Lot 25

Work is in very good condition overall. Upon closer inspection, some light surface marks are present in the form of black pigment, in upper left and mid right areas. Very minor losses evident in the top left corner, sitting almost underneath the frame. Well framed, with overall size: 44 x 52cm.


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The Estate of Patricia Davies (formerly Mrs Robin Boyd, Melbourne)
Savill Galleries, Melbourne (label verso)
Private collection, Melbourne

Related Work:
Jetty at Rosebud 1938, oil on canvasboard, 23.5 x 32cm, Private collection, Melbourne.
Pearce, B., Arthur Boyd Retrospective, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1993, p. 38 (illus.)

In 1936, Arthur's grandfather Arthur Merrid Boyd Senior, moved from Sandringham to a cottage in Rosebud after the death of his beloved wife Emma Minnie Boyd. A young Arthur Boyd was invited to join him.
Over the next three years, Arthur enjoyed the coastal life at Rosebud, free to explore his artistic passions with the encouragement of his grandfather. He painted numerous landscapes and beach scenes, with some portraits.

In these 1930s works we can see Arthur's joy and happiness with his new home and his creative outpouring. Predominantly executed with impasto paint, with a flat-edged brush or palette knife, they display quick-fleeting swatches of colour and thick painterly textures. While his colour palette was restrained, subtle and natural, his technique was expressionist and full of energy.

It is his coastal scenes, particularly, that permit a feeling of serenity. In Figure on Beach with Jetty, Rosebud 1938, the figure is reflected crisply in the still and pure water, blanketed by the clear calm sky in sweeping strokes revealing only a trace of habitat in the distance. His brushwork becomes fervent as it reaches the shore, capturing the complex textures of the sand and tangled Australian flora. The entire work seems to have been created in a moment of sudden inspiration for Arthur, a scene undisturbed, with the artist possibly even remaining unnoticed himself.

These years at Rosebud were amongst Arthur's happiest, and this pure joy and freedom is evident in the select works he produced in this short but pivotal period. Rosebud provided a calm and uninhibiting environment for Arthur to discover his artistic strengths, and nurture one of Australia's most important modern artists.

Olivia Fuller, Head of Art