John Coburn

JOHN COBURN (1925 – 2006) OPERA HOUSE, 1984 oil on canvas 76.0 x 91.0 cm signed and dated lower right: Coburn ‘84 Barry Stern Gallery, Sydney Private collection, Sydney Amadio, N., John Coburn Paintings , Craftsman House, Sydney, 1988, pp. 140–141 (illus.) This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Opera House In Nadine Amadio’’’’s richly illustrated monograph on the artist, John Coburn, Paintings , the work Sydney Opera House 1984 is accompanied by the following text: ‘In this small, elegant, but witty painting Coburn has captured the essence of the Sydney Opera House. The fresh, bright colours on a clear blue background have a paper cut-out sense of fun but they also suggest the magical site of the famous building and the windy, boat-filled sparkle of the harbor and the summer sky. ‘Here I enjoyed myself abstracting the Opera House from the actual building. I rearranged it a little and reduced it to some quite economic shapes and a simple colour scheme of brown, black, white and blue. Well, actually it’’’’s grey rather than white. It seems to be a fairly valid interpretation of the Opera House and while it seems immediately recognizable, it is also an abstract painting.’’’’ 1 1. Amadio, N., John Coburn Paintings , Craftsman House, Sydney, 1988, p. 140

Lot 50 JOHN COBURN (1925-2006) Warana (Sydney) 1981 oil on canvas 167.0 x 213.0 cm signed lower left: Coburn signed, dated and inscribed verso: 'WARANA' (OIL)/ JOHN COBURN SYDNEY 1981 Provenance: Private collection, Brisbane Anthea Polson Art, Queensland (label attached verso) Estimate: $ 55000 - 70000 Auction Title: Sydney - 21 March 2013 - (Macedon - 0061) Important Australian & International Fine Paintings & Sculpture 21 March 2013 6.30pm Menzies Gallery, 12 Todman Avenue, Kensington, NSW 2033 VIEWING MELBOURNE 7 – 10 MARCH, 11am-6pm Menzies Gallery, 1 Darling Street, SOUTH YARRA VIC 3141 VIEWING SYDNEY 14 – 20 MARCH, 11am-6pm Menzies Gallery, 12 Todman Avenue, KENSINGTON NSW 2033 The effect is stunning, almost bewildering, a combination of visual impressions and emotional responses that challenge categorisation, that have a beauty and calm about them that is simple as it is intricate, as obvious as it is mysterious.1 John Coburn’’s personal iconography is immediately recognisable to connoisseurs of Australian Modernist art. In depicting the beauty of nature and spirituality in the landscape, Coburn has refined a subtle yet powerful symbolic language that today defines his impressive oeuvre. His works include exquisite paintings, tapestries and screenprints. Coburn’’s visit to the Art Gallery of New South Wales aged thirteen, laid the foundation for his future direction as an abstract painter. Here, Coburn encountered works by the greatest exponents of abstraction in history, including Henri Matisse, Mark Rothko and Pablo Picasso. To the aspiring artist these international figures were a revelation in terms of the aesthetic possibilities of abstract art, especially in Australia where the Heidelberg artists had set a precedent for future generations of artists through their representations of the landscape and colonial life. Amongst his own contemporaries, Arthur Boyd, Charles Blackman and Sidney Nolan, who were developing Australian Expressionism through figurative and allegorical subjects, Coburn’’s singular vision stands alone. He remained dedicated to exploring and evolving his unique iconography over the course of a career which spanned some sixty years. Coburn’’s art is dedicated to reflecting his personal affinity with religion and spirituality. His repeated use of religious motifs, principally drawn from the book of Genesis, demonstrates his commitment to reflecting spiritually and beauty in his paintings. This recurring imagery in Coburn’’s work includes birds, snakes, trees and gardens. Of this religious symbolism Coburn reflected, ‘I have always been interested in religious art. I believe all art is religious to a greater or lesser degree, whether it is a crucifixion, a landscape or a nude that reflects the beauty of God’’s creation. All good art has a spiritual quality that is indefinable.’’2 Coburn’’s dedication to spiritually in his art resulted in his being awarded the prestigious Blake Prize in 1960 and 1977. His work is also represented in the Vatican’’s collection in Rome. Coburn’’s interest in art as a vessel through which to explore spirituality led him to an interest in, and admiration of, Aboriginal art. During the late seventies and early eighties, the influence of Indigenous art is keenly felt in Coburn’’s paintings. ‘We come from a European culture--we have been here 200 years. It’’s time for us to relate to the land as the Aborigines do and have the same feeling for it.’’3 This influence is most powerfully felt through Coburn’’s departure from the vibrant colours that he traditionally used, towards a palette of red, brown and black. The shapes during this period also become more abstracted, with Coburn paring back his symbolism, resulting in amorphous forms and lines which he expertly uses to denote the features of the landscape before him. These paintings are quite unique within Coburn’’s oeuvre and thus afford insight into the evolution of his style. Warana (Sydney) 1981, is a beautiful manifestation of Coburn’’s aesthetic during these years. While Coburn’’s visual language has always revolved around abstracted imagery - simplicity of form, boldness of colour and compositional harmony - the present work takes the distillation of the essential features of Coburn’’s subject to another realm. Five shapes enacted in various earthy tones float above a flat ochre background. The imagery here recalls the central desert themes that dominate Coburn’’s work during the early eighties. While the title, ‘Warana (Sydney)’’ distinguishes the present work, the aesthetic sensibilities of this period prevail. The amorphous shapes are used to represent rock formations. In the artist’’s words, ‘I’’ve always been fascinated in certain configurations of rocks that one sees, particularly in outback Australia. I’’ve also been fascinated by rock formations, such as Stonehenge in England. They have a certain quality about them that you feel that they’’ve been put there by some ancient civilisation for a ritualistic purpose.’’4 Warana (Sydney) , like other works from this period, exemplifies Coburn’’s willingness to evolve and explore new imagery in his work. In textbook Coburn fashion it accomplishes a perfect harmony of form, composition and tone. Footnotes 1. Peter Skrzynecki cited in Kolenberg, J., John Coburn , Australian Galleries, Sydney and Melbourne, 2000, p.5 2. John Coburn cited in Amadio, N., John Coburn, Paintings , Craftsman House, NSW, 1988, p.76 3. John Coburn cited in Mitchell, A. ‘John Coburn: Spirit of Abstraction’’, Australian Art Collector , Issue 14, October-December, 2000, p.98 4. John Coburn cited in James Gleeson interviews: John Coburn transcript , National Gallery of Australia, 30th May 1979, np Alison Burns BA (Hons); MA If you cannot attend the auction, you may either: Register to absentee bid on this lot Register to telephone bid on this lot Terms and Conditions Contact us regarding this lot Email a friend

JOHN COBURN (1925-2006) Spring in the Air synthetic polymer paint on paper on board 69.5 x 51.0 cm signed lower right: Coburn inscribed verso: SPRING IN THE AIR Provenance: Private collection, Melbourne Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 11 August 2011, lot 33 Private collection, Melbourne

JOHN COBURN (1925 – 2006) CANTICLE OF THE SUN II, 1974 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 91.5 x 91.0 cm signed lower right: Coburn signed, dated and titled verso: CANTICLE OF THE SUN II / JOHN COBURN / SYDNEY 1974 Private collection, Sydney Canticle Of The Sun , 1965, oil on board, 162.0 x 152.5 cm, formerly Harold E. Mertz Collection, United States of America, illus. in Rozen, A., The Art of John Coburn , Ure Smith, Sydney, 1979, p. 45, pl. 11 Canticle Of The Sun II , 1967, oil on canvas, 74.5 x 85.0 cm, inscribed with title verso and dated ‘1/67’’’’ John Coburn’’’’s paintings sing with colour through forms that give them voice. Music flows through his art, celebrating the joy of creation as in Canticle of the Sun II , 1974. The sun played a central role in his art, its vibrant image presented as the source of light and life. This is seen in such diverse works as the oil paintings Dark Descent , 1966 in the collection of the Newcastle Art Gallery, and In Praise of the Sun , 1966, the 1967 Aubusson tapestry version being in the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Curtain of the Sun , 1970 in the Sydney Opera House, presents a brilliant culmination of the motif, a masterpiece of colour and design. A little later, in the Tree of Life Series of 1973 the image takes on even deeper religious meaning. In 1965 Coburn, inspired by St Francis of Assisi’’’’s joyous song of praise of 1224, painted Canticle of the Sun . As its visual recreation, Coburn seems to have drawn particularly on the following lines from the first verse: Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness. 1 The 1965 painting was acquired by the American collector, Harold E. Mertz, eventually gifted by him to the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, University of Texas, Austin, United States of America, before its eventual repatriation. Its appeal was so great that Coburn completed two further versions – a smaller one in 1967 and our painting of 1974. Each is strikingly similar, differing subtly in detail, of the yellow grid and particularly the biomorphic forms and colours. The radiant sun pulsates with life-giving flames of light across the fertile bands of ‘Mother Earth’’’’ and ‘Sister Water’’ ’’. Trees, plants and other living forms echo each other in joyous response and heraldic splendour. 1. St Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Sun, Wikipedia encyclopedia translation DAVID THOMAS

Lot 47 JOHN COBURN (1925-2006) The Perfumed Garden 1976 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 97.0 x 195.0 cm signed lower right: Coburn inscribed verso: PERFUMED GARDEN/ JOHN COBURN/ SYDNEY Provenance: Australian Galleries, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne Exhibited: John Coburn: Recent Paintings, Prints, and Tapestries , Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 8 - 22 June, 1976, cat.7 Reference: Amadio, N., John Coburn: Paintings , Craftsman House, Sydney, 1988, p.199 Estimate: $ 60000 - 80000 Auction Title: Sydney - 13 September 2012 - (Mountain - 0059) AUCTION AUCTION Important Australian & International Fine Paintings & Sculpture Menzies Gallery 13 September 2012, 6.30pm 12 Todman Avenue, Kensington, NSW 2033 VIEWING MELBOURNE Thursday 30 August – Sunday 2 September, 11am - 6pm Menzies Gallery 1 Darling Street SOUTH YARRA VIC 3141 VIEWING SYDNEY Thursday 6 – Wednesday 12 September, 11am - 6pm Menzies Gallery 12 Todman Avenue KENSINGTON NSW 2033 If you cannot attend the auction, you may either: Register to absentee bid on this lot Register to telephone bid on this lot Terms and Conditions Contact us regarding this lot Email a friend