Lot 35

This work is in overall good condition. Evidence of light dust build-up on the surface, particularly in areas of glitter and paint textures. One minor paint loss present on the far left outer edge (top area, approx. .5cm). Stretched, however unframed.


The opinions expressed in the condition reports are a guide only and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Prospective buyers are encouraged to inspect articles for sale at our pre-sale viewing where Leonard Joel staff are available for advice.
Leonard Joel makes no guarantee of the originality of mechanical or applied components. Absence of reference to such modifications does not imply that a lot is free from modifications.

Nanda Hobbs, Sydney 2017
Private collection, Melbourne

People everywhere are losing their respect for leadership. Many believe that Politicians are just puppets of the big corporations and intelligence services. Brexit and the election of Trump show the general dislike people have for the way they have been lead. Disillusionment with visionless leaders is the prevailing mood. People are skeptically saying "Only money talks". LEADERSHIP visualizes a glittering obese, bull monster at the front of the human herd. (The Artist)

George Gittoes AM is at his core a documentarian, chronicling his findings through film, photography and painting. Over the last forty years, George has witnessed and depicted some of the most serious global conflicts and issues. Tying them all together is the treatment of humans to fellow humans across social, political, and humanitarian issues. This, Gittoes ultimately feels, is his artistic purpose leaving the 'pleasing' and 'decorative' art to his peers.

In the late 1960s, Gittoes went to New York where he experimented with minimal abstraction before meeting the African American artist Joseph Delaney. His works focused on his own personal experiences of the civil rights movement and inspired Gittoes to start documenting the plights of human struggle. Having found his calling, Gittoes stayed true to this path dismissing the criteria that might make him a top-selling commercial artist in return for that which would provide him a deeper purpose. As Gittoes himself said, "some artists are just born to rebel against the prevailing styles and dogma of the established art prejudices of their day" 1.

Olivia Fuller
Head of Art

1. McDonald, J., George Gittoes, Artist Profile, Issue 12, 2010