, 14 July 1960, quoted in Simpson, Fantastica, p. 123. See Otto, Landscapes, p. 32
• Notes:
  In 1961, after a fairly lean period in the later 1950s (only six works were shown in Group Shows between 1955 and 1959), Bensemann turned vigorously to painting again with a Four Seasons suite of Canterbury landscapes (Group Show, 1961). This proved to mark a decisive turning point in his work. Up to 1960 he had exhibited landscapes very infrequently (only six in Group Shows between 1938 and 1960); but from 1961 landscapes became the predominant genre in his exhibitions. There were 39 landscapes in Group Shows between 1961 and 1977 (as compared to 11 works in other genres), with a further 50 or so landscapes in his solo exhibitions of 1972, 1979, 1981 and 1983). This new development was remarked on in a letter to Lilburn in 1960: 'have been out on the hills a lot painting - alas, all hopeless but something may boil out of it'. Some of these painting excursions were shared with fellow-Group member and close friend Doris Lusk, including trips to Central Otago, the West Coast and Nelson as well as Banks Peninsula and inland Canterbury. It is possible that Untitled Landscapezz (Lake Coleridge), came out of such an excursion. Lake Coleridge is about 100km from Christchurch, relatively close to Mt Hutt and Methven. The painting is similar in view to a photograph taken by Bensemann in 1962 of a large hill rising steeply from the edge of the lake. The composition is fairly simple. The foreground is dominated a stretch of water, variously coloured but predominantly blue. The upper part of the painting is largely taken up with the tawny yellow-brown hill with rugged bluffs on one side and sweeping curves on the other, while other hills and snow-covered mountains are visible in the distance; the sky has a wintry- looking pallor. This painting has not been previously exhibited.
• Estimate:
  NZ$10,000 - 14,000
• 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.