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 ...
I just realized that the featured painting on that site changes every time you click. (I went back to check the tutu which I did not remember.
The last click revealed a picture of The First Wookie wearing nothing but bananas.
Brain bleach time!
Wouldn't want you to miss these beauties.
[I'm off to look for an ice pick or a soldering iron...rubbing my eyes just isn't working.]
What kind of mind created that “art” for goodness sakes?!?!?
Dan Lacey is...
ONE.
SICK.
PUPPY.
He was finally convicted and executed.
So which was it? Killed in a shoot-out, or convicted and executed?
NFP
That is why he was zotted from here.
A warped one?
[just a wild guess]....:)
Then, later he was convicted of murder and robbery and executed.
People are sympathetic to Ned Kelly because he was apparently forced to fight the authorities because of how poorly his people were being treated.
The police even took custody of his mother, who did nothing wrong, just to try to get him. She was held in a terrible prison. It was outrageous.
His fightesy character embodies many Aussie values. That is why the painting sold for so much.
Very nice. You painted this? Wonderful.
yes - pastel
Oh I remember that.
Something to do with Michael Jackson..
His blog links to this very thread. Obviously he likes the attention and monitors FR and DU to find comments about his ‘art’.
As an aside, I could paint some piece of crap that looks like a kid did it. I wonder if someone would pay me millions for it.
Hey, the first pic in #22 was changed. That was the most disturbing painting I’ve ever seen.
I wouldn’t pay a penny over $4 million for that. A 6 year old could do better.
It was just a visual joke.
Frankly, I couldn’t even make it all the way through that movie.
“Obviously he likes the attention and monitors FR and DU to find comments about his art.”
And so here we find the ultimate epitome of “pathetic”.
What was it?
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