Lot 4
  • 4

NICHOLAS HARDING

Estimate
7,000 - 9,000 AUD
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Description

  • Nicholas Harding
  • BEACH LIFE (FLAG AND FIGURE)
  • Signed and dated 2004 and inscribed with title on reverse; bears artist's name, title and dated 2004 on label on reverse
  • Oil on canvas
  • 70 by 71.5cm

Condition

Work is in very good, original condition. Foreign object embedded in impasto
"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

Nicholas Harding was born in the United Kingdom in 1956, migrating with his family to Australia in 1965.  He completed his Bachelor of Arts in 1975.  HIs work has been included in a number of curated exhibitions including The View from Here: Margaret Olley, William Robinson and Nicholas Harding at the Lismore Regional Gallery in 2007 as well as commercial gallery shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.  Harding's work has received a number of awards and commendations included the Dobell Drawing Prize (2001), the Kilgour Prize (2006) and the Archibald Prize for his Portrait of John Bell as King Lear (2001)He also won the People's Choice award at the 2005 Archibald for Bob's Daily Swim, a portrait of veteran painter Robert Dickerson.

The present work is exemplary of the artist's recent painting.  Based on extensive field studies, these foreshore playground landscapes are remarkable for their fluent, rich impasto.  Layers of fat, streaky oil paint in high-key, vibrant colours are kife-plastered and wrist-twisted, cut through and scraped back with both energy and precision.  At the end of the picture-making process this expressionist, viscous surface resolves into a telling social-realist snapshot of Australian beach culture.