Painting by knockabout Australian male artist tops the lot at Melbourne art auction

The painting Maroubra Olympic, 1968 (lot 3) by Peter Powditch (1942-2022) was knocked down for $65,000 – more than double its high catalogue estimate – at Deutscher and Hackett’s Melbourne timed online auction of Modern, Contemporary, Indigenous and Traditional art on October 10.

Powditch, who died last year aged 80, was a typical Australian male artist of the second half of the 20^th century to whom early success came easily in nude, landscape and still life categories.

After studying at the East Sydney Technical College (now the National Art School), he exhibited at several galleries including Rudy Komon, Ray Hughes and Australian Galleries before eventually becoming head of painting at the College of Fine Arts in a more traditional teaching role.

Thirty-nine of the 50 works (78%) sold on the night with several of the paintings bringing more than their catalogue estimates.

Garry Shead’s The Presence II, 1992 (lot 19) finished in second spot, changing hands for $40,000 – below its $40,000-$60,000 estimate – but others fared better, including John Coburn’s (1925-2006) Embleme, c1968 (lot 8) which sold for $38,000 and another of his works Spring Garden, 1971 (lot 4) brought $20,000.

Cherry Bar and Smoke, 1998 (lot 7), a typical Tim Storrier creation, was solid at $24,000, while Ray Crooke’s Islanders (lot 5) purchase for $26,000 was within its catalogue estimate range.

Iconic Australian artist Brett Whiteley (1939-1992) featured amongst the top works with his Lavender Bay in the Rain, 1987 (lot 1) bringing its bottom estimate of $18,000.

Two of Guy Grey-Smith’s (1916-1981) paintings performed well – Place du Tetre, Paris, 1947 (lot 9) selling above its estimate for $14,000 and Village Scene, Cornwall, 1945 (lot 11) doubling the catalogue figure to bring $11,000.

Pioneering modernism in Western Australia, Grey-Smith – a painter, printmaker and ceramicist – has been described one of Australia’s most significant 20^th century artists who spent time in England as an RAF bomber pilot during and after World War II before studying to become an artist at the Chelsea School of Art.

Another formidable Australian artist John Brack (1920-1999) appears in the top 10 with his Study for the ‘Mertz Nude’, 1965 (lot 18) that sold for $14,000.