Important Australian Art

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Lot 27
  • 27

DONALD FRIEND

Estimate
26,000 - 34,000 AUD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Donald Friend
  • DAU

  • Signed and dated 47 upper right; bears artist's name, title and inscription 'Lent by G. Leroy Turquem' on label on the reverse

  • Oil on wood panel
  • 28.5 by 23 cm

Provenance

G. Leroy Turquem (label on the reverse)

Literature

Robert Hughes, Donald Friend, Edwards & Shaw, Sydney, 1965, plate 58, illus 
Lou Klepac, The Genius of Donald Friend, Drawings from the Diaries 1942-1989, The Beagle Press, Sydney, 2000, plate 58.

Condition

Good condition. Fine horizontal cracking across the surface.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Throughout Donald Friend's oeuvre there appear tender, soulful studies of handsome boys, often distinguished by exotic racial or ethnic origin. This Asian youth has not been positively identified, but he was evidently a favourite of the artist: a three-quarter length portrait inscribed 'Kebele Kurali Dau' (1948, private collection) has both the same facial features and the same raised-shoulder pose. In November 1948 the English gallery director R E A Wilson mounted an exhibition of modern British drawings at the Galerie Apollinaire, London, including nine or ten by Friend. One work, simply entitled Dau and presumably related to the present work, was bought by Friend's RAF friend, the poet George Dunn, who described it as 'incredibly lovely'.1

1.  George Dunn, letter to Donald Friend, quoted in Paul Hetherington (ed.), The diaries of Donald Friend, vol. 2, National Library of Australia, Canberra, 2003, p. 631 (entry for 4 December 1948)