Posted on 03/30/2010 9:18:08 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Painting of the notorious bank robber Ned Kelly has become the most expensive piece of Australian art ever sold, fetching $5.4 million (£ 3.3 million) at an auction in Sydney.
Sidney Nolan's painting of Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, entitled First Class Marksman
"The First Class Marksman" was painted in 1946 by Sidney Nolan (1917-1992) and shows the infamous outlaw standing on a dusty outback road, rifle at the ready.
In the painting, Kelly is depicted in his famous homemade armour, with iron helmet and distinctive narrow eye slit.
The First Class Marksman was the only one in Nolan's early series of Ned Kelly which the artist kept for himself. It was sold by the philanthropic Vizard Foundation, which had bought it in 1992 for a reported $400,000.
The painting sold to an unknown bidder over the phone after a "vigorous" auction. It is now believed to be the only one of Mr Nolan's 27 paintings of Kelly not to be acquired by the National Gallery of Australia.
The NGA plans to build a new gallery designed specifically to show off the Kelly collection, which is its most popular exhibition.
The price of the painting reflects Australia's obsession with Kelly, a 19th century folk hero and bandit immortalised in films, literature and paintings and beloved by the public for his defiance of colonial authorities.
The previous record auction price for an Australian art work was held by Brett Whiteley's The Olgas for Ernest Giles, which sold for $3.48 million in 2007.
The sale also sets a new record for Nolan, whose previous highest price at auction was $1.3m for Death of Constable Scanlon in 2000.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Oh, yeah, I could tell it was him—NOT!
Looks like a cartoon from Nickelodeon.
Thouse Auzzies sure don’t know art and can’t paint worth a dime.
Worst. Painting. Ever.
Jackson Pollock is no longer my least respected artist.
I do better art after a night of chili and beer...
He was fighting against the bigotry against the Irish and the how bad the poor were being treated in the 1880s. He was handsome and a big cowboy type of figure who was also literate -- he wrote a manifesto letter explaining his campaign. He probably a criminal and did kill some guys, but there are real heroic elements to the story, so the myth is ambiguous, only adding to the drama.
His life ended in a shoot out with the police. He had a life long fascination with knights and armor and so made armor out of cast iron to protect himself from bullets.
He was finally convicted and executed. 10,000 people signed a petition to give him clemency. Any Aussies out there, sorry. You can correct my mistakes here.
Also, every Freeper should see this movie staring Keith Ledger. (Not sure Keith was the right casting. The real Ned would make an even more impressive movie star with good looks and charisma.) The theme is the individual against oppressive government.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doArSp1AIUw
NO WAY. The Aussies have really cool art. Their national gallery in Sydney is fantastic.
You guys just don't know good stuff when you see it. The painting is symbolic and cartoon like because that is what the Ned story is like. He is a national icon.
Sheesh, bunch of unsophisticated Tea party rabble on the site. (Just kidding, hee, hee.)
Talk to your friends in Australia and they love Ned Kelly.
You can actually tell what I'm painting.
Well, I've got 15 grandkids. Maybe I should turn them loose with my paint pots - no lessons - just go for it. Then I wouldn't have to worry about being offered a suicide pill instead of treatment, should the day come.
25¢
Sorry, Huntress, but you still got a ways to go to beat this one:
http://www.faithmouse.com/obamaunicorns.html
Nice tutu.
Did he borrow it from Rahm?
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