1. Skip to navigation
  2. Skip to content
  3. Skip to sidebar


Lot #19 - Weaver Hawkins

  • Auction House:
    Mossgreen
  • Sale Name:
    Important Art
  • Sale Date:
    20 Nov 2017 ~ 6.30pm
  • Lot #:
    19
  • Lot Description:
    Weaver Hawkins
    (1893-1977)
    Bath Time, 1929
    oil on canvas
    60.5 x 76.5 cm
    signed and dated upper right: Raokin. 29.
    REFERENCES: (possibly) H. Weaver Hawkins, The Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 1946, (unpaginated exhibition catalogue) as ‘The Rubber Bath’, (15 gns.); Weaver Hawkins: survey exhibition 1920-1972, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 1982, illustrated in black and white on invitation card; (probably) ‘Mecca for all of artistic inclination’, The Age, Melbourne, 30 June 1982, (illustrated)1; Robert Rooney, ‘A new Italian connection with the old’, The Age, Melbourne, 17 July 1982, 14, as ‘The Bath’; Steven Miller (ed.) Guide to the Papers of Harold Frederick Weaver Hawkins (1893-1977) in the archive of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Research Library and Archive Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1999, p. 26
  • Provenance:
    Niagara Galleries, Melbourne (label verso); Private collection, South Australia
  • Exhibited:
    (possibly) H. Weaver Hawkins, The Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 27 February–11 March 1946, cat. no. 4 as ‘The Rubber Bath’, (15 gns.); Weaver Hawkins: survey exhibition 1920-1972, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 30 May – 18 June, 1982
  • References:
    RELATED WORK: The Bath, 1925, oil on canvas (collection of the artist’s family); Mother and Child, 1925, oil on canvas (National Gallery of Australia, Canberra) ; Motherhood, 1928, oil on canvas, Orange Regional Gallery
  • Notes:
    Born of the silent hours and the stress of incessant urge; born of the sensual thrill from sight of colour and form; born of the inner struggle where thought its problem poses; born of the lonesome times and the stirring of the soul; born of companionship with love and a common aim; born of imagination from eye and mental vision; born of the delves to solve in balanced scope of mind between the brain and the senses, and grown in the mould of self with inmost hidden traits exposed for all to see and meet with all responses (Raokin) Weaver Hawkins2 The present work was painted in 1929 when the Weaver Hawkins and his family were living in Malta. They were in search for a simpler way of life, far from the hectic frenzy of London which they had become tired of. A World War I veteran who had lost the use of his arm in conflict, Hawkins enjoyed a sunny three and a half years in the Mediterranean climate. In Malta, his art was met with positive responses and sold well. It was around this time that the artist began signing his work ‘Raokin’, wanting to disassociate himself from Weaver Hawkins ‘the cripple artist’, which his birth name had become inextricably linked to. The present painting shows Weaver’s wife Rene with their one-year old son Nigel. The makeshift bath is made by repurposing a wooden drawer, lined with a rubber padding to keep the water from escaping. A whole series of intimate mother and child interior scenes were painted, drawn and engraved around this time. The present work is closely related to a broad range of intimate domestic scenes including ‘The Bath’, 1925 (private collection); ‘Mother and Child’, 1925 (National Gallery of Australia, Canberra); and Motherhood, 1928, (Orange Regional Gallery). ‘Each work expresses the intimate bond between mother and child,’ notes Eileen Chanin, ‘along with wonder in birth and continuity of life. For the first time Harold enjoyed a happy home, consequently his images of parenthood and domestic life possess a unique charm. They sing of his happiness and peace.’3 When this work was exhibited in the 1982 at Niagara Galleries (then 27 Niagara Lane Galleries), Robert Rooney singled out this work amongst the best of the figurative paintings, ‘in which he uses a curious mannerism of surroundings, the smooth, hard, Botticelli-like, modelling of his subjects with a thick, coloured outline.’ Indeed, just before this picture was painted, Weaver had visited Sienna and studied the Italian Trecento and Quattrocento masters which had a profound effect on him. On return, he was able to strike the right balance between the simplification of the modelling of his figures, without making them stiff or severe. Despite the hard-edge style, his family portraits maintain an endearing softness that is born out of a deep understanding and love of his subjects. Kept in the one collection in South Australia since 1982, the present work is an exciting re-discovery of an important early work one of the Modernist masters. Petrit Abazi 1 See Steven Miller (ed.) Guide to the Papers of Harold Frederick Weaver Hawkins (1893-1977) in the archive of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Research Library and Archive Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1999, p. 26; 2 ‘Paintings’ by Raokin (Weaver Hawkins) in Weaver Hawkins ‘Raokin’ Exhibition, David Jones Art Gallery, Sydney 1958, unpaginated catalogue preface; 3 Eileen Chanin and Steven Miller, The Art and Life of Weaver Hawkins, Craftsman House, 1995, Sydney, p. 51; 4 Ron Radford, in Daniel Thomas, Weaver Hawkins 1893-1977: memorial retrospective exhibition, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, 1977, (Froward)
  • Estimate:
    A$20,000 - 30,000
  • 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.



© 2010-2024 Find Lots Online Pty Ltd