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• Auction House:
  Bay East Auctions
• Sale Name:
  The Art & Book Sale
• Sale Date:
  27 May 2012 ~ 2pm
• Lot #:
  55
• Lot Description:
  Tony Rafty
  (born 1915)
  Quarters for Allied P.O.W.s Lintang Barracks, Kuching, Borneo (circa 1940s)
  ink and gouache
  18 x 24.5cm
  signed 'TONY / RAFTY' lower left; inscribed Quarters for Allied P.O.W's / Lintang Barracks. / Kuching, Borneo' lower right; signed by the P.O.W.s and the artist
• Notes:
  Together with a work dated 1945 depicting Lieutenant Mukaida and Private Nishikawa being taken to Lebonon, Borneo, for questioning; together with other sketches of Borneo and depictions of wartime life at other locations (qty); notes as to the treatment of the P.O.W. on the verso. Tony Rafty is a largely self-taught artist who began his working life as a cartoonist. However, his attention was occupied by more serious matters after he enlisted in 1941. His capacity for capturing the lives of those around him was noticed during a stint in hospital in the Northern Territory and he was transferred to the Military History Section in Melbourne, where he helped produce the Services Annuals. Rafty's thirst for adventure saw him arrive in New Guinea in 1944 and prompted him to volunteer to accompany official war artist, William Dargie, and the 57/60th Battalion on their push from Shaggy Ridge to Bogadjim, which was an important base for the Japanese. Despite contracting malaria and being discharged as medically unfit, Rafty was soon to be found in Singapore and Borneo working as a war correspondent and documenting the surrender of the Japanese and the release of P.O.W.s there. Rafty's meticulously annotated drawings document the many facets of the Asia-Pacific war, including Australian service men and women, whether in action, hospital or P.O.W. camps, as well as the lives of the local inhabitants under Japanese occupation.
• Estimate:
  A$400 - 600
• 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.