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The Life and Work of Godfrey Clive Miller, 1893 - 1964
PhD thesis by Ann Wookey
Appendix 5. Catalogue: works by and attributed to Godfrey Clive Miller (link to notes)
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Part A. Paintings on canvas, board or cardboard
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Early period
1.Dusk, Warrandyte (Early landscape, Warrandyte), nd (**ca 1922-36) [plate 5]
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas mounted on board, 22.8 x 28.2 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, signed by J Henshaw, inscribed as cat no 58 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: noJH
collection
Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne [1987-1992]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Geoff K Gray, Sydney, 1984
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
offered James R Lawson Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1985
? offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 1985
acquired Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
offered Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 1989
Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 58 [dated ca 1924]
Geoff K Gray, Sydney, March 1984, cat no unkn [as Early landscape, Warrandyte, Vic I, oil, 22 x 28 cm]
James R Lawson Pty Ltd, Sydney, 5 March 1985, cat no 62 [as Dusk, Warrandyte, ca 1924, oil on canvas on board, 24 x 28.5 cm]
? Godfrey Miller, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 20 June - 9 July 1985, cat no 32 [as Early landscape, Warrandyte, ca 1919-29, 23 x 28 cm; measurements similar]
Modern Australian Paintings 1989, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 20 June - 7 July 1989, cat no 22 [dated ca 1924; not sold]
reproduced
Modern Australian Paintings 1989, exhibition catalogue, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 1989, cat no 22 [col]
referenced
Edward D Craig, comp, Australian Art Auction Records, 1982-1984, The Currawong Press, Sydney, 1987, p 220
comment
Warrandyte [plate 16] [18] is a later version
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2.Warrandyte landscape, nd (**1922-29)
artwork details
on canvas mounted on board, 16.6 x 23.6 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw, John Kaplan, inscribed as 'Warrandyte landscape (1919-1929) JH358 Size 61/2" x 91/4"'
estate id: JH358
collection / provenance
Joseph Brown, Melbourne [1992]
comment
Dusk, Warrandyte (Early landscape, Warrandyte) [plate 5] [1] is a related canvas as, although from later, is Warrandyte [plate 16] [18]
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3.Landscape and cattle, nd (**ca 1922-29)
artwork details
oil, 13.8 x 20.8 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Mrs Edward F Swanson [1965]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 75 [as 6 x 83/4 ins, dated 1919-29; b&w]
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4.Trees, early morning, nd (**ca 1922-29)
artwork details
oil, 12.6 x 18.9 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Mrs Justin W Dart, United States [1965]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 77 [as 5 x 81/2ins, dated 1919-29; b&w]
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5.Haystacks, nd (**ca 1922-29) [plate 7]
artwork details
oil on canvas on board, 14 x 22 cm
not signed, not dated
verso Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, certificate of authenticity inscribed ‘“Haystacks” 1923-29 period (Warrandyte, Vic)’ and ‘JH364, signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and H G Kaplan, dated 16 June 1965; Artarmon (Artlovers) Galleries, Sydney, certificate inscribed “Haystacks”, reg no 19434, 15 x 22, oil, other inscriptions, ‘19434’ in red biro on top edge left, ‘PS02A’ in black biro on top edge right
estate id: JH364
collection
Parliament House, Canberra, acc no 86/0121 [1986-92; dated 1923-29]
provenance
S Woodward-Smith, 1965
offered Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, 1986
acquired Parliament House Construction Authority, Canberra
acquired Parliament House, Canberra, from the Parliament House Construction Authority
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 74 [as Haystooks, 5¼ x 81/4 ins, dated 1919-29; b&w]
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6.Warrandyte landscape, nd (**ca 1922-29}
artwork details
oil, 13.3 x 22.7 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 76 [as 51/4 x 9 ins, dated 1919-29; b&w]
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7.Early still life, nd (**ca 1922-29) [plate 8]
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 16.4 x 20.2 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 16 November 1970, inscribed 'JH326'
estate id: JH326
collection / provenance
Dorothy Braund, Melbourne [1988]
exhibited
? Leveson Street Gallery, Melbourne, March 1971, cat no 30 [as Early still life, not dated, no details]
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Early transitional period
8.Landscape with trees, nd (**ca 1929-33) [plate 10]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 20 x 21.5 cm
signed lr 'GM' in pencil [about 4 cm in], not dated
verso Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, certificate of authenticity inscribed 'JH415' signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 22 August 1967; Niagara Galleries, Melbourne certificate inscribed as oil on canvas, 19 x 21.5 cm
estate id: JH415
collection
Parliament House, Canberra, acc no 86/0039.002 [1986-92; dated ca 1930]
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, date unkn
? offered Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, 1986
acquired Parliament House Construction Authority, Canberra
acquired Parliament House, Canberra, from the Parliament House Construction Authority
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 60 [as Warrandyte landscape, ca 1924; measurements similar]
comment
related in style to the drawings Tree study [plate 108], Landscape study [plate 109] and the outer sketches in Still life sketches [plate 113], and in style, composition and colour to Early landscape [9]
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9.Early landscape, nd (**ca 1929-33)
artwork details
oil on board, 19 x 22 cm
signed lr 'G.C.M.' [indistinct], not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, signed by Lewis Miller, John Kaplan and John Henshaw, dated '8/12/67', inscribed 'JH360'
estate id: JH360
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988
offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1990
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1991
exhibited
Australian Paintings, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 7 November 1988, cat no 83 [dated 1919-29]
Australian Pictures and Sculpture, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 11 April 1990, cat no 144 [dated ca 1919-29]
Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 24 November 1991, cat no 10 [as oil on canvas on board, 18.5 x 21.5 cm, dated 1919-29]
comment
related in style to the drawings Tree study [plate 108], Landscape study [plate 109] and the outer sketches in Still life sketches [plate 113], and in style, composition and colour to Landscape with trees [plate 10] [8]
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10.Early still life, nd (**ca 1929-34) [plate 11]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 14.5 x 17 cm
signed lr 'G M', not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, signed by John Henshaw, dated May 1964, inscribed 'JH342'
estate id: JH342
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1987
acquired [purchaser unkn] 1987 at auction
exhibited
Fine Australian Paintings, Books and Ceramics, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 26 July 1987, cat no 215 [dated ca 1929-30]
comment
picture may be cut down; related to the drawing Still life sketches [plate 113] and the paintings Early still life [11], Still life, London (Table group, London) [plate 12] [12] and Jug and egg [plate 14] [13]; this and Early still life could be oil studies since shadows in both built in grey-mauve, not the colour-light complementaries of Still life, London (Table group, London) and Jug and egg
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11.Early still life, nd (**ca 1929-34)
artwork details
oil on cardboard, measurements unkn
signed lr in pencil 'G.M.', not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, signed by Lewis Miller, John Kaplan and John Henshaw, dated 24 September 1967
estate id: noJH
collection / provenance
The Honourable Mr Justice John Lockhart, Sydney [1991]
comment
canvas related to the drawing Still life sketches [plate 113] and the paintings Early still life [plate 11] [10], Still life, London (Table group, London) [plate 12] [12] and Jug and egg [plate 14] [13]; this work and Early still life could be oil studies since shadows in both built in grey-mauve, not the colour-light complementaries of Still life, London (Table group, London) and Jug and egg
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12.Still life, London (Table group, London), nd (**ca 1929-34) [plate 12]
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on panel, 25 x 25 cm
signed ll 'GM' in pencil [about 7 cm in, slightly smudged], not dated
verso landscape brush sketch in ink or umber-coloured oil on board, certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 19 October 1972, inscribed as 'Table Group, London', uc in pencil 'JH350', on lower frame edge in ballpoint pen '6410c Warrnambool H/Meld Studio Red 25.5 14/10'
estate id: JH350
collection
Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool, Vic [1977-88; dated ca 1935]
provenance
offered Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne
acquired Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool, Vic, from Deutscher Fine Art
reproduced
David Hansen, ed, The Warrambool Art Gallery (1886-1986): a History of the collection and a Catalogue of Selected Works, Warrambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool, Victoria, 1986, no 28 [as Table Group, London, ca 1935; col]
as a postcard, Warrnambool Art Gallery [col]
comment
a geometrical matrix probably derives from pinholes around perimeter; painted using light colour complementaries; this canvas is related to the drawing Still life sketches [plate 113] and the paintings Early still life [plate 11] [10], Early still life [11] and Jug and egg [plate 14] [13]; the two works, Early still life, could be oil studies since the shadows in both are built in grey-mauve, not the colour-light complementaries of Jug and egg and Still life, London (Table group, London); this picture is the more finished
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13.Jug and egg, nd (**ca 1929-34) [plate 14]
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 22.8 x 22.8 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 8 July 1965, inscribed 'Jug and Egg (London 1929-38)'
estate id: noJH
collection
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, acc no A4-1983 [dated ca 1933]
provenance
presented to National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, by Dr Joseph Brown, Melbourne
comment
a geometrical matrix derives from pinholes around perimeter; painted using light colour complementaries; this canvas is related to the drawing Still life sketches [plate 113] and the paintings Early still life [plate 11] [10], Early still life [11] and Still life, London (Table group, London) [plate 12] [12]; the two works, Early still life, could be oil studies since the shadows in both are built in grey-mauve, not the colour-light complementaries of Jug and egg and Still life, London (Table group, London); the latter is the more finished
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14.London street, nd (**ca 1929-34)
artwork details
oil on canvas on board, 27.5 x 27 cm
not signed, not dated
verso Deutscher Fine Arts [?] label with details, backing board marked with felt pen 'JH352'
estate id: JH352
collection
The Honourable Mr Justice John Lockhart, Sydney [1992]
provenance
? offered Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 1965
The Honourable Mr Justice John Lockhart, Sydney
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, uncat [either this canvas, JH356 [15], JH351 [16] or JH354 [17] could be the painting of the catalogue note seen, 'street scene, pink & ? [illegible] toned, like Ginner; presumably London']
comment
composition and treatment very close to The pink house [15] and Untitled (The empty street) [16] while related in treatment to House in moonlight [plate 19] [17]
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15.The pink house, nd (**ca 1929-34)
artwork details
oil on cedar board, 25.5 x 25.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso inscribed 'JH356'
estate id: JH356
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 1965
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1979
offered Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 1988
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, uncat [either this canvas, JH352 [14], JH351 [16] or JH354 [17] could be the painting of the catalogue note seen, 'street scene, pink & ? [illegible] toned, like Ginner; presumably London']
Autumn Exhibition 1979, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 5 - 20 April 1979, cat no 83 [as 25.5 x 25.5 cm, 10 x 10 ins, dated ca 1935-40]
Paintings, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, November 1988, cat no 1361 [not dated]
reproduced
Autumn Exhibition 1979, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1979, pl 83 [b&w]
comment
composition and treatment very close to London street [14] and Untitled (The empty street) [16] while related in treatment to House in moonlight [plate 19] [17]
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16.Street scene, London (The empty street), nd (**ca 1929-34) *
artwork details
oil on board, 24.5 x 24.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 8 July 1965, inscribed 'JH351 London Period (1929)'
estate id: JH351
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 1965
offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1988
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1994
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, uncat [either this canvas, JH352 [14], JH356 [15] or JH354 [17] could be the painting of the catalogue note seen, 'street scene, pink & ? [illegible] toned, like Ginner; presumably London']
Australian Paintings, Prints and Sculpture, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Ltd, Melbourne, 3 May 1988, cat no 278 [as Untitled, 1929]
Fine Australian Paintings and Sculpture, Drawings, Prints and Photographs and European Paintings, Prints and Sculpture, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 19 - 20 April 1994, cat no 5 [as The empty street, 24 x 24 cm, ca 1929]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings and Sculpture, Drawings, Prints and Photographs and European Paintings, Prints and Sculpture, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1994, cat no 5 [col]
comment
composition and treatment very close to London street [14] and The pink house [15] while related in treatment to House in moonlight [plate 19] [17]
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17.House in moonlight, nd (**ca 1930-34) [plate 19]
artwork details
oil on board, 27 x 23 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, 1972, inscribed as 'House in moonlight' and '15977 JH354'
estate id: JH354
collection
Joseph Brown, Melbourne
provenance
? offered Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 1965
acquired Joseph Brown Collection, Melbourne
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, uncat [either this canvas, JH352 [14], JH356 [15] or JH351 [16] could be the painting of the catalogue note seen, 'street scene, pink & ? [illegible] toned, like Ginner; presumably London']
reproduced
Thomas, Outlines of Australian Art: the Joseph Brown collection [1989], op cit, pl 225 [dated ca 1940; col]
comment
relates to London street [14], The pink house [15] and Untitled (The empty street) [16], but a better painting and, therefore, probably later
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18.Warrandyte, n d. (**ca 1930-34) [plate 16]
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on plywood, 24.8 x 29.8 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: noJH
collection
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, acc no 1972.134 [dated as ca 1929]
provenance
Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, from Artarmon Galleries
exhibited
Canberra Theatre, Canberra, 1975-76
reproduced
Elwyn Lynn, The Australian Landscape and its Artists, Bay Books, Sydney, 1977, p 105 [not dated; col]
referenced
ibid, p 104
comment
a geometrical matrix probably derives from pinholes around perimeter; Dusk, Warrandyte (Early landscape, Warrandyte) [plate 5] [1] is an earlier version
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19.Parisian park, nd (**ca 1933-34) [plate 18]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 23.5 x 23.5 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: ap
collection / provenance
Lady A Cooke, Wellington, New Zealand [1956-88], gift of the artist
comment
corres: Miller made a present of Parisian park to his neice, Lady Annette Cooke, telling her that the picture was a student work painted in Paris, and he mentioned to Barrie [? Stern] in November 1956 as a picture en route to his neice that was 'more impressionistic and has projecting morsels of paint done in times when I was young and both paint and all things were exuberant’ - these are thought to refer to one and the same picture since Parisian park is both Late-Impressionistic in style, and the only painting known to have been given to a family member - but his actual enrolment in Paris is believed unlikely; the canvas dates to the early 1930s by way of Miller's Slade enrolment; as well, it is the earliest known picture framed by Miller, with this very possibly done just before gifting the picture to Lady Cooke and not in the 1930s when the picture was painted - after being pasted onto a piece of wood which he painted white, the whole was given a frame of 'raw wood bevelled into a pattern of little circles which have white paint in their centres and above them' [letter from Lady Cooke to Ann Wookey, Wellington, mid-1988]; stylistically close to Landscape (Parisian) [20], Trees (Parisian) [21] and Parklands [22]
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20.Landscape (Parisian), nd (**ca 1933-34)
artwork details
no details
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
photograph, Miller Papers III, ibid [b&w]
comment
stylistically close to Parisian park [19], Trees (Parisian) [21] and Parklands [22]
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21.Trees (Parisian), nd (**ca 1933-34)
artwork details
no details
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
photograph, Miller Papers III, ibid [b&w]
comment
stylistically close to Parisian park [19], Landscape (Parisian) [20] and Parklands [22]
________________________
22.Parklands, nd [(**ca 1933-34)
artwork details
artwork details
no details
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
photograph, Miller Papers III, ibid [b&w]
comment
stylistically close to Parisian park [19], Landscape (Parisian) [20] and Trees (Parisian) [21]
________________________
23.Untitled (Young Street series / Cityscape), nd (**ca 1933-35)
artwork details
oil on board, 28 x 28 cm
verso certificate of authenticity from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, inscribed 'JH330'
not signed, not dated
estate id: JH330
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988
offered David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 1991
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 2 [as Young Street series, not dated; measurements same as painting in Australian Paintings [1988] and Fine and Decorative Art Exhibition [1991] below]
Australian Paintings, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 7 November 1988, cat no 82 [as Young Street series, not dated]
Fine and Decorative Art Exhibition, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 8 March - 27 April 1991, cat no 53 [as Cityscape, ca 1930]
comment
earliest known picture in the Cityscape series; forms therein recur later [doors, windows, etc]
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24.Table arrangement, nd (**ca 1934-35)
artwork details
oil on panel, 37 x 28 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1987
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 48 [as Table arrangement, 37 x 27.5 cm, not dated; measurements very similar]
Australian Paintings, Prints & Books, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 12 April 1987, cat no 407 [not dated]
reproduced
Australian Paintings, Prints & Books, auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1987, cat no 407 [b&w]
comment
corres: Miller developed an argument in mid-1935 about commonality of form using a trout and a cucumber to illustrate his point; it is possible that this connects with this painting, given the inclusion of a trout here; the same holds for Early still life arrangement [25]
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25.Early still life arrangement, nd (**ca 1934-35) [plate 20]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 27.8 x 37 cm [sight]
signed ll 'Godfrey Miller' [about 5 cm in], not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 16 October 1972, inscribed 'JH457'
estate id: JH457
collection
privately, Melbourne [1988]
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired private collection, Melbourne, from Artarmon Galleries
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 68 [as Table arrangement, not dated; measurements similar to as measured]
comment
corres: Miller developed an argument in mid-1935 about commonality of form using a trout and a cucumber to illustrate his point; it is possible that this connects with this painting, given the inclusion of a trout here; the same holds for Table arrangement [24]; a similar form to the beaker here is found in the naturalistic drawing Still life sketches [plate 113]
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26.Table still life, nd (**ca 1934-35)
artwork details
oil on canvas on board, 28 x 36.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw, inscribed 'JH490' and as cat no 28 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH490
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1988 [not sold]
offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Sydney, 1988
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 28 [not dated]
Australian Paintings, Prints, Studio Pottery and Books & Maps, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 21 August 1988, cat no 560 [not dated]
Australian Paintings and Prints, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Sydney, 14 November 1988, cat no 275 [not dated]
comment
related to Kitchen still life (Utensils) [27] and Kitchen utensils (Utensils) [28]
________________________
27.Kitchen still life (Utensils), nd (**ca 1934-35)
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 28 x 37.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1984
offered Phillip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, 1985
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 49 [as Utensils, not dated] or cat no 50 [as Kitchen still life, not dated; measurements similar to those given in Deutscher Fine Art [April 1984] following]
Australian Painting: Colonial / Contemporary, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 2 - 19 April 1984, cat no 45 [as Kitchen still life, not dated]
Painters of the Still Life, Phillip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, April 1985 [as Utensils, ca 1940, 29 x 37 cm]
reproduced
Australian Painting: Colonial / Contemporary, exhibition catalogue, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1984, pl 45 [b&w]
Painters of the Still Life, exhibition brochure, Brisbane, Phillip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, 1985
comment
related to Table arrangement [24] and Kitchen utensils (Utensils) [28]
________________________
28.Kitchen utensils (Utensils), nd (**ca 1934-35)
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 28 x 37.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, 1983
offered Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1984
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 49 [as Utensils, not dated] or cat no 50 [as Kitchen still life, not dated; measurements similar to those given in Deutscher Fine Art [April 1984] following]
? Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, 1983
Australian Painting: Colonial / Contemporary, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 2 - 19 April 1984, cat no 46 [as Utensils, not dated]
reproduced
Australian Painting: Colonial / Contemporary, exhibition catalogue, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1984, pl 46 [b&w]
advertisement, Art and Australia, vol 20, no 4, Winter 1983, p 467 [Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane; b&w]
comment
related to Table arrangement [24] and Kitchen still life (Utensils) [27]
________________________
29.Still life, nd (**ca 1934-35) [plate 21]
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 27.8 x 18.2 cm [sight]
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity, inscribed as 'JH398' and as cat no 43 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH398
collection
Cameron Sparks, Sydney [1981-91]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
acquired Cameron Sparks, Sydney, at auction
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 43 [not dated]
________________________
30.Abstract (Still life with compote), nd (**1934-36)
artwork details
oil on canvas on board, 30 x 34.5 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1991
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 13 [as Studio group, not dated; most likely since measurements similar to those given in Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd [April 1991] following]
Fine Australian Paintings, Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 22 - 23 April 1991, cat no 384 [as Still life with compote, not dated, exhibited Artamon Galleries Estate Exhibition, September 1981]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings, Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1991, cat no 384 [col]
________________________
31.Pattern, nd (**ca 1934-36)
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 34.5 x 23.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney signed by J G Henshaw and inscribed as cat no 25 for the Estate auction, September 1981; inscribed in pencil on backing board 'JH247'
estate id: JH247
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988
offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, 1990
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1991
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 25 [not dated]
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 17 November 1988, cat no 377 [not dated]
Australian Pictures and Sculpture, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 11 April 1990, cat no 97 [not dated]
Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 24 November 1991, cat no 387
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988, cat no 377 [b&w]
Australian Pictures and Sculpture, auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1990, cat no 97 [b&w]
comment
related to Still life [plate 22] [33], Abstract [35], Design [plate 28] [38] and Early figure study [plate 27] [39]; some correlation also, especially in colour, to Space movement [66] and Space movement I [67]; colour also related to Figtree, Botanic Gardens (Botanical Gardens, Sydney / Figtree series) [64], and the three watercolours, Trees and mountains [224] and the two Untitled (Forest series) [225, 226]
________________________
32.Still life, nd (**ca 1934-36)
artwork details
oil on canvas on masonite, 24.5 x 18 cm
signed lr 'G.C.M.', not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, inscribed 'JH367' and as cat no 63 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH367
collection
privately, Sydney [1981-88]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
acquired private collection, Sydney, at auction
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 63 [not dated]
comment
forms relate to Abstract [35]
________________________
33.Still life, nd (**ca 1934-36) [plate 22]
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas mounted on board, 33 x 23 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw, inscribed 'JH439' and as cat no 45 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH439
collection
Woolloomooloo Gallery, Sydney [1981-90; dated ca 1936-38]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
acquired Woolloomooloo Gallery, Sydney, at auction
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 45 [not dated]
Gardens, Flower Studies & Still Life Paintings by Australian Artists 1890's-1980's, Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, Campbelltown, NSW, 1989, cat no unkn
Sumptuous Still Life and Glittering Glass [Elinor Wrobel], Lake Macquarie City Gallery, Lake Macquarie, NSW, 9 - 30 November 1989, cat no 23 [as Still life, 1936-38, oil / canvas, no further detail, courtesy of Woolloomooloo Gallery], cat no unkn
Flowers and Still Life Studies by Australian Artists 1850's to 1980's [Elinor Wrobel], Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Bathurst, NSW, 5 July - 12 August 1990, cat no 56 [dated ca 1936-38]
comment
compositional grid related to Rooftops, New South Wales [plate 24] [37], Design [plate 28] [38], Early figure study [plate 27] [39], Bottles [40], Seated figure [41], and the two pastels Still life with jug [221] and Still life [222]
________________________
34.Still life, nd (**ca 1934-36)
artwork details
oil on canvas on board, 34 x 23.5 cm
signed lr in ink 'G.C.M.', not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by J G Henshaw, inscribed 'Still life' and as cat no 44 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH445
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, 1990
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Artarmon Galleries, Artarmon, NSW, and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 14-15 September 1981, cat no 44 [not dated]
Australian Pictures, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Sydney, 31 October 1990, cat no 34 [dated as ca mid 1930s]
reproduced
Australian Pictures, auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, South Yarra, Vic, 1990, cat no 34 [b&w]
comment
design related to Bottles [40]; colour related to Pattern [31], Design [plate 28] [38], Figtree, Botanic Gardens (Botanical Gardens, Sydney / Figtree series) [64], Space movement [66], Space movement I [67], and three watercolours, Trees and mountains [224] and the two Untitled (Forest series) [225, 226]
________________________
35.Abstract , nd (**ca 1934-36)
artwork details
no details
estate id: JH370
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
photograph, Miller Papers III, op cit [b&w]
comment
forms relate to Still life [32]
________________________
36.Abstract still life, nd (**ca 1934-36) [plate 26]
artwork details
oil on canvas board, 25 x 35 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JH349
collection
Parliament House, Canberra, acc no 85/0221 [1985-88; dated ca 1938]
provenance
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne 1985
acquired Parliament House Construction Authority, Canberra
acquired Parliament House, Canberra, from the Parliament House Construction Authority
exhibited
Godfrey Miller, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 20 June - 9 July 1985, cat no 26 [dated ca 1938]
reproduced
photograph, Miller Papers III, op cit [b&w]
comment
related to Abstract [35]
________________________
37.Rooftops, New South Wales, nd (**ca 1934-38) [plate 24]
artwork details
oil on canvas board, 31.6 x 37.7 cm
signed lr 'GM', not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 1972
acquired at auction [purchaser unkn]
offered Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1986
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, at some date thereafter
exhibited
Leonard Joel, Melbourne, April 1972, cat no 52 [as Paddington roof tops, oil on board, 12 x 141/2 ins (30.5 x 37 cm), signed with initials]
Australian Art: Colonial to Modern, Deutscher Fine Art, Perth and Sydney, 20 August - 13 September 1986, cat no 82 [dated ca 1941-43]
reproduced
Australian Art: Colonial to Modern, exhibition catalogue, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1986 [col]
comment
compositional grid related to Still life [plate 22] [33], Design [plate 28] [38], Early figure study [plate 27] [39], Bottles [40], Seated figure [41], and the two pastels Still life with jug [221] and Still life [222]
________________________
38.Design, nd (** ca 1934-38) [plate 28]
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 34 x 24 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney signed by J G Henshaw, inscribed as cat no 8 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: noJH
collection
Joseph Brown, Melbourne [1982-88]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1982
Joseph Brown Collection, Melbourne
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 8 [not dated]
Exhibition, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1 - 14 September 1982, cat no 73 [not dated]
Australian Paintings from the Joseph Brown Collection [Barry Pearce], Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 4 May - 18 June 1989, cat no 67 [dated 1940s]
reproduced
Exhibition, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1982, cat no 73 [b&w]
Thomas, Outlines of Australian Art: the Joseph Brown Collection [1989], op cit, pl 226 [col]
comment
compositional grid related to Still life [plate 22] [33], Rooftops, New South Wales [plate 24] [37], Early figure study [plate 27] [39], Bottles [40], Seated figure [41], and the two pastels Still life with jug [221] and Still life [222]; colour related to Untitled (Trees and forest series) [102]
________________________
39.Early figure study, nd (**ca 1934-38) [plate 27]
artwork details
oil on canvas laid down on board, 34.3 x 25.4 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the Estate of Godfrey C Miller
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1975
exhibited
Winter Exhibition 1975: Recent Acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 28 July - 12 August 1975, cat no 63 [not dated]
reproduced
Winter Exhibition 1975: Recent Acquisitions, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1975, cat no 63 [b&w]
comment
compositional grid related to Still life [plate 22] [33], Rooftops, New South Wales [plate 24] [37], Design [plate 28] [38], Bottles [40], Seated figure [41], and the two pastels Still life with jug [221] and Still life [222]
________________________
40.Bottles, nd (**1935-36)
artwork details
oil, 34.1 x 24 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Geoff K Gray, Sydney, 1975
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, uncat [noted on catalogue seen]
Geoff K Gray, Sydney, July 1975 [as oil, 32.5 x 23 cm; measurements close]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 62 [as 131/2 x 91/2 ins, dated 1938-41; b&w]
referenced
Edward D Craig, comp, Australian Art Auction Records, 1975-78, The Currawong Press, Sydney, 1978, p 203
comment
compositional grid related to Still life [plate 22] [33], Rooftops, New South Wales [plate 24] [37], Design [plate 28] [38], Early figure study [plate 27] [39], Seated figure [41], and the two pastels Still life with jug [221] and Still life [222]; design related to Still life [34]
________________________
41.Seated figure, nd (**ca 1935-36)
artwork details
oil, 34.1 x 25.3 cm [measurements questionable - reproduction ratio suggests 34.1 x 23.5 cm or 35.5 x 25.3 cm more likely]
signed lr 'G.C.M.', not dated
estate id: JH421
collection
unkn
provenance
Mr and Mrs H Dresdner, 1965
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1974
? acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
exhibited
? Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 14 March 1974, cat no unkn [as Seated nude, oil, 37 x 25 cm]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 34 [as 131/2 x 10 ins, dated 1937-38; b&w]
Donald Brook, 'Cosmos revealed', book review, The Canberra Times, Canberra, 20 August 1966, p 11 [b&w]
referenced
? Edward D Craig, comp, Australian Art Auction Records 1973-75, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1975
comment
compositional grid related to Still life [plate 22] [33], Rooftops, New South Wales [plate 24] [37], Design [plate 28] [38], Early figure study [plate 27] [39], Bottles [40], and the two pastels Still life with jug [221] and Still life [222]
________________________
42.Cityscape, nd (**ca 1935-38)
artwork details
oil, 34.7 x 34.1 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 21 [as 133/4 x131/2 ins, dated 1940-42; b&w]
comment
compositionally related to Cityscape [76] and Cityscape [plate 57] [77], but least structured of the three
return to top
__________________________________________________
Late transitional period
43.Figure composition, nd (**ca 1936-38) [plate 29]
artwork details
oil with traces of pencil on artists' board, 43.5 x 33 cm
signed lr 'G C M', not dated
verso Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney label
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney
acquired Mrs J Landau, Sydney, 1988
loaned by Mrs J Landau to the Macquarie University Library, Sydney, 1988
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1989 [not sold]
exhibited
Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 14 August 1989, cat no 332 [dated 1942-46]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 53 [as 17 x 13 ins, dated 1942-46] [b&w]
Fine Australian Paintings, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney 1989, cat no 332 [col]
referenced
? 'Recent gallery prices', Art and Australia, vol 10, no 1, July 1972, p 34
comment
related to Untitled (Figure group series) [plate 41] [61]
________________________
44.Nude sketch, nd (**ca 1936-38) [plate 30]
artwork details
oil on maisonite, 61 x 40.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller and John Henshaw
estate id: noJH
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, 1981
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1984
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1993
exhibited
Australian Paintings 1936-76 - a Collection, Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, June 1981, cat no 2
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 27 [as Figure series sketch, not dated] or cat no 117 [as Figure series, not dated; unlikely given Ray Hughes Gallery exhibition earlier in 1981, but measurements similar to those in Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, and Australian Paintings: Colonial / Contemporary [1984] following]
Australian Paintings: Colonial / Contemporary, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 2 - 19 April 1984, cat no 47
Fine Australian Paintings including European Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Sculpture, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 19 April 1993, cat no 223 [as ca 1944-47, oil on board, 60 x 40 cm]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 49 [as 24 x 16 ins, dated 1944-47; b&w]
Australian Painting: Colonial / Contemporary, exhibition catalogue, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1984, cat no 47 [b&w]
Fine Australian Paintings including European Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Sculpture, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, 1993, Sydney, cat no 223 [col]
working drawings
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, beside foreword and opp pl 2
comment
similar in colour range tendency to Figure group (Study, figure group) [45]; oil sketch for Standing figure [46] and Untitled (Figure group series) [plate 41] [61]
________________________
45.Figure group (Study, figure group), nd (**ca 1936-38)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 60 x 50 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw, John Kaplan, dated 5 March 1966, inscribed 'JH240'; other labels / inscriptions: 'C.85', '968B', 'G605', 'Christies 509'
estate id: JH240
collection
unkn
provenance
? Dr D J Marr, Sydney
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1969
? acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1974
? acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 1988 [not sold]
offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1988
exhibited
? Australian Historical and Contemporary Drawings & Paintings, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 24 September 1969, cat no 80 [as Figure group, 24 x 20 ins, not dated, property of Dr D.J. Marr, Sydney; very probable given similarity of measurements and same date seemingly on certificate of authenticity as when offered in 1988]
? Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 14 March 1974, cat no 424 [as Study, figure group, 24 x 20 ins (61 x 50.8 cm); measurements close and same title appears following]
Australian Paintings, Prints, Studio Pottery and Books & Maps, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 21 August 1988, cat no 509 [as Study, figure group, not dated]
Australian Paintings and Prints, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 14 November 1988, cat no 256 [as Study, figure group, not dated]
reproduced
Australian Paintings, Prints, Studio Pottery and Books & Maps, auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 1988, cat no 509 [b&w]
referenced
? auction results, Art and Australia, vol 7, no 2, September 1969, p 117
Christie's Australian Art Sales Index, 1969-1974, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Sydney, nd, pp 80, 81 [twice]
? Craig, Australian Art Auction Records 1973-75 [1975], op cit
comment
similar in colour range tendency to Nude sketch [plate 30] [44]; possibly an oil sketch for Untitled (Figure group series) [plate 41] [61]
________________________
46.Standing figure, nd (**ca 1936-40)
artwork details
oil, 83.6 x 66.3 cm [measurements questionable; dimensional ratio suggests 83.6 x 54.6 cm or 101 x 66.3 cm more likely]
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Mary White School of Art, Sydney [1965]
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 22 [as Figure study, not dated; likely - measurements the same as in Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, although in catalogue inverted as '261/4 x 331/8"', i.e., 66.3 x 83.6 cm]
reproduced
'Brought to light', news item, Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 17 February 1965, p 19 [b&w]
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 50 [as 331/8 x 261/4 ins, dated 1940-44; b&w]
working drawings
ibid, besides Foreword and opp pl 2
comment
Nude sketch [plate 30] [44] appears an earlier oil sketch; this canvas is an oil sketch for Untitled (Figure group series) [plate 41] [61]
________________________
47.Figure, nd (**ca 1936-40)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas, 60 x 38 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1988
acquired [purchaser unkn], 1988, at auction
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 114 [not dated; measurements same as in Fine Australian Paintings and Books [1988] following]
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 27 - 28 March 1988, cat no 249 [not dated]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988, cat no 249 [b&w]
________________________
48.Abstract, nd (**ca 1936-38) [plate 31]
artwork details
oil on canvas [lined], 26 x 42 cm
not signed, not dated
verso, inscribed 'JH444' on canvas
estate id: JH444
collection
Ann Wookey [1993-2010]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
private Sydney collection, acquired from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, 1981
offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1993
acquired Ann Wookey, at auction
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 5 [as Design, not dated; measurements close]
Australian & European Pictures, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 20 April 1993, cat no 272 [as having certificate of authenticity verso]
comment
colour treatment links canvas to Cityscape [plate 32] [49] and Palette design [plate 49] [72]
________________________
49.Cityscape, nd (**ca 1936-38) [plate 32]
artwork details
oil on canvas on board, 34.8 x 35.2 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity inscribed as cat no 3 for the 1981 Estate auction signed by John Henshaw, not dated
estate id: noJH
collection
Parliament House, Canberra, acc no 85/0223 [1985-92; not dated]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1984
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 1985
acquired Parliament House Construction Authority, Canberra
acquired Parliament House, Canberra, from the Parliament House Construction Authority
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 3 [not dated]
Australian Painting: Colonial / Impressionist / Early Modern, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 30 October - 16 November 1984, cat no 87 [not dated]
reproduced
Australian Painting: Colonial / Impressionist / Early Modern, exhibition catalogue, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1984, cat no 87 [b&w]
comment
colour treatment links canvas to Abstract [plate 31] [48] and Palette design [plate 49] [72]
________________________
50.Growth, nd (**ca 1936-38) [plate 35]
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas mounted on board, 37 x 36 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity, inscribed 'JH271'
estate id: JH271
collection
Woolloomooloo Gallery, Sydney [1981-92]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
acquired Woolloomooloo Gallery, Sydney, at auction
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 32 [not dated]
________________________
51.Still life with gourds, fruit and wine glasses, nd (**ca 1936-40) [plate 37]
artwork details
oil on canvas on board, 40.5 x 51 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: noJH
collection
Parliament House, Canberra, acc no 85/0222 [1985-88; dated ca 1939]
provenance
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 1985
acquired Parliament House Construction Authority, Canberra
acquired Parliament House, Canberra, from the Parliament House Construction Authority
exhibited
Godfrey Miller, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 20 June - 9 July 1985, cat no 27 [dated ca 1939]
comment
compositional grid related to Still life [plate 22] [33], Abstract still life [plate 26] [36], Rooftops, New South Wales [plate 24] [37], Design [plate 28] [38], Early figure study [plate 27] [39], Bottles [40], Seated figure [41] and the pastels Still life with jug [221] and Still life [222], while glass forms present relate this picture to the oils Still life [32] and Abstract [35] and the pastel Still life [222]; considered late transitional because of size
________________________
52.Fruit on a table (Still life with comport), nd (**ca 1936-40)
artwork details
oil, 58.7 x 74.5 cm
signed lr 'G Miller' [?], not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
Landau Family, Sydney, 1965
offered Geoff K Gray, Sydney, July 1975
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
exhibited
Geoff K Gray, Sydney, July 1975 [as Still life with comport of fruit, 1965, oil, 60 x 75 cm]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 66, [as Fruit on a table, 231/2 x 291/2 ins, 1950; b&w]
Craig, Australian Art Auction Records, 1975-78 [1978], op cit, p 203 [Gray result above; b&w]
________________________
53.Untitled (Landscape / Forest series), nd (**ca 1937-40) [plate 38]
artwork details
oil on canvas on board, 24 x 34 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by J G Henshaw, not dated, inscribed as 24 x 34 cm, cat no 70 for the 1981 Estate auction; Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, certificate inscribed 'Forest series', oil, 24 x 34 cm
estate id: noJH
collection
Parliament House, Canberra, acc no 86/0039.001 [1986-88; dated 1963-64]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered The Block Gallery and Deutscher Galleries, Melbourne, 1979
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, date not known
acquired Parliament House Construction Authority, Canberra
acquired Parliament House, Canberra, from the Parliament House Construction Authority
exhibited
Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Australian Art, The Block Gallery and Deutscher Galleries, Melbourne, 12 July - 18 August 1979, cat no 97 [as Landscape, oil on canvas on board, 25.5 x 35.5 cm, not dated]
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 70 [as Forest series, not dated]
? Lauraine Diggins December 1985, Lauraine Diggins Gallery, North Caulfield, Victoria [as Forest series, ca 1950]
reproduced
Tim Hogan and Chris Deutscher, comps, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Australian Art, exhibition catalogue, The Block Gallery and Deutscher Galleries, Melbourne, 1979, cat no 97 [b&w]
comment
surface incised to become a fine striation by artist in places - perhaps a forerunner, therefore, to his mature striation technique using pencil and / or ink; canvas also patched; may be an early version in the Unity in blue [plate 80] [152] and Blue unity [166] series
________________________
54.Abstract (Still life), nd (**ca 1937-40)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas on composition board, 33 x 43 cm
not signed, not dated
verso Artamon Gallery, Sydney, certificate of authenticity signed by J G Henshaw, inscribed as cat no 119 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
acquired [purchaser unkn] 1981 at auction
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1987
acquired [purchaser unkn] 1987 at auction
offered James R Lawson Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1989 [not sold]
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 119 [not dated]
Fine Australian Paintings, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 11 August 1987, cat no 63 [as oil on board, not dated]
Fine Modern Paintings, James R. Lawson Pty Ltd, Sydney, 16 May 1989, cat no 149 [not dated]
reproduced
Fine Modern Paintings, auction catalogue, James R. Lawson Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1989, cat no 149 [b&w]
________________________
55.Young Street, nd (**ca 1937-40)
artwork details
oil on board, 43.6 x 33.3 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, 1975
offered James R Lawson Pty Ltd, Sydney, October 1978 [not sold]
exhibited
Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, March 1975, cat no 28 [as 43 x 34 cm]
James R Lawson Pty Ltd, Sydney, October 1978, cat no 28 [as Young Street, 1941, oil on board, 43 x 34 cm, pl 64 in Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 64 [as 171/4 x 131/2 ins, dated 1941; b&w]
comment
stylistic similarities with lhs of Paddington buildings and trees [105] and so related to the Building and trees series
________________________
56.Rhythm (Nude), nd (**ca 1937-42) [plate 40]
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas on board, 50 x 58 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw, inscribed 'JH468' and as cat no 26 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH468
collection
Woolloomooloo Gallery, Sydney [1981-91]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
acquired Woolloomooloo Gallery, Sydney, at auction
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 26 [as Rhythm, not dated]
Nudes: a Private Collection, Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, Campbelltown, NSW, 11 July - 26 August 1990, then to Stanthorpe Art Gallery, Stanthorpe, Qld, and Tweed River
comment
Trees [57], Mountains [58] and Abstract (Trees) [59] related
________________________
57.Tree, nd (**ca 1937-42)
artwork details
no details
estate id: JH477
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
photograph, Miller Papers III, op cit [b&w]
comment
Rhythm (Nude) [plate 40] [56], Mountains [58] and Abstract (Trees) [59] related
________________________
58.Mountains, nd (**ca 1937-42)
artwork details
oil, 35.4 x 35.4 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Dr Edward Jackson [1965]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 22 [as 14 x 14 ins, dated 1945; b&w]
comment
Rhythm (Nude) [plate 40] [56], Trees [57] and Abstract (Trees) [59] related
________________________
59.Abstract (Trees), nd (**ca 1937-42)
artwork details
50.8 x 60.6 cm
no other details
estate id: JH98
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
photograph, Miller Papers III, op cit [b&w]
comment
Trees [57], Mountains [58] and Rhythm (Nude) [plate 40] [56] related, and also Abstract [83]
________________________
60.Untitled (Forest series), nd (**ca 1937-42)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas, 44 x 62 cm
not signed, not dated
verso inscribed on frame 'J. Lewis'
estate id: noJH
collection
privately, Melbourne [1988]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Avant Galleries, Melbourne
private collection, Melbourne, acquired by the family from Avant Galleries
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 20 [as Tree series No.1, 43 x 61 cm, not dated; this lot is the most likely since closest in measurements]
reproduced
flier for William S Ellenden Pty Ltd [auction, September 1981], no details [b&w]
comment
composition and treatment of trees related to Unity in blue [plate 80] [152]; composition, colour, and treatment of trees [to a degree], but not in other surface treatment, to Blue unity [166], although this work much cruder than either
________________________
61.Untitled (Figure group series), nd (**ca 1937-42) [plate 41]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 50.8 x 63.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the Estate of Godfrey C Miller
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1976
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1978
exhibited
Autumn Exhibition 1976: Recent Acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1 - 12 March 1976, cat no 43 [as Figure group series, ca 1944-47]
Spring Exhibition 1978, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 29 September - 9 October 1978, cat no 88 [as Figure group series, ca 1944-47]
reproduced
Autumn Exhibition 1976: Recent Acquisitions, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1976, cat no 43 [b&w]
Spring Exhibition 1978, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 978, cat no 88 [b&w]
comment
Nude sketch [plate 30] [44] and Standing figure [46] appear earlier oil sketches for this canvas, and perhaps also Figure group (Study, figure group) [45]; related to Figure composition [plate 29] [43]
________________________
62.Figure composition (Figure composition series), nd (**ca 1937-42) [plate 42]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 49 x 59 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, 1981
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 37 [as Figure composition series, not dated; measurements same as in Art and Australia, 19 / 1 following]
reproduced
advertisement, Art and Australia, vol 19, no 1, Summer 1981, back cover [as Figure composition series; Artarmon Galleries, Sydney; col]
comment
figure cr similar to figure in Figure group [plate 92] [174]
________________________
63.Still life with blue jar, nd (**ca 1937-42)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 51 x 61 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the Estate of Godfrey C Miller
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1978
exhibited
Autumn Exhibition 1978, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 7 - 20 April 1978, cat no 100 [dated 1945-50]
reproduced
Autumn Exhibition 1978, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1978, cat no 100 [b&w]
comment
compositionally related to Still life (Fruit on a table) [108], and thematically related to Still life with oranges (Objects on a table) [plate 55] [75] but an earlier version
________________________
64.Figtree, Botanic Gardens (Botanical Gardens, Sydney / Figtree series), nd (**ca 1937-42)
artwork details
oil on artists board, 46 x 61 cm
signed lr 'GCM', not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 16 November 1975, inscribed 'JH298'; certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw, inscribed as cat no 38 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH298
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1989
offered Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 1989
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 38 [as Fig tree, Botanic Gardens, 1945]
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 17 November 1988, cat no 463 [as Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Figtree series, ca 1945]
Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 17 April 1989, cat no 443 [as Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Figtree series, ca 1945]
Paintings, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 5 - 8 November 1989, cat no 248 [as Fig tree, Botanic Gardens, 1945]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988, cat no 463 [b&w]
Fine Australian Paintings, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1989, cat no 443 [col]
Paintings, auction catalogue, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 1989, cat no 248 [b&w]
comment
style and colour related to the watercolour Trees and mountains [224] and perhaps to the two watercolours Untitled (Forest series) [225, 226]; colour further related to Pattern [31], Still life [34], Design [plate 28] [38], Space movement [66] and Space movement I [67]
________________________
65.Still life, nd (**ca 1937-42)
artwork details
oil on board, 23 x 33.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity, inscribed 'JH208' and as cat no 14 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH208
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1987
acquired [purchaser unkn] 1987 at auction
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 14 [not dated]
Fine Australian Paintings, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 11 August 1987, cat no 58 [not dated]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings, auction catalogue, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1987, cat no 58 [col]
________________________
66.Space movement, nd (**ca 1937-42)
artwork details
oil, 40.4 x 50.5 cm
signed lr 'GCM', inscribed ll 'JH/284', not dated
estate id: JH284
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, date unkn
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 67 [as 16 x 20 ins, dated 1936; b&w]
comment
theme and colours similar to Space movement I [67]; colour related to Pattern [31], Still life [34], Design [plate 28] [38], Figtree, Botanic Gardens (Botanical Gardens, Sydney / Figtree series) [64], and the three watercolours, Trees and mountains [224] and the two Untitled (Forest series) [225, 226]
________________________
67.Space movement I, nd (**ca 1937-42)
artwork details
oil on board, 36.5 x 36.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 16 April 1976, inscribed 'JH267'
estate id: JH267
collection
unkn
provenance
private collection, Sydney, ca 1965
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1976
offered P L Pickles, Sydney, 1978
acquired private collection, Sydney, 1978, at auction
offered The Block Gallery and Deutscher Galleries, Melbourne 1979
offered Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, 1981
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1989
acquired Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, 1991
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1991
exhibited
Autumn Exhibition 1976: Recent Acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1 - 12 March 1976, cat no 42
P L Pickles, Sydney, August 1978, cat no 126 [dated 1936]
Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Australian Art, The Block Gallery and Deutscher Galleries, Melbourne, 12 July - 18 August 1979, cat no 78 [as Space movement I, 1936, 35 x 35 cm]
Australian Paintings 1936-76, Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, 1981, cat no 1
Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 17 April 1989, cat no 263 [as Space movement I, ca 1936, 35 x 35 cm]
100 Works from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 16 June 1991, cat no 58 [as Space movement I, 1936, 36.5 x 36.5 cm]
reproduced
Autumn Exhibition 1976: Recent Acquisitions, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1976, cat no 42 [b&w]
Tim Hogan and Chris Deutscher, comps, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Australian Art, exhibition catalogue, The Block Gallery and Deutscher Galleries, Melbourne, 1979, cat no 78 [b&w]
comment
theme and colours similar to Space movement [66], and colour related to Pattern [31], Still life [34], Design [plate 28] [38], Figtree, Botanic Gardens (Botanical Gardens, Sydney / Figtree series) [64], and the three watercolours, Trees and mountains [224] and the two Untitled (Forest series) [225, 226]
________________________
68.The four seasons, nd (**ca 1937-42) [plate 43]
artwork details
oil on canvas tacked onto board, 30.5 x 35 cm
not signed, not dated
inscribed recto lr '156JH'
estate id: JH156
collection
Estate of David Strachan, Canberra [1970-88]
provenance
David Strachan, 1965-70
acquired Estate of David Strachan, Canberra
________________________
69.Paddington terrace (Street scene study), nd (**ca 1937-42) [plate 45]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 23.7 x 34.5 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: noJH
collection
Annette Dupree, Sydney [1966-88]
provenance
acquired Robert Haines, Sydney, 1965
acquired Annette Dupree, Sydney
exhibited
Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 25 [as Street scene study, not dated; measurements incorrectly given as '93/8 x 7in']
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 60 [as 93/8 x 7 ins, dated 1955-56; b&w]
________________________
70.Figtrees, nd (**ca 1937-42)
artwork details
oil, 42.9 x 60 cm [measurements queried on reproduction ratio - more likely to be 43 x 54.5 cm or 47 x 60 cm]
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 7 [as Figtree series, not dated, 46 x 61 cm; measurements similar to second size alternative given above]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 46 [as 17 x 233/4 ins, dated 1939-40; b&w]
comment
could be Komon's Figtrees given query on measurements [second size alterative above is close - see Appendix 4, The Private collection of Mr and Mrs Rudy Komon, Georges Gallery, Melbourne, 9 - 21 August 1971]
________________________
71.Landscape, nd (**ca 1937-42) [plate 47]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 36.2 x 60.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity, and inscribed ul corner of stretcher in black felt-tipped pen '159JH', top left of stretcher 'AP70/79'
estate id: JH159
collection
Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla, acc no V.Ben.1979/1
provenance
offered Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, 1979
acquired Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla, 1979, with the assistance of the Caltex-Victorian Government Art Fund from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
________________________
72.Palette design, nd (**ca 1938-42) [plate 49]
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 36 x 37 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw, inscribed 'JH176', and as cat no 17 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH176
collection
Woolloomooloo Gallery, Sydney [1981-92]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
acquired Woolloomooloo Gallery, Sydney
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 17 [as Palette design, not dated]
comment
the dating of this canvas followed my identifying Ghyka's Essai sur le Rhythme [1938], op cit, as the source of its design matrix; colour relates to Abstract [plate 31] [48] and Cityscape [plate 32] [49]
________________________
73.Untitled (Trees / Forest series), nd (**ca 1938-42) [plate 51]
artwork details
oil on hardboard, 56.5 x 50.3 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw, inscribed 'JH50'
estate id: JH50
collection
University of Western Australia, Perth [1982-88; dated ca 1952]
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, 1981-82
offered Lister Galleries, Perth, 1982
acquired University of Western Australia, Perth, from Lister Galleries, Perth
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 19 [as Tree series, not dated; measurements similar]
comment
Artarmon Galleries suggested work possibly one in a series of eight in preparation for an uncompleted major painting
________________________
74.Untitled (Tree and mountain NT series), nd (**ca 1939-42) [plate 53]
artwork details
oil and ink on canvas mounted on board, 42 x 59 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw, inscribed as cat no 15 for the 1981 Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: noJH
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, South Yarra, Victoria, 1982
offered Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1992
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 15 [as Tree & mountain series N.T., not dated]
Exhibition, Joseph Brown Gallery, South Yarra, Victoria, 1 - 14 September 1982, cat no 74 [as Tree and mountain series N.T., not dated]
Fine Australian Paintings including European Paintings, Drawings, Books and Prints, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 26 April 1992, addenda sheet, cat no 474B [as Tree and mountain series, N.T., not dated]
reproduced
Exhibition, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1982, cat no 74 [col]
Fine Australian Paintings including European Paintings, Drawings, Books and Prints, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1992, addenda sheet [col]
comment
grid is a regular 7 x 7 matrix, ink points seen on all borders, no lines running corners-to-corners, etc
________________________
75.Still life with oranges (Objects on a table), nd (**ca 1939-42) [plate 55]
artwork details
oil, pen and ink and pencil on canvas, 33.5 x 55.5 cm
signed ll 'G Miller' [about 5 cm in], not dated
verso certificate of authenticity, inscribed 'JH389'
estate id: JH389
collection
privately, Canberra [1977-88]
provenance
offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, October 1977
acquired private collection, Canberra, at auction
exhibited
Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, October 1977, cat no 80 [as Objects on a table, 33.5 x 57 cm, dated 1950]
Collector's Choice, Gallery Huntly, Campbell, ACT, 9 March - 9 April 1985, cat no 90 [as Still life, oil on canvas, not dated]
reproduced
advertisement, Art and Australia, vol 9, no 4, March 1972, backcover [as Objects on a table, dated 1950; Artarmon Galleries, Sydney; col]
auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1977, pl 19 [b&w]
referenced
Craig, Australian Art Auction Records, 1975-78 [1978], op cit, p 203
comment
thematically related to Still life with blue jar [63], with this work the later canvas
________________________
76.Cityscape, nd (**ca 1939-42)
artwork details
oil, 35.4 x 35.4 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Walter Richard Black [1965]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 78 [as 14 x 14 ins, dated 1941-43; b&w]
comment
compositionally related to Cityscape [42] and Cityscape [plate 57] [77]
________________________
77.Cityscape, nd (**1939-42) [plate 57]
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas, 76.7 x 76.3 cm [sight]
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 7 September 1972, inscribed 'JH2'
estate id: JH2
collection
privately, Melbourne [1988]
provenance
offered Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired private collection, Melbourne, from Artarmon Galleries
comment
compositionally related to Cityscape [42] and Cityscape [76], with this picture the more complex work of three; the square format is most common to transitional pictures of the 1930s; however, the relatively large canvas size, complex structural matrix, colour and intricate brushwork suggest the early 1940s
________________________
78.Design, Young Street, nd (**ca 1939-42) [plate 59]
artwork details
watercolour, gouache, pen and ink and pencil on canvas, image 34.2 x 23.6 cm, canvas 43.5 x 33.5 cm
not signed, not dated
inscribed 'JH120'
estate id: JH120
collection
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, acc no 72.4 [as 'earliest date 1942, latest date 1956']
provenance
offered Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, from Artarmon Galleries
________________________
79.Cityscape, nd (**ca 1939-42)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 33 x 33 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the Estate of Godfrey C Miller
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1981
exhibited
Exhibition, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 10 - 24 June 1981, cat no 140 [not dated]
reproduced
Exhibition, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1981, cat no 140 [b&w]
________________________
80.Madonna and Child, nd (**ca 1939-45) [plate 61]
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 36.5 x 36 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the Estate of Godfrey C Miller
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne,1977
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, 1977
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
exhibited
? Easter 1954, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 31 March - 14 April 1954, cat no 17 [as Madonna and Child (unfinished), not dated; not one of the best Madonna's, hence unlikely]
Autumn Exhibition 1977: Recent Acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 7 - 22 March 1977, cat no 75
? Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, October 1977, cat no 93 [as canvas, 38 x 37.5 cm, not dated; measurements close]
reproduced
Autumn Exhibition 1977: Recent Acquisitions, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1977, cat no 75 [b&w]
? auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1977, pl 22
referenced
Craig, Australian Art Auction Records, 1975-78 [1978], op cit, p 203
comment
related by theme to other works in the Madonna series, but different format, and treatment seemingly
________________________
81.The arch, Sydney, nd (**ca 1939-45)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas on board, 38.5 x 38.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso short diagonal black ink lines down lhs, wooden backing board, certificate of authenticity not evident
estate id: noJH
collection
privately, Sydney [1991]
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1988 [not sold]
offered David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 1990
acquired private collection, Sydney, from David Jones' Art Gallery
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 33 [not dated; measurements same as in Fine Australian Paintings and Books following]
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 27 - 28 March 1988, cat no 265 [as oil, 35 x 35 cm, certificate of authenticity verso, not dated]
Fine and Decorative Art Exhibition, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 12 March - 21 April 1990, cat no 19 [as 38.5 x 38.5 cm, not dated]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988, cat no 265 [b&w]
________________________
82.Nocturne, Sydney Harbour, nd (**ca 1939-45)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas on board, 38.5 x 39.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso drawing of Buddha head and other indecipherable forms, certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, 1972, label 'Purchased for Australian Project for the Creative Arts'
estate id: JHnk
collection
privately, Sydney [1991]
provenance
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1988
acquired [purchaser unkn] 1988 at auction
offered David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 1990
acquired private collection, Sydney
exhibited
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 27 - 28 March 1988, cat no 228 [as 35 x 35 cm, not dated]
Fine and Decorative Art Exhibition, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 12 March - 21 April 1990, cat no 18 [as 38.5 x 38.9 cm, not dated]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988, cat no 228 [col]
comment
backing board could be packing case since it is soft wood, not plywood; nail holes are evident
________________________
83.Abstract (The arch, Sydney), nd (**ca 1939-45)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 40.6 x 40.6 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the Estate of Godfrey C Miller
estate id: JH166
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1969
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1975
exhibited
? Spring Exhibition 1969, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 15 September - 8 October 1969, cat no 27 [as 15 x 15" (37.9 x 37.9 cm), ca 1948]
Autumn Exhibition 1975: Recent Acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 2 - 17 April 1975, cat no 62 [dated 1942-45]
reproduced
Autumn Exhibition 1975: Recent Acquisitions, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1975, cat no 62 [b&w]
comment
related to Rhythm (Nude) [plate 40] [56] and Abstract (Trees) [59]
________________________
84.Flowers, nd (**ca 1939-45)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 43 x 32.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the Estate of Godfrey C Miller
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1977
exhibited
Autumn exhibition 1977: recent acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 7 - 22 March 1977, cat no 76 [not dated]
reproduced
Autumn exhibition 1977: recent acquisitions, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1977, cat no 76 [b&w]
comment
compositionally related to Flowers (Apples) [109]
________________________
85.Landscape, nd (**ca 1939-45)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas nailed onto board, 33 x 43 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw, inscribed as 'JH152', and as cat no 111 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH152
collection
privately, Melbourne [1988]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
private collection, Melbourne, acquired from Niagara Galleries
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 111 [as Landscape, not dated]
________________________
86.Trees in landscape, nd (**ca 1939-45)
artwork details
no details
estate id: JH369
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
photograph, Miller Papers III, op cit [b&w]
comment
thematically related to Trees in landscape [103], Forest [104] and Red earth forest [146], with the latter the more mature
________________________
87.Forest, nd (1939-45)
artwork details
oil, 45 x 35 cm
not signed, not dated
verso Darlinghurst Galleries certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw, John Kaplan, inscribed 'Forest: 1941-45 Size 45 x 35 cm'
estate id: JHnk
collection
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, acc no 1988.021 [dated 1941-45]
provenance
James Baker
purchased Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, with funds from the John Darnell Bequest
comment
thematically related to Trees in landscape [86], Trees in landscape [103] and Red earth forest [146], with the latter the most mature
________________________
88.Still life with avocados (Compote series), nd (**ca 1939-45)
artwork details
oil on canvas on board, 33 x 43 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw, inscribed as cat no 16 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: noJH
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
acquired [purchaser unkn] 1981 at auction
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1987
? offered Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, ca 1988
offered Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 1988
acquired [purchaser unkn] 1988 from Modern Australian Paintings
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 16 [as Compote series, not dated]
Fine Australian Paintings, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 11 August 1987, cat no 61 [as Compote series, not dated]
? Still life in Australia 1845-1988, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, ca 1988, cat no 35 [as Still life with avocados (Compote series), 1955, oil and pencil on canvas on board, 33 x 43 cm, not signed]
Modern Australian Paintings, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 23 June - 7 July 1988, cat no 27 [as (Still life with avocados) Compote series, not dated]
? The Private collection in Brisbane, Brisbane City Hall Art Gallery, Brisbane, 1 - 30 June 1990 [as Still Life Avocados, ca 1950, oil, 32 x 42 cm]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings, auction catalogue, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1987, cat no 61 [col]
Modern Australian Paintings, exhibition catalogue, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 1988, cat no 27 [col]
________________________
89.Untitled (Compote series), nd (**ca 1939-45)
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 46 x 58 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, signed by John Henshaw
estate id: JH73
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
? offered Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 1984
? offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1984
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1987
acquired [purchaser unkn] 1987 at auction
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 12 [as Compote series, not dated]
? Australian Paintings, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 8 - 11 April 1984, cat no 7 [as Compote series, oil on canvas, 47.5 x 58 cm, unsigned, prov Artarmon Gallery; more likely to have been Untitled (Compote series) [128] offered here since measurements closer and Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd auction in May 1984 very soon after this]
? Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 29 May 1984, cat no 133 [as Compote series, oil and line on canvas on board, 46.5 x 58 cm, verso certificate of authenticity; measurements very close, although could have been Untitled (Compote series) [128] offered]
Fine Australian Paintings, Books and Ceramics, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 26 July 1987, cat no 465 [as Compote series, not dated]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings, Books and Ceramics, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1987, cat no 465 [b&w]
referenced
? Craig, Australian Art Auction Records, 1982-1984 [1987], op cit, p 220
comment
colour relates to Still life [135] and Still life with jug [136]
________________________
90.Still life, nd (**ca 1939-45)
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 50.8 x 61 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1969
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1979
exhibited
Australian Historical and Contemporary Drawings & Paintings, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 24 September 1969, cat no 145 [as 20 x 24 ins (50.5 x 60.6 cm), not dated]
Autumn Exhibition 1979, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 5 - 20 April 1979, cat no 82 [dated 1950-55]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 45 [as 20 x 24 ins, dated 1950-55; b&w]
Australian Historical and Contemporary Drawings & Paintings, auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1969, cat no 145 [col]
Autumn Exhibition 1979, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1979, cat no 82 [b&w]
referenced
auction results, Art and Australia [September 1969], op cit, p 117
Christie's Australian Art Sales Index, 1969-1974 [nd], op cit, p 80
________________________
91.Nude, nd (**ca 1939-45)
artwork details
oil on canvas on board, 45 x 60 cm
signed lr 'G.C.M.', not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1988 [not sold]
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1991
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981, cat no 42 [not dated; measurements same as in Fine Australian Paintings and Books [1988] following]
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 27 - 28 March 1988, cat no 214 [not dated]
Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 24 November 1991, cat no 72 [as Nude study, not dated]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings and Books, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988 cat no 214 [b&w]
________________________
92.Danaë, nd (**ca 1939-45) [plate 62]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 66.1 x 101.6 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JH295
collection
unkn
provenance
offered David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 1990
exhibited
Fine & Decorative Art Exhibition, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 12 March - 21 April 1990, cat no 22 [dated 1950-55]
reproduced
advertisement, Art and Australia, vol 27, no 3, Autumn 1990, p 388 [dated 1950-55; David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney; col]
________________________
93.Untitled (Trees and mountain series), nd (**ca 1940-45)
artwork details
oil and brush and ink on canvas, 51 x 61.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 15 September 1967, inscribed 'Trees and mountain series (Central Australia) JH85'
estate id: JH85
collection / provenance
Ballaarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat, Vic, acc no 1968-24, gift of Jenny van Beck [dated 1930-64]
________________________
94.Madonna, nd (**ca 1940-45)
artwork details
oil and pen and ink on canvas on composition board, 35.5 x 27.5 cm (sight)
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
JGL Collection, Melbourne [1984]
exhibited
The Great Decades of Australian Art: Selected Masterpieces from the J.G.L. Collection, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1984
reproduced
Patrick McCaughey, essay, The Great Decades of Australian Art: Selected Masterpieces from the J.G.L. Collection, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1984, p 53 [col]
working drawings
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, opp pl 31
comment
oil sketch for Madonna and Child (Madonna no 1) [plate 84] [155] and Madonna no 3 [162]; related to Madonna [95]
________________________
95.Madonna, nd (**ca 1940-45)
artwork details
pen and oil on canvas and wood, 38.1 x 29.4 cm
inscribed lr '150JH', not dated
verso Darlinghurst Galleries label inscribed '(JH150) Sketch; Madonna series' and endorsed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 8 July 1965
estate id: JH150
collection
Newman College, The University of Melbourne [1966-93]
provenance
the Artist's Estate
offered Leveson Street Gallery, Melbourne
purchased by Michael Scott for Newman College, The University of Melbourne, from Leveson Street Gallery, Melbourne, 12 July 1966 [£600; balance settled 17 November 1966]
exhibited
Godfrey Miller [John Henshaw], Leveson Street Gallery, Melbourne, 12 - 23 September 1965, cat no 47 [as Madonna series, no details]
Melbourne University collection [Betty Clarke], National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 19 July - 15 August 1971 [as oil and pen and ink on canvas on board, 38 x 29.2 cm]
A Deep Sonorous Thing: the Newman College Collection of Art, The University of Melbourne Gallery, Melbourne, late 1993, cat no 4 [as ca 1960-64]
reproduced
Christopher Marshall, A Deep Sonorous Thing: the Newman College Collection of Art, exhibition catalogue, Newman College, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 1993, pl XIII [col]
comment
related to Madonna [94]
return to top
__________________________________________________
Early mature
96.Scene below Paddington, nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil, 35 x 45.1 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Mr and Mrs John Henshaw, 1965
John Henshaw Collection [1965]
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 29 [not dated; likely since measurements as given in Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit]
Godfrey Miller [John Henshaw], Leveson Street Gallery, Melbourne, 12 - 23 September 1965, cat no 51 [not dated, as 'John Henshaw Collection']
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 48 [as 137/8 x 177/8 ins, dated 1955-59; b&w]
comment
possibly looking out through leaves over water; mostly blues plus emerald green for leafage and a few spots of oranges / yellows
________________________
97.The red mountain (Trees and mountain series), nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 45 x 62.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, dated 8 July 1965
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
acquired Dr and Mrs N Taylor, Longueville, NSW, 1966
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988
acquired by a client of Margaret Meagher, 1988, at auction
exhibited
? William Dobell Exhibition and Four Pictures by Godfrey Miller (1893-1964), Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Victoria, November 1964, cat no 37 [as The red mountain, no other detail; likely since probably exhibited in the 1965 Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition, cat no 7]
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 7 [as The red mountain, not dated; likely since title and measurements similar to those given in Australian Paintings following]
Australian Paintings, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 7 November 1988, cat no 85 [as Red mountain, not dated]
reproduced
Keavney [1966], op cit, p 10 [as Trees and mountain series, 1957-62; col]
Australian Paintings, auction catalogue, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988, opp p 10 [col]
referenced
auction results, Australian Financial Review, Sydney, 17 November 1988
comment
compositionally and colour related to Two trees and mountain [171], but The red mountain (Trees and mountain series) is the less mature work
________________________
98.Paddington street scene, nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil, 41 x 61.2 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Mr and Mrs R H Taffs [1965]
exhibited
? William Dobell Exhibition and Four Pictures by Godfrey Miller (1893-1964), Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Vic, November 1964, cat no 40 [as Paddington street scene, no other detail; likely since probably exhibited in the 1965 Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition, cat no 23]
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 23 [not dated; likely since measurements as in Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, although shown in catalogue inverted as '241/4 x 161/4"']
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 25 [as 161/4 x 241/4 ins, dated 1960-61; b&w]
comment
related compositionally to Paddington buildings and trees [105] and Building and trees [plate 82] [154]; brush treatment in lower part of building similar to that seen in Cityscape [42] and Cityscape [76]
________________________
99.Nocturne II, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 51 x 61 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1975
exhibited
Autumn Exhibition 1975: Recent Acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 2 - 17 April 1975, cat no 63 [dated 1962]
reproduced
advertisement, Art and Australia, vol 11, no 2, Spring, October - December 1973, back cover [as Nocturne: trees and mountain, C.A., not dated; Artarmon Galleries, Sydney; col]
Autumn Exhibition 1975: Recent Acquisitions, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1975, pl 63 [b&w]
________________________
100.Forest sketch, nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 40 x 60 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by J G Henshaw, inscribed as 'JH162', 'c.1947-52 ref. "Blue Unity"', and as cat no 24 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH162
collection
Mrs Donna Simpson, Melbourne [1986-88]
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne
acquired Mrs Donna Simpson, Melbourne, from Joseph Brown Gallery
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Artarmon Galleries and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 15 September 1981, cat no 24 [not dated]
comment
composition relates more closely to Blue landscape [plate 88] [165] than Blue unity [166]
________________________
101.Still life with comport and fruit, nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil, 42.9 x 53 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Mrs Keith Bruce [1965]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 23 [as 17 x 21 ins, dated 1948; b&w]
working drawings
ibid, above pl 23
________________________
102.Untitled (Trees and forest series), nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 29 x 38 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, inscribed 'JH235'
estate id: JH235
collection
Joseph Brown, Melbourne [1977-88]
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1977
Joseph Brown Collection, Melbourne
exhibited
Winter Exhibition 1977: Recent Acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 4 - 14 July 1977, cat no 84 [as Early trees and forest series, ca 1950]
reproduced
Winter Exhibition 1977: Recent Acquisitions, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1977, pl 84 [b&w]
Thomas, Outlines of Australian Art: the Joseph Brown collection [1989], op cit, [as Trees and forest series, 1940s; col]
photograph, Miller papers III, op cit [b&w]
comment
colour related to Design [plate 28] [38]
________________________
103.Trees in landscape, nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
no details
estate id: JH202
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
photograph, ibid [b&w]
comment
thematically related to Trees in landscape [86] and Red earth forest [146]
________________________
104.Figure group, nd (**1940-46) [plate 63]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 46.5 x 62.2 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
verso Darlinghurst Galleries label inscribed '"Figure Group" 1948-51 size 171/2" x 24' (J.H.103)', authenticated by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 8 July 1965
estate id: JH103
collection
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, acc no 1984.059 [dated 1948-51]
provenance
Richard Crebbin, Esq, Sydney, 1965
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 81 [as 171/2 x 24 ins, 1948-51; b&w]
working drawing
ibid, opp pl 81
comment
related to Triptych with figures [plate 75] [140], Composition with figures (Bathing figures) [147] and Figure group [plate 92] [174]
________________________
105.Paddington buildings and trees, nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 42 x 59.6 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the estate of Godfrey Miller
estate id: JH165
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1978
offered Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1990
offered Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney, 1992
exhibited
Autumn Exhibition 1978, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 7 - 20 April 1978, cat no 101 [as oil on canvas, 1951-53]
Selected Australian Art 1850-1970, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 10 September - 6 October 1990, cat no 21 [dated ca 1950]
20th Century Australian and New Zealand Painting, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney, 17 June - 19 July 1992, cat no 7 [as oil on maisonite, ca 1951-53]
reproduced
Autumn Exhibition 1978, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1978, pl 101 [b&w]
Selected Australian Art 1850-1970, exhibition catalogue, Deutscher Fine Art, Melbourne, 1990, pl 21 [col]
20th Century Australian and New Zealand Painting, exhibition catalogue, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney, 1992, cat no 7 [col]
comment
lhs has stylistic similarities with Young Street; related to Paddington street scene and Building and trees [plate 82] [154]
________________________
106.Compote and brushes, nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil on board, 41 x 60 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
estate id: noJH
collection
Tom Silver Fine Art, Melbourne [1988]
provenance
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 1972
? acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, 1976
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
acquired [purchaser unkn] 1981 at auction
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988
acquired Tom Silver Fine Art, Melbourne, at auction
exhibited
? Australian Historical and Contemporary Drawings & Paintings & some European Paintings & Sculpture, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 14, 15 March 1972, cat no 70 [as Still life with comport, 16 x 24 ins; same title and measurements, although Still life with comport [125] is more likely]
? Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, 16 September 1976, cat no 38 [as Still life with comport, 16 x 24 ins; same title and measurements, although Still life with comport [125] is more likely]
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Artarmon Galleries and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 15 September 1981, cat no 21 [not dated]
Australian Paintings, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 7 November 1988, cat no 84 [not dated]
reproduced
? auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1976, cat no 38
Australian Paintings, auction catalogue, William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988, p 9 [col]
referenced
? Christie's Australian Art Sales Index, 1969-1974 [nd], op cit, p 80
auction results, Australian Financial Review [1988], op cit
comment
closely related thematically to Still life with fruit [plate 64] [107]
________________________
107.Still life with fruit, nd (**ca 1940-46) [plate 64]
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas, 45 x 63 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the Estate of Godfrey C Miller
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1980
exhibited
Spring Exhibition 1980, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1 - 10 September 1980, cat no 134 [dated 1945-50]
reproduced
Spring Exhibition 1980, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1980, pl 134 [b&w]
comment
closely related thematically to Compote and brushes [106]
________________________
108.Still life (Fruit on a table), nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 51 x 61 cm
signed lr 'G.M.', not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the Estate of Godfrey C Miller, inscribed 'JH303'
estate id: JH303
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Robyn Brady Gallery, 1969
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1973
? acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1979
? offered Australian Art Auctions, Sydney, June 1980
? acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
offered Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 1991
exhibited
20th Century Australian Art, Robin Brady Gallery, 1969, cat no 62
? Australian Historical & Contemporary Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture, also European Paintings & Sculpture, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 3 October 1973, cat no 499 [as Fruit on table, signed with initials, 20 x 241/4 ins (50.8 x 61.5 cm), not date; measurements close]
Spring Exhibition 1979, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 17 - 30 October 1979, cat no 112 [as Fruit on a table, not dated, 50.7 x 62.2 cm]
? Australian Art Auctions, Sydney, June 1980, cat no unkn [as Still life with fruit, oil, 52 x 66 cm, not dated]
Modern Australian Painting, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 4 - 29 June 1991, cat no 9 [as Still life, ca 1945-50, 51 x 61 cm]
reproduced
Spring Exhibition 1979, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1979, pl 112 [b&w]
Modern Australian Painting, exhibition catalogue, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 1991, cat no 9 [col]
referenced
? auction results, Art and Australia, vol 11, no 3, March 1974, p 232
? Christie's Australian Art Sales Index, 1969-1974 [nd], op cit, p 81
? Craig, Australian Art Auction Records 1973-75 [1975], op cit
? Edward D Craig, comp, Australian Art Auction Records, 1979-1981, The Currawong Press, Sydney, 1982, p 212 [Australian Art Auctions result above]
comment
compositionally related to Still life with blue jar [63] [later version of theme]
________________________
109.Flowers (Apples), nd (**ca 1940-46)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 50 x 40.5 cm
signed lr 'G.C.M.', not dated
estate id: JH90
collection
Estate of Dr D R Sheumack [1988]
provenance
John Brackenreg, Sydney
Dr D R Sheumack, Sydney, 1965-1988, acquired from John Brackenreg
Estate of Dr D R Sheumack, Sydney
exhibited
The D.R. Sheumack collection of Australian Paintings, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney, 1983, cat no 80
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 69 [as Flowers, 193/4 x 16 ins, 1944-46; b&w]
Robyn Christie and Justin Miller, comps, The D.R. Sheumack Collection: eighty years of Australian painting, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988, cat no 78 [as Apples, dated 1944-46; col]
comment
compositionally related to Flowers [84]; the picture is ambiguous as to content, the circular flower-apple forms being painted mostly red with some yellows set against a background of green with interspersed yellows, and with a very little of both pale and dark grey [white and black ?] present
________________________
110.Still life arrangement, nd (**ca 1942-48)
artwork details
oil, 36.6 x 58 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity dated 5 March 1966 signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw, John Kaplan
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
Dr D J Marr, Sydney, 1969
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1969
exhibited
Australian Historical and Contemporary Drawings & Paintings, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 24 September 1969, cat no 79 [as 141/2 x 23 ins, not dated]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 24 [as 141/2 x 23 ins, dated 1948-50; b&w]
Australian Historical and Contemporary Drawings & Paintings, auction catalogue [no 1], Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1969, cat no 79 [b&w]
referenced
auction results, Art and Australia [September 1969], op cit, p 117
Christie's Australian Art Sales Index, 1969-1974 [nd], op cit, p 80
________________________
111.Still life (Still life with books), nd (**ca 1942-48) [plate 65]
artwork details
oil and ink on canvas, 52.2 x 57.7 cm
signed lr 'GM', not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, acc no 1.1032 [as Still life, ca 1942-48]
provenance
Artlovers Gallery, Sydney
purchased Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, from Artlovers Gallery, 1965
exhibited
Townsville Art Gallery, September 1969
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 36 [as Still life with books, 201/2 x 225/8 ins, dated 1948-52; b&w]
________________________
112.Objects at night, nd (**1942-48) [plate 66]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 46 x 52 cm
not signed, not dated
verso inscribed 'JH65'
estate id: JH65
collection
unkn
provenance
Mr and Mrs D R Dundas, 1965
loaned by Mr and Mrs Dundas to the Art Gallery of New South Wales Society, 1971
private collection, Sydney, 1988
offered David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney 1989
exhibited
Sydney Still Life, The Painters Gallery, East Sydney, 17 June - 5 July 1986, cat no 23
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 52 [as 181/4 x 201/4 ins, dated 1948-51; b&w]
advertisement, Art and Australia, vol 27, no 2, Spring 1989, p 44 [as 46 x 52 cm, dated 1948-51; David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney; col]
________________________
113.Olympia, nd (**ca 1942-48) [plate 67]
artwork details
pen and ink and oil on canvas, 39.8 x 61.5 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller' [grey over black paint], not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 16 August 1967, inscribed as 'JH164' and 'Olympia (1950) Related to Miller's visit to Greece in 1939' [should be 1938]
estate id: JH164
collection
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, acc no A8.1994 [dated 1950]
provenance
offered Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 1967
acquired National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, from John Brackenreg
referenced
Art and Australia, vol 5, no 2, September 1967, p 420 ['Recent gallery prices'; as 16 x 24 ins (40.4 x 60.6 cm), $3,000]
comment
composition relates to photograph of Mount Olympia taken by Miller in 1938, reproduced in Henshaw, Godfrey Miller, 1893-1964: Survey Exhibition of Drawings [August 1982], op cit, pl 75
________________________
114.Still life, nd (**ca 1942-48)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas mounted on board, 48 x 60.5 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by the beneficiaries of the Estate of Godfrey C Miller
estate id: JH164
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1980
exhibited
Spring Exhibition 1980, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1 - 10 September 1980, cat no 133
reproduced
Spring Exhibition 1980, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, 1980, Melbourne, pl 133 [b&w]
comment
may be an early oil sketch for Untitled (Compote series) [plate 68] [115] and Still life [plate 69] [118]
________________________
115.Untitled (Compote series), nd (**1942-48) [plate 68]
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas, 51 x 61 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by John Henshaw, inscribed on stretcher 'JH72', and as cat no 30 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH72
collection
unkn
provenance
Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
Paul Knobel, Sydney, 1981-92, acquired at auction
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1992
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Sydney, Artarmon Galleries and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, 15 September 1981, cat no 30 [as Compote series, not dated]
Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 22 November 1992, cat no 218 [as Compote series, not dated]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1992, cat no 218 [col]
comment
oil sketch for Still life [plate 69] [118]; Still life [114] may be an earlier oil sketch in the series
________________________
116.Still life (Still life with fruit), nd (**ca 1942-48)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 40.2 x 56 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 1987
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Artarmon Galleries and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 15 September 1981, cat no 34 [as Still life with fruit, 1951-54, oil, 40 x 58 cm; measurements close]
Australian Paintings, Prints and Books, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 12 April 1987, cat no 406 [as Still life, not dated]
reproduced
Australian Paintings, Prints and Books, auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 1987, cat no 406 [b&w]
________________________
117.Comport and fruit, nd (**ca 1942-48)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 45.7 x 55.9 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
Dr Norman Behan, Queensland [1973]
provenance
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1 March 1973
acquired at auction
Dr Norman Behan, Queensland
exhibited
? Australian Historical and Contemporary Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, also European Paintings & Sculpture, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1 March 1973, cat no 281 [as Still life, comport and fruit, 171/2 x 221/2 ins (44.4 x 57.2 cm), cert of auth verso; measurements close]
reproduced
Art and Australia [October - December 1973], op cit, p 142 [col]
referenced
? Christie's Australian Art Sales Index, 1969-1974 [nd], op cit, p 81
? Craig, Australian Art Auction Records 1973-75 [1975], op cit
________________________
118.Still life, nd (**ca 1942-48) [plate 69]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 49 x 59 cm
not signed, not dated
verso inscribed 'JH104'
estate id: JH104
collection / provenance
Mrs Isobel Long, Victoria [1965-88], acquired from the Estate of Godfrey Miller
comment
a more completed version of Untitled (Compote series) [plate 68] [115]; Still life [114] may be an earlier oil sketch in the series
________________________
119.Untitled (Trees and mountain series), nd (**ca 1944-52)
artwork details
oil, 47 x 61.2 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Mrs V Putland [1965]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 59 [as Trees and mountain series, 185/8 x 241/4 ins, 1963-64; b&w]
________________________
120.Trees and mountain, nd (**ca 1944-52)
artwork details
oil and pen and ink [and pencil?] on canvas, 50.5 x 58.1 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated May 1965, inscribed '74JH' and ‘D31' in black, 'C32' in white chalk, 'I32' in white chalk over-inscribed 'plate XXIII' in pencil
estate id: JH74
collection / provenance
Lady Annette Cooke, Wellington, New Zealand [1965-88], acquired from the Estate of Godfrey Miller
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Sydney, Darlinghurst Galleries, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 32 [as Trees & Mountain series, not dated; likely since same measurements]
comment
compositionally related to Trees and mountain [142]
________________________
121.Tree and mountain, nd (**ca 1944-52)
artwork details
oil and pen on canvas, 47 x 64.5 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Vic [1965-88; not dated]
provenance
Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Vic, from Artarmon Galleries
exhibited
Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 33 [as Trees & mountain series, not dated]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 70 [as 181/2 x 24 ins, 1962-64; b&w]
________________________
122.Still life with green curtains (and objects), nd (**1944-52) [plate 70]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 40.7 x 61.5 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
verso inscribed along bottom of stretcher 'Still life with green curtains and objects', along top of stretcher 'Godfrey Miller'
estate id: ap
collection / provenance
The King's School, Parramatta [1953/54-88], acquired from the artist [through John Passmore and / or Jean Bellette, teachers there at the time]
comment
corres: in April 1964 Miller proposed the work for inclusion in a retrospective exhibition planned for mid-1964 at the Dominion Gallery, Sydney [not held]; theme described in a letter to Alan McCulloch, Shoreham [June 1958] as painted on the Chinese principles of ‘the plus & minus, poles etc’
theme, composition and colour very close to Still life with green curtain (Still life) [123] and theme and composition related to Still life, fruit and flower (Day and night) [188], with the latter is the more mature of the three
________________________
123.Still life (Still life with green curtain), nd (**ca 1944-54)
artwork details
pen and ink and oil on canvas, 41 x 61.2 cm
signed lr 'GM', not dated
estate id: ap
collection / provenance
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, acc no 3142-4, presented by the Sydney Ure Smith Memorial Fund [1954-2010; not dated]
exhibited
? The Sydney Group: Paintings, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 22 September - 8 October 1954, cat no 49 [as Still life, 70 gns, no details]
? Exhibition of Modern Art / Exhibition of Abstract and Expressionist Pictures, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 26 March - 4 April 1956, then toured 5 April - 28 August 1956, in association with the The Council of Adult Education, 1956, cat no 20 [as Still life (semi abstract), not dated; most probably this canvas since only Miller held then by the gallery]
The Arts Festival of the Olympic Games, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 18 November - 15 December 1956, cat no 91 [as Still life, not dated]
Godfrey Miller Retrospective Exhibition [Alan McCulloch, intro], National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 10 June - 17 July 1959, cat no 20 [as Still life, not dated]
Looking Back, travelling exhibition, Victorian country areas, 1975, cat no 13 [as Still life, not dated]
reproduced
Alan McCulloch, 'The secret of success', news item, The Herald, Melbourne, 7 September 1955, p 16 [not dated; b&w]
Katriona Fahey, Looking Back, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Victoria in association with the Arts Council of Australia (Victorian Division), Melbourne, 1975, cat no 13 [b&w]
comment
corres: represents ‘one world concept’ or ‘East and West together’ [as did a crucifixion picture]; the canvas was called Still Life with Green Curtain in a letter to the National Gallery of Victoria of January 1960 in which Miller complimented them on the way the painting had been framed to incorporate his ‘beading’; in February 1960 when negotiating a further sale to the gallery he described its colour as ‘largely blue, black and green’ [as were ‘Musical Instrument’ and ‘Andante’, in contrast to ‘Summer’ in yellow, red, pink]
theme, composition and colour very close to Still life with green curtains (and objects) [plate 70] [122], theme and composition related to Still life, fruit and flower (Day and night) [188], with the latter is the more mature of the three
________________________
124.Comport and fruit, nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil, 41 x 51.1 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
? William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Artarmon Galleries and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 15 September 1981, cat no 23 [as Compote series, not dated; measurements similar to those given by Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, although work offered could have been Still life with compote [129]]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller, op cit, pl 1 [as 161/4 x 201/4 ins, dated 1963; b&w]
comment
may be an oil sketch for Still life [plate 71] [127], Still life, compote and fruit [130] and Still life no 1 (Still life with oranges) [131]
________________________
125.Still life with comport, nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil, 40.4 x 60.6 cm
other detail unkn
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1970
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1972
? acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
? offered Geoff K Gray, Sydney, 1974
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1976
exhibited
Australian Historical & Contemporary Drawings & Paintings, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 16,17 September 1970, cat no 38 [as 16 x 24 ins (40.4 x 60.6 cm), not dated]
? Australian Historical and Contemporary Drawings & Paintings & some European Paintings & Sculpture, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 14, 15 March 1972, cat no 70 [as Still life with comport, 16 x 24 ins; same title and measurements, although possible also is Compote and brushes [106]]
? Auction Sale of Australian Paintings, Geoff K Gray, Sydney, 13 February 1974, cat no 111 [recorded by Thirty Victoria Street as Still life with comport series, oil on canvas, 39.6 x 59.5 cm (151/2 x 231/2 ins)]
? Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, 16 September 1976, cat no 38 [as Still life with comport, 16 x 24 ins; same title and measurements, although possible also is Compote and brushes [106]]
reproduced
auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Sydney, 1976, cat no 38
referenced
? auction results, Art and Australia, vol 8, no 3, December 1970, p 213
? auction results, Art and Australia, vol 11, no 4, April - June 1974, p 333
? Christie's Australian Art Sales Index, 1969-1974 [nd], op cit, p 80 [twice]
? Craig, Australian Art Auction Records 1973-75 [1975], op cit
________________________
126.Still life, nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil and pen and ink [or pencil] on canvas tacked onto stretcher; 46.5 x 60 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 16 November 1970, inscribed 'JH106 c.1954 (181/4 x 231/4 ins)', sticker inscribed 'stock 88401', and in black marking pen on backing paper, '693F' [crossed out] and 'GM910'
estate id: JH106
collection
unkn
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 1987
offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 1989
offered Mithral Fine Arts (J P Hardwick & Assoc), Melbourne, 1991
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 1991
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Artarmon Galleries and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 15 September 1981, cat no 113 [not dated; measurements similar to those given in Australian paintings, prints & Australian craft [1989] below]
? Australian Paintings, Prints & Books, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 12 April 1987, cat no 401 [as oil on canvas, not dated; likely since same measurements as in Australian Paintings, Prints & Australian Craft following]
Australian Paintings, Prints & Australian Craft, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 9 May 1989, cat no 459
referenced
advertisement, The Age, Melbourne, 3 August 1991, Extra, p 9 [dated ca 1954; Mithral Fine Arts, Melbourne; b&w]
________________________
127.Still life (? Still life no 2), nd (**ca 1944-54) [plate 71]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 43.2 x 55.9 cm
signed lr 'G.M.', not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, acc no 0.2046, acquired from the Estate of Godfrey Miller through the Elder Bequest Fund [1965-88; not dated]
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Retrospective Exhibition [Alan McCulloch, intro], National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 10 June - 17 July 1959, cat no 13 [as Still life No.2, not dated]
Schools and Styles, Naracoorte Art Gallery, Naracoorte, SA, December 1970 - April 1971, cat no unkn
comment
the question as to whether the canvas is Still life no 2 arises from a newspaper item, 'Paintings for Gallery', The Advertiser, Adelaide, 10 November 1964, p 20 [incorrect news item giving Still life no 3 [160] as acquired by the National Gallery, see entry for Still life no 3 [160] - could have meant Still life no 2]; composition and colour relates work to Still life, compote and fruit [130] and Still life no 1 (Still life with oranges) [131]; Comport and fruit [124] may be a preliminary oil sketch
________________________
128.Untitled (Compote series), nd (**ca 1944-54)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas, 48 x 60 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney signed by John Henshaw, inscribed on canvas on stretcher edge 'JH196', and as cat no 115 for the Estate auction, September 1981
estate id: JH196
collection
unkn
provenance
offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
? offered Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 1984
? offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1984
offered Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 1988
exhibited
A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Artarmon Galleries and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 15 September 1981, cat no 115 [as Compote series, 48 x 60 cm, not dated]
? Australian Paintings, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 8 - 11 April 1984, cat no 7 [as Compote series, oil on canvas, 47.5 x 58 cm, unsigned, prov Artarmon Gallery; more likely to have been Untitled (Compote series) [128] offered here rather than cat no 12 from 1981 since measurements closer]
Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 29 May 1984, cat no 133 [as Compote series, oil and line on canvas on board, 46.5 x 58 cm, verso cert of auth; more likely to have been cat no 12 from 1981 than Untitled (Compote series) [128] since measurements closer]
referenced
? Craig, Australian Art Auction Records, 1982-1984 [1987], op cit, p 220 [Sotheby's auction result above]
________________________
129.Still life with compote, nd (**ca 1944-54)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas, 42 x 51 cm
signed lr 'GCM', not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 12 June 1967, inscribed 'JH108'
estate id: JH108
collection
privately, Melbourne [1988]
provenance
? William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, when unk
acquired private collection, Melbourne, from Niagara Galleries
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Artarmon Galleries and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 15 September 1981, cat no 23 [as Compote series, not dated; measurements similar to those taken, although work offered could have been Comport and fruit, Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 1]
Pictures from a Private Collection, The Painter's Gallery, Sydney, 20 March - 7 April 1984, cat no 17 [as oil on canvas, 41.4 x 51.5 cm, Henshaw no 108]
________________________
130.Still life, compote and fruit, nd (**ca 1944-54)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 45.5 x 54.3 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
verso certificate of authenticity, inscribed 'JH93'
estate id: JH93
collection
privately, Sydney [ca 1965-88]
provenance
Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired private collection, Sydney, from Artarmon Galleries
comment
composition and colour relates work to Still life [127] and Still life no 1 (Still life with oranges) [131]; Comport and fruit [124] may be an oil sketch
________________________
131.Still life no 1 (Still life with oranges), nd (**ca 1944-55)
artwork details
oil, 43.6 x 55.6 cm
signed lr 'G M', not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
Kim Bonython [1965]
exhibited
Godfrey Miller Retrospective Exhibition [Alan McCulloch, intro], National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 10 June - 17 July 1959, cat no 12 [as Still life No 1, not dated]
Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 13 [as Still life No 1, not dated]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 4 [as Still life No 1 [referred to in the catalogue entry as Still life with oranges], 171/4 x 22 ins, 1957-60; col]
reviewed
W.T. [Wallace Thornton], 'Splendid Memorial to Godfrey Miller', exhibition review, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 17 February 1965, p 13
comment
composition and colour relates work to Still life [127] and Still life, compote and fruit [130]; Comport and fruit [124] may be an oil sketch
________________________
132.Still life with fruit, nd (**ca 1944-55)
artwork details
oil, 45.5 x 58.7 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
Mrs Richard C Crebbin, Sydney, 1965
offered by Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 1988
acquired [purchaser unkn] 1988 from Niagara Galleries
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 44 [as 18 x 231/4 ins, dated 1945-50; b&w]
________________________
133.Red earth forest, nd (**ca 1944-55)
artwork details
no details
estate id: dest
exhibited
? Easter 1955, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 30 March - 18 April 1955, cat no 28 [not dated; may have been the version that entered the Mendel collection in 1963]
The Arts Festival of the Olympic Games, Melbourne, 18 November - 15 December 1956, cat no unkn [not dated]
reproduced
The Arts Festival of the Olympic Games, Olympic Civic Committee of the Melbourne City Council, Melbourne, 1956, p 111 [b&w]
reviewed
if right painting:
James Cook, 'Variety of effort in art shows', exhibition review, Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 30 March 1955, p 21 - extremes of styles in show, for example, 'Drysdale's sensitive "Head of a Girl"' compared with 'Godfrey Miller's static, disciplined abstract "Red Earth Forest"'
Our Art Critic [Paul Haefliger], 'Easter in Macquarie Galleries', exhibition review, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 30 March 1955, p 2 - 'positively jubilant, exulting in only 20 colour dots to the square inch, where formerly there were 50. But if the colours dance, the architecture is more severe than ever'
comment
corres: sent to Olympic Games exhibition rather than Nude and the moon [plate 96] [179], which was withheld in protest over British actions in the Suez Canal conflict; official correspondence on its loss in December 1956 and January 1957; in May 1959 Miller wrote to McCulloch of this work as an ‘old painting’
________________________
134.Landscape, nd (**ca 1944-55)
artwork details
oil and pencil and ink on canvas on board, 49.2 x 74 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity [very poor condition - torn and water stained; signature of Lewis Miller only still evident, John Henshaw and John Kaplan names typed]
estate id: JH127
collection
privately, Sydney [1991]
provenance
? offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Sydney, 1973
? acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
private collection, Sydney
exhibited
? Australian Historical & Contemporary Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture, also European Paintings & Sculpture, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Sydney, 3 October 1973, cat no 487 [as Landscape, canvas mounted on board, 193/8 x 291/8 ins [49.2 x 74 cm], certificate verso; measurements, etc, the same]
referenced
? Christie's Australian Art Sales Index, 1969-1974 [nd], op cit, p 81
? Craig, Australian Art Auction Records 1973-75 [1975], op cit
comment
subject is probably rocks in landscape
________________________
135.Still life, nd (**ca 1944-55)
artwork details
oil, gouache, pen and ink on canvas, 61.5 x 98 cm [image]
not signed, not dated
inscribed 'JH141'
estate id: JH141
collection / provenance
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, acc no 70.90 [dated 1950]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, 1965, pl 68 [as 25 x 39 ins, dated 1950; b&w]
comment
relates in colour to Untitled (Compote series) [89] and in style and colour to Still life with jug [136]
________________________
136.Still life with jug, nd (**ca 1942-48)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 40.2 x 56 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn *
provenance
? offered William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 1987
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Artarmon Galleries and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 15 September 1981, cat no 34 [as Still life with fruit, 1951-54, oil, 40 x 58 cm; measurements close]
Australian Paintings, Prints and Books, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 12 April 1987, cat no 406 [as Still life, not dated]
reproduced
Australian Paintings, Prints and Books, auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 1987, cat no 406 [b&w]
________________________
137.Landscape, Woronora, nd (**ca 1944-55)
artwork details
oil, 64.4 x 102.3 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 47 [as 251/2 x 401/2 ins, dated 1953-55; b&w]
working drawings
ibid, opp pl 47
comment
as this painting's title was provided either by the artists who assisted with settling Miller's Estate or the beneficiaries to the paintings, its appropriateness is not known; John Thompson's documentary feature compiled for The Lively Arts [1966], op cit, included artist Carl Plate and his wife Jocelyn talking of Miller having visited them on the Woronora River, and occasionally staying out in the bush overnight, although plate was unaware of his occasional practice of working in the open
________________________
138.Untitled (Tree and mountain series), nd (**ca 1944-55) [plate 73]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 48.2 x 61.2 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: JH99
collection
Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Castlemaine, Vic, acc no 398 [1965-88; dated 1961-63]
provenance
Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Castlemaine, Vic, from Artarmon Galleries, 1965
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 35 [as Trees & Mountains series, not dated; likely, measurements as given in Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit]
reproduced
ibid, pl 43 [as Trees and mountain series, 181/2 x 231/2 ins, 1961-63; b&w]
referenced
A collection of Australian Art, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Castlemaine, Vic, 1983 [dated 1961-63]
working drawings
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, opp pl 20
comment
may be an oil sketch for Trees and mountain, moonlight (Blue landscape) [139]
________________________
139.Trees and mountain, moonlight (Blue landscape), nd (**ca 1944-55)
artwork details
oil, 46 x 60 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: noJH
collection
unkn
provenance
R A Henderson, 1965
offered James R Lawson Pty Limited, Sydney, 1987
exhibited
Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 8 [as Blue landscape, not dated]
Fine Paintings, James R. Lawson Pty Limited, Sydney, 15 September 1987, cat no 183 [as Blue landscape, not dated]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 20 [as Trees and mountain, moonlight, 183/8 x 241/8 ins, 1957-62; col]
Fine Paintings, auction catalogue, James R Lawson Pty Limited, Sydney, 1987, cat no 183 [col]
advertisement, Art and Australia, vol 25, no 3, Autumn 1988, p 302 [as Blue landscape, not dated, 46 x 60 cm; James R Lawson Pty Limited; col]
working drawings
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, opp pl 20
comment
Untitled (Trees and mountain series) [plate 73] [138] may be an oil sketch for this painting
________________________
140.Triptych with figures, nd (ca 1944-50) [plate 75]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 65 x 104 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
verso inscribed on stretcher 'Godfrey Miller'
estate id: ap
collection
The Tate Gallery, London, acc no T00434 [1961-2010; dated ca 1944-50]
provenance
loaned to Mrs Hanna Fairfax, Sydney, ca 1959
acquired The Tate Gallery, London, from the artist through the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
exhibited
The Sydney Group: Paintings, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 22 September - 8 October 1954, cat no 48 [as Triglyph with figures, not dated]
Godfrey Miller, Cell Block Theatre, East Sydney Technical School, Darlinghurst, ca December 1959 [no catalogue; details unkn]
Recent Australian Painting 1961 [Bryan Robertson], Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, June - July 1961, cat no 66 [as Triptych, 1957-60]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 2 [as Triptych, 253/4 x 41 ins, dated 1938-55; b&w]
Dundas [1975], op cit, p 4 [as Triptych, not dated; unkn]
reviewed
Our Art Critic [Paul Haefliger], 'Art group may be evolving its own style', exhibition review, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 22 September 1954, p 2
James Gleeson, 'Drysdale landscape is praised', exhibition review, The Sun, Sydney, 22 September 1954, p 36
referenced
'Australian art for the Tate', news item, The Times, London, Monday 26 June 1961
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [1965], op cit
Keavney [1966], op cit, pp 11-68 [as Triptych, not dated]
Dundas [1975], op cit, pp 5, 10
The Tate Gallery Collection: British Painting, Modern Painting and Sculpture, London, The Tate Gallery, 1977, p 230 [dated ca 1950-54]
Alley [1981], op cit, pp 516, 517 [dated ca 1944-50]
Osborne [1981], op cit, p 374 [as Triptych, not dated]
McCulloch, Encyclopedia of Australian Art [1984], op cit, vol 2, p 801 [not dated]
John McDonald, 'Overdue tribute to icon of integrity', exhibition review, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 25 August 1990, p 74
comment
Miller remounted Triptych with figures [plate 75] to a different ratio as some stage; evidence comes firstly from the poor fit of the canvas to the present frame, where ragged triangular corner cutouts are present [in view on the upper right in the Henshaw reproduction]; in addition, there is evidence recto of nail holes in the outside border areas, especially to the left and right; when looked at behind, the canvas top and bottom comes well over the stretcher, that to left and right only just reaches the rear frame edges; a second base border line is apparent verso, consistent with Miller's continuance with colour below the border recto, a practice less in evidence on the other three edges; the vertical latticing of the painting's background resembles that of Hawkesbury River landscape [148] held by the National Gallery of Australia, allowing the latter to possibly be an unfinished figure-in-landscape composition more properly than a landscape; dating established by the Tate Gallery following correspondence with Miller and the Art Gallery of New South Wale during 1962; Alley relates that:
He [Miller] was unable to remember when this work was painted except that it was done mainly in the 1940s and may have been completed about 1950; he thought it probably took about four or five years in all. It is most certainly the picture exhibited with the Sydney Group in 1954 as 'Triglyph with Figures', but this title was a mistake. The possibility that he did some further work on it after the exhibition cannot be ruled out.
Dundas records the work as begun in 1938; perhaps taken in 1957 to Paris [or sent later ?]; difficulties experienced in arranging its return led to its omission from the Godfrey Miller Retrospective Exhibition [1959]
corres: first mentioned in correspondence in 1954 following its first showing; return from Paris arranged with assistance of NGV staff and Trustees, July to November 1959; painting inspired by a deceased male friend indicated in October 1959; Brian Robertson's view of it as Miller's "key picture" related in October 1960; its loan on return from Paris to Mrs Hanna Fairfax, Sydney, where it was subsequently seen by Brian Robertson, and so included in Recent Australian Painting 1961 and sold to the Tate Gallery, related in May 1963; in notebooks [NAG, not dated] implied that work reflects '3 dull entities taken into . . . a living whole'; in correspondence with Alan McCulloch, Shoreham, May 1955, talked of the beauty of the triptych form and his attempt to retain the rhythm of the whole although an individual rhythm reflected in each panel; Alley records that Miller wished to express through the triptych form, '(a) a law or principle, (b) its opposite, (c) its "inversion" [cf the term in music)'; at the same time the artist talked of "the Figure with the Three Entities" as a "Figure of great Charm":
It is endless in its variations and elasticity and it is firm in its mathematical ordering. I believe the Truth about it can neither be spoken or written. It is not three similar things added together: it is not one big thing divided into 3 . . . My Triptych, I hope I modestly suggest shows many Things. How a Whole is greater or great because of its giving up its monster wholeness; the Parts have an enhanced life - by their going into whole. I painted the group of figures as enunciating the Whole: the rhythms of leaves, lights as defining the Parts . . . What I am feeling in creating Figure of Triptych is that . . . the Light[,] real Truth[,] can . . . come in the visual arts: where all is given at once . . . [W]e . . .should have no addition, no division. A Thing just exists alongside, as the panels in Triptych, its neighbours, movements, etc
Miller wrote also of its framing:
I have left on my painting as a frame a narrow strip of wood into which and from which my mathematical points have gone and influences emerged, and which really should, if Gallery reframed be included in the framing
Alley [1981], op cit, pp 516, 517; related works are Figure group [plate 63] [104], Composition with figures (Bathing group) [147], Hawkesbury River landscape [148] and Figure group [plate 92] [174]
________________________
141.Forest (Blue series), nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 66 x 91.2 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from Artlovers Gallery, Sydney dated May 1965, inscribed as 'JH297' and 'Blue series'
estate id: JH297
collection / provenance
Mrs Marilyn Mercer, Christchurch, New Zealand [1965-88]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 57 [as Forest, 261/8 x 361/8 ins, dated 1953-57; b&w]
comment
related to Untitled (Forest series) [144], Sketch: forest [143] and Landscape, river and rain [plate 101] [191]
________________________
142.Trees and mountain, nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 47.5 x 63.5 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: JH142
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1973
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 34 [as Trees & Mountain series, not dated; likely since measurements similar to as given in Spring Exhibition 1973: Recent Acquisitions following]
Spring Exhibition 1973: Recent Acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1973, cat no 42
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 73 [as 20 x 23 ins (50.5 x 58.1 cm) [incorrect on reproduction proportions], dated 1961-63, and [incorrectly] as from the collection of Mrs Robin Cooke, New Zealand; b&w]
Spring Exhibition 1973: Recent Acquisitions, exhibition catalogue, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 1973, pl 42 [b&w]
comment
compositionally related to Trees and mountain [120]
________________________
143.Sketch: forest, nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil, 64.4 x 90.3 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 72 [as 251/2 x 353/4 ins, dated 1953-57; b&w]
comment
related to Forest (Blue series) [141], Untitled (Forest series) [144] and Landscape, river and rain [plate 101] [191]
________________________
144.Untitled (Forest series), nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas, 64 x 91 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: noJH
collection
unkn
provenance
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1993
exhibited
Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 19 April 1993, cat no 209 [dated ca 1953-57]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1993, cat no 209 [col]
comment
related to Forest (Blue series) [141], Sketch: forest [143] and Landscape, river and rain [plate 101] [191]
________________________
145.Still life, nd (**ca 1945-55) [plate 77]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 51.6 x 56.8 cm
signed lr 'G M', not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, acc no 202.1981 [dated ca 1945-50]
provenance
Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 1965
John Brackenreg, Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, gift of the Slater Foundation, from Artarmon Galleries
exhibited
Patrick White's Choice, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, December 1981 - January 1982
________________________
146.Red earth forest, nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on board, 52 x 42 cm
not signed, not dated
attached letter from John Henshaw connects the painting to Red earth forest, 1957-61, F E Mendel Collection, Canada
estate id: JH169
collection
unkn
provenance
? William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981
offered offered Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne, 1988
offered Phillip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, 1989
exhibited
? A Most Important Art Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Godfrey Miller [Sold by Order of the Beneficiaries of the Artist's Estate], Artarmon Galleries and William S Ellenden Pty Ltd, Sydney, 15 September 1981, cat no 10 [as Forest series, not dated; measurements very similar to those given when shown for 1988 auction]
Australian Paintings and Prints, Christie, Manson & Woods [Australia] Limited, Melbourne preview, 3 - 5 November 1988, lot 233B [uncat - letter attached dates as 1957-61]
comment
thematically related to Trees in landscape [86] and Trees in landscape [103]; style and colour related to Hawkesbury River landscape [148]
________________________
147.Composition with figures (Bathing figures), nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 45 x 59 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: noJH
collection
privately, Melbourne [1981-88]
provenance
Lewis Miller, 1964-81
acquired private collection, Melbourne, from the Estate of Lewis Miller
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 51 [as Bathing figures, 18 x 233/4 ins, 1946; b&w]
comment
related to Figure group [plate 63] [104], Triptych with figures [plate 75] [140], Hawkesbury River landscape [148] and Figure group [plate 92] [174]
________________________
148.Hawkesbury River landscape, nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil, pen and ink and pencil on canvas, 63.8 x 101.2 cm
not signed, not dated
inscribed 'JH 376'
estate id: JH376
collection
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, acc no 70.91 [dated ca 1950]
provenance
Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, from Artarmon Galleries
comment
relates to Figure group [plate 63] [104], Triptych with figures [plate 75] [140], Red earth forest [146] and Figure group [plate 92] [174]
________________________
149.Untitled (Landscape), nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil, pencil, pen and ink on canvas, 45.6 x 63 cm
not signed, not dated
estate id: JH111
collection / provenance
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, acc no 70.94
________________________
150.Trees in quarry, nd (**ca 1945-55)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 76.6 x 91.4 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
verso inscribed '29JH'
estate id: JH29
collection / provenance
Joseph Brown, Melbourne [1965-88] *
exhibited
? Godfrey Miller, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 7 - 19 July 1957, cat no 6 [not dated; could have been Mertz Collection or Tasmanian private collection versions]
? Godfrey Miller Retrospective Exhibition [Alan McCulloch, intro], National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 10 June - 17 July 1959, cat no 14 [not dated; could have been Mertz Collection or Tasmanian private collection versions]
The Joseph Brown Collection, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 31 October - 7 December 1980, cat no 123
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 58 [as Trees in a quarry series, 315/8 x 36 ins, 1961-63; b&w]
The Joseph Brown Collection, exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1980, pl 123 [b&w]
Thomas, Outlines of Australian Art: the Joseph Brown collection [1973], op cit, pl 121 [col]
Thomas, Outlines of Australian Art: the Joseph Brown collection [1980], op cit, pl 121 [col]
Thomas, Outlines of Australian Art: the Joseph Brown collection [1989], op cit, pl 229 [dated 1961-63; col]
reviewed
if right painting:
James Cook Art Review, exhibition review, Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 7 August 1957, p 11
________________________
151.Untitled (Compote series), nd (**1945-52) [plate 79]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 37 x 48 cm
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity from the estate of Godfrey Miller
estate id: JHnk
collection / provenance
unkn
reproduced
Australian Pictures and Sculpture, auction catalogue, Christie, Manson & Woods (Australia) Limited, Melbourne, 1990, cat no 131 [as Compote series, not dated; withdrawn from sale; col]
________________________
152.Unity in blue, nd (**ca 1945-52) [plate 80]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 66 x 84 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: ap
collection / provenance
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, acc no 8680, presented by the Society of Women Artists [selected by the Director, Hal Missingham, from the Sydney Group exhibition of 1952; 1952-2010; dated ca 1948-52]
exhibited
Sydney Group, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 30 July - 18 August 1952, cat no 16 [not dated]
Third International Contemporary Art Exhibition, India, 1957
Australian Painting: Colonial, Impressionist, Contemporary [Clive Turnbull, Elizabeth Young and Daniel Thomas], Adelaide, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Festival of Arts, March 1962, cat no 151 [not dated]
Australian Painting: Colonial, Impressionist, Contemporary [Clive Turnbull, Elizabeth Young and Daniel Thomas], toured Perth, The Tate Gallery, London, 1962, National Gallery of Canada, Ottowa, and Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada, 1963, cat no 143 [not dated]
reproduced
McCulloch, 'L'art contemporain en Australie' [1956], op cit, p 24 [not dated; unkn]
Thomas, Modern Australian Painting & Sculpture: a Survey of Australian Art from 1950 to 1960 [1960], op cit, p 19 [not dated; col]
McCulloch, 'In memoriam Godfrey Miller' [1964], op cit, p 102 [not dated; col]
Charles Blackman, Lawrence Daws, Leonard French, Godfrey Miller, Clifton Pugh, Albert Tucker [Portfolio of 6 paintings; Book 5], Artists of Australia Pty Ltd, Adelaide, 1965 [dated 1952; col]
Smith, Australian Painting 1788-1960 [1962], op cit, p 296, pl 169 [as completed 1952; col]
Bernard Smith, Australian Painting 1788-1970, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1971, p 296, pl 169 [as completed 1952; col]
Heritage of Australian Art: Reflections on the History of Australian Painters and Paintings, Macmillan, South Melbourne, and Australian Information Service, Canberra, 1984, p 40 [col]
Smith and Smith, Australian Painting 1788-1990 [1991], op cit, p 296, pl 169 [as completed 1952; col]
reviewed
Our Art Critic [Paul Haefliger], 'Sydney Group Show is exciting', exhibition review, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 30 July 1952, p 2
Geoffrey Grigson, 'The busy goosocracy', exhibition review, The Bulletin, Sydney, 2 March 1963, pp 33, 34
referenced
A Catalogue of Australian oil Paintings in the National Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1953, cat no 471, p 147 [not dated]
Daniel Thomas, 'Loss of a painter', obituary, The Sunday Telegraph, Sydney, 17 May 1964, p 60
Daniel Thomas, 'Godfrey Miller - architect turned artist: the art schools made him a deity', exhibition review, The Sunday Telegraph, Sydney, 21 February 1965, p 55
Hughes [1970], op cit, p 209 [not dated]
Lindsay, Aspects: Aspects of Australian Art [1976], op cit, cat no 61 [not dated]
Osborne [1981], op cit, p 374 [not dated]
comment
corres: related in 1954 and 1955 as painted to reflect the principles of the Anthroposophical movement correctly [suggests a possible date of ca 1946 when Miller in disagreement with some of the Sydney organisation's actions]; noted in an undated letter as a painting reflecting 'a unity where things will not effervesce or on any account go off in an explosion', ie, reflecting peace; protest in 1962 that sense of title altered by its reproduction in reverse in Smith, Australian Painting 1788-1960 [1962], op cit [not true]; in April 1964, proposed for inclusion in a retrospective exhibition planned for mid-1964 at the Dominion Gallery, Sydney [not held]; meaning given in notebooks [NAG, not dated] by 'I took 3 perfect, satisfying entities - into a living whole'
reframed after acquisition by AGNSW - Miller very upset - it now has has a plain wooden frame that appears to be much in keeping with Miller's practices; Forest sketch [100] noted on authenticity certificate as related [but not obviously to myself]; Untitled (Forest series) [60] related in composition and treatment of trees [to a degree] but not otherwise and also much cruder; Untitled (Landscape / Forest series) [plate 38] [53] may be a study; related in composition and style to Blue unity [166]
________________________
153.Landscape with orange cliffs, nd (**ca 1945-52) [plate 81]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 66.6 x 100.3 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: ap
collection / provenance
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, acquired from the artist [1955-88]
exhibited
The Sydney Group: Paintings, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 21 September - 5 October 1955, cat no 23, no details [not dated]
Australian Art Travelling Exhibition to the North-west, toured from Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, June 1956, cat no 20
Australian Contemporary Painting (Interstate Gallery Purchases), travelling exhibition to all State galleries, 1956 - 57, cat no 27 [not dated]
Contemporary Australian Painters, touring exhibition through Canada, National Galleries of Australia, July 1957 - May 1958, cat no 42 [not dated]
Godfrey Miller Retrospective Exhibition [Alan McCulloch, intro], National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 10 June - 17 July 1959, cat no 6 [not dated]
Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 37 [not dated]
Festival Exhibitions 1972, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 1972, cat no 45 [dated 1949-53]
The Australian Landscape, toured Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 3 March - 3 April 1972, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 4 May - 4 June 1972, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 4 July - 4 August 1972, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 5 September - 1 October 1972, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 16 - 29 October 1972, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 14 November - 17 December 1972, Newcastle City Art Gallery, Newcastle, 17 January - 17 February 1973, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 1 March - 1 April 1973 [Australia, Inter-gallery Committee, 1972], cat no 46 [dated 1949-53]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 11 [as 251/4 x 39 ins, dated 1949-53; col]
Lynn, The Australian Landscape and its Artists [1977], op cit, p 107 [not dated; col]
reviewed
Our Art Critic [Paul Haefliger], 'Contemporary art by the Sydney Group', exhibition review, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 21 September 1955, p 2 - 'surely his best painting to date'
W.T. [Wallace Thornton], 'Splendid Memorial to Godfrey Miller', exhibition review, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 17 February 1965, p 13
referenced
Hillary Merrifield, 'Art', news item, West Australian, Perth, 13 June 1964, Magazine Section - background to acquisition, and on Miller's omission [his request] from Australian Paintings Today at the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, and then to tour overseas
Lynn, The Australian Landscape and its Artists [1977], op cit, p 104
comment
corres: change of framing by Art Gallery of Western Australia criticised [undated letters]; subject noted as "light" [in 1958]; in April 1964, proposed for inclusion in a retrospective exhibition planned for mid-1964 at the Dominion Gallery, Sydney [not held]; his notebooks [NAG, not dated] note the subject to be 'our 2 consciousnesses waking, incisive alert asleep, dream, emerging'
________________________
154.Building and trees, nd (**ca 1945-53) [plate 82]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 42.5 x 60 cm
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: ap
collection / provenance
Art Gallery of New South Wales, acc no 9006, acquired by the Trustees, from The Sydney Group exhibition of 1953 [1953-2010; dated 1951-53]
exhibited
The Sydney Group, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 1 October - 15 October 1953, cat no 26 [not dated]
Australian Contemporary Paintings, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 16 March - 27 April 1955 [Moomba] and toured all states [Melbourne, State National galleries in collaboration with the National Gallery Society of Victoria], cat no 1
Contemporary Australian Painting, Pacific Loan Exhibition [James Gleeson, intro], travelling exhibition on board Orient Line SS Orcades and Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2 October - November 1956, cat no 62 [not dated]
Contemporary Australian Painting, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, February - March 1957, cat no unkn
Australian Painting: Colonial, Impressionist, Contemporary [Clive Turnbull, Elizabeth Young and Daniel Thomas], Adelaide, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Festival of Arts, March 1962, cat no 152 [not dated]
Australian Painting: Colonial, Impressionist, Contemporary [Clive Turnbull, Elizabeth Young and Daniel Thomas], toured Perth, The Tate Gallery, London, 1962, National Gallery of Canada, Ottowa, and Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada, 1963, cat no 144 [not dated]
The Heroic Years of Australian Painting 1940-1965 [Alan McCulloch], travelling exhibition from Lower Town Hall, Melbourne, 2 - 20 April 1977, to Victorian regional galleries, 29 April 1977 - 4 August 1978, cat no 40 [not dated]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 35 [as Buildings and trees, 163/4 x 235/8 ins, 1951-53; b&w]
Lynn, The Australian Landscape and its Artists [1977], op cit, p 106 [not dated; col]
Herbert Badham, A Gallery of Australian Art, Currawong Publishing Co, Sydney, 1954, pl 60 [not dated; b&w]
photograph, Miller Papers IV, op cit [not dated; b&w]
reviewed
Our Art Critic [Paul Haefliger], 'The Sydney Group's paintings', exhibition review, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 1 October 1953, p 2
James Gleeson, 'Sydney Group's exhibition mature, exciting', exhibition review, The Sun, Sydney, 1 October 1953, p 44
referenced
purchase of Building and trees by AGNSW noted in 'Art gallery buys two paintings', news item, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 2 October 1953, p 2
A Catalogue of Australian oil Paintings in the National Art Gallery of New South Wales [1953], op cit, cat no 471, p 146 [not dated]
working drawings
eight small pencil sketches at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, acc nos DA26.1969 - DA33.1969
comment
corres: mentioned to Alan McCulloch, Shoreham, in May 1955 that painting on show is second version, first version "stolen" [McCulloch thinks that Miller painted over at times]; attempted to withdraw painting from Contemporary Australian Painting, Pacific Loan Exhibition in September 1956
the picture may retain its original frame as added by Miller; appears the culmination in a series started with Cityscape [42] and continued in Paddington building and trees [105]; composition relates also to Paddington street scene [98]
________________________
155.Madonna and Child (Madonna no 1), nd (**ca 1945-54) [plate 84]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 33 x 22 cm
not signed, not dated
inscribed vertically down rhs within painting 'PEACE ON THE EARTH'/'PEOPLE OF THE EARTH' ? [indistinct]
estate id: JH131
collection
privately Melbourne [1989]
provenance
Mr and Mrs Andrew Grimwade, Melbourne, 1965
private collection, Melbourne
exhibited
? Easter 1954, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 31 March - 14 April 1954, cat no 17 [as Madonna and Child (unfinished), not dated]
Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 5 [not dated]
Images of Religion in Australian Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, December 1988 - January 1989 [dated 1960-64]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 31 [as Madonna No 1, 13 x 83/8 ins, 1960-64; col]
McCulloch, Encyclopedia of Australian Art [1968], op cit, pl V [not dated; col]
Crumlin, Images of Religion in Australian Art [1988], op cit, p 83 [col]
working drawings
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, opp pl 31 [top]
comment
Madonna [94] is an oil sketch for this work; related to Madonna no 3 [162]
________________________
156.Madonna with orb, nd (**ca 1945-54) [plate 85]
artwork details
oil on canvas mounted on plywood; inner measurement 28.5 x 20.5 cm [a tacked and painted string frames the image], outer measurement 46 x 31 cm including outer canvas
signed lr 'Godfrey Miller', not dated
estate id: noJH
collection
The Robert Holmes à Court Collection, Perth [1988-91]
provenance
offered Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1988
acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
The Robert Holmes à Court Collection, Perth
exhibited
? Easter 1954, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 31 March - 14 April 1954, cat no 17 [as Madonna and Child (unfinished), not dated; queried as no child is readily recognisable, although maybe symbolised by the halo above the orb; however, the work is framed roughly with gessoed string onto additional canvas patches, which matches a description from Wallace Thornton of the first Madonna painting Miller showed]
Fine Australian Paintings, Books, Sculpture & Photographs, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 24 July 1988, cat no 319 [as Madonna and orb, not dated]
Images of Women: European and Australian Paintings, the Robert Holmes à Court Collection, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney, January 1991, cat no 43 [dated ca 1960]
reproduced
Fine Australian Paintings, Books, Sculpture & Photographs, auction catalogue, Sotheby's Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1988, cat no 319 [col]
Ted Gott, Images of Women: European and Australian Paintings, the Robert Holmes à Court Collection, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney, 1991, cat no 43 [col]
reviewed
Elwyn Lynn, 'Jarring notes in lyrics to women. Images of women: European and Australian paintings, SH Erwin Gallery, Sydney', exhibition review, The Australian, Sydney, January 19 - 20 1991, The Weekend Australian, Review / 10
comment
although a simpler treatment, related to Madonna (IV) [176]; the framed is by Miller, and comprises the canvas tacked onto board, with the image surrounded by string painted fairly roughly in white paint / gesso which in turn is surrounded by roughly patched canvas around painted with grey / white splotches and then what looks like a packing case frame, about 11/2" out straight, 1/4" thick, inside white, rim and outside both brown; a most accomplished work and signed, this canvas may well be the Madonna and Child (unfinished) exhibited in 1954 since Miller's original framing remains
________________________
157.Still life with lute, nd (**ca 1946-54)
artwork details
oil and pencil on canvas, 65 x 83.4 cm
signed in pen and ink lr 'G Miller', not dated
verso inscribed 'JH374' and on reverse support in blue oil crayon '354/139'
estate id: JH374
collection / provenance
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, acc no 66.4 [dated 1955]
exhibited
? William Dobell Exhibition and Four Pictures by Godfrey Miller (1893-1964), Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Victoria, November 1964, cat no 37 [as Still life with lute no 2, no other detail; a more probable alternative perhaps, because exhibited in the 1965 Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition, cat no 21, is Still life with musical instrument [194]]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 82 [as Still life with lute series, 251/2 x 321/2 ins, 1955; b&w]
comment
treatment related to Composition [plate 86] [158]; thematically related to Still life with lute [plate 90] [169], Still life with lute [194] and Still life with musical instrument [plate 98] [184]; colour related to Still life with lute [plate 90] [169]
________________________
158.Composition, nd (**ca 1946-54) [plate 86]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 40.5 x 50.5 cm [image]
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, inscribed ‘JH123’
estate id: JH123
collection
Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Manly, acc no 135/70 [dated ca 1950]
provenance
Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Manly, from Artarmon Galleries
comment
treatment related to Still life with lute [157]
________________________
159.Still life, nd (**ca 1946-54) [plate 87]
artwork details
oil on canvas, 43.4 x 61.7 cm
signed lr ‘Godfrey Miller’, not dated
inscribed ‘JH62’
estate id: JH62
collection
Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Victoria [1982-88; not dated]
provenance
Mr and Mrs Brian Johnstone, 1965 [cited by Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit]
offered Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, 1965
acquired by B S Andrew, from Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
acquired Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Vic, from the B S Andrew Estate
exhibited
Selected Works from the B.S. Andrew Collection [F M Coutis], Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Vic, 5 - 29 August 1982, cat no 17 [as Still life - fruit, 41.1 x 59.3 cm, not dated]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 65 [as 20 x 24 ins [incorrect - 50.5 x 60.6 cm], collection as Mr and Mrs Brian Johnstone, dated 1948-52; b&w]
photographs, Miller Papers III, op cit [inscribed JH62, not dated; b&w]
________________________
160.Still life no 3, nd (**ca 1946-54)
artwork details
oil, 50.8 x 60.6 cm
signed lr ‘G Miller’ [?], not dated
estate id: JHnk
collection
unkn
provenance
Mervyn Horton [d 1983], 1965
exhibited
Godfrey Miller Retrospective Exhibition [Alan McCulloch, intro], National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 10 June - 17 July 1959, cat no 15 [not dated]
Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 10 [not dated]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 54 [as 201/8 x 24 ins, 1951-54; b&w]
referenced
‘Paintings for gallery’, news item, The Advertiser, Adelaide, 10 November 1964], p 20 - as acquired by the National Gallery [incorrect, could have meant Still life no 2 - see Still life [127]]
comment
corres: Miller offered Mervyn Horton the loan of one of two paintings [not named] in July 1960
________________________
161.Madonna no 2, nd (**ca 1946-57)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 25.3 x 18.6 cm
signed lr [illegible], inscribed ll ‘136JH’, not dated
estate id: JH136
collection / provenance
Mr and Mrs H G Slater [1965]
exhibited
Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 19 [not dated]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 29 [as 10 x 73/8 ins, dated 1957-61; b&w]
referenced
‘Paintings for gallery’, The Advertiser [November 1964], op cit, p 20 [incorrect news item]
comment
related by theme to others in the Madonna series, but seemingly different treatment of form
________________________
162.Madonna no 3, nd (**ca 1946-57)
artwork details
oil on canvas, 24.3 x 17.7 cm
not signed, not dated
recto inscribed along bottom within painting ‘YELLOW.....YOU’ [partly illegible], ur ‘148JH’
estate id: JH148
collection / provenance
Mr and Mrs M H Franks [1965]
exhibited
Godfrey Miller Memorial Exhibition [John Henshaw], Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, 16 February - 27 March 1965, cat no 20 [not dated]
reproduced
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, pl 30 [as 95/8 x 7 ins, dated 1959-63; b&w]
reviewed
John Ogburn, ‘Godfrey Miller, - ARTIST’, exhibition review, The Sun, Sydney, 16 February 1965, p 23
working drawings
Henshaw, Godfrey Miller [1965], op cit, to right of pl 30
comment
Madonna [94] is an oil sketch for this work; also related to Madonna and Child (Madonna no 1) [plate 84] [155]
________________________
163.Bathers (Trees and mountains series), nd (**ca 1946-57)
artwork details
oil, pencil and ink on canvas, 64 x 101.7 cm
not signed, inscribed vertically lr ‘BATHERS’, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity signed by Lewis Miller, John Henshaw and John Kaplan, dated 20 August 1967, inscribed ‘Trees and mountains series’ and ‘JH41’
estate id: JH41
collection
privately, Melbourne [before 1988]
provenance
? offered Geoff K Gray, Sydney, 1984
? acquired [purchaser unkn] at auction
offered Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, date unkn
acquired private collection, Melbourne, from Niagara Galleries
exhibited
? Geoff K Gray, Sydney, June 1984, cat no unkn [as Trees and mountain, oil, 63 x 102 cm; same title, measurements close]
referenced
? Craig, Australian Art Auction Records, 1982-1984 [1987], op cit, p 220 [Gray’s auction result above]
comment
on the difference between Miller’s inscription of the canvas and the title attributed by the Executors to Miller’s estate, the picture’s theme could be figure-in-landscape despite the non-specific imagery
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164.The forest, nd (**ca 1946-57)
artwork details
oil on canvas, [?52 x 60.4 cm]
not signed, not dated
verso certificate of authenticity, inscribed as ‘Forest scene‘ and ‘JH53’
estate id: JH53
collection
privately, Melbourne [1981-88]
provenance
Lewis Miller, Sydney, 1964
acquired private collection, Melbourne, from the Estate of Lewis Miller
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