Following the success of our first collection of works by Wes Walters in 2020, we are pleased to present ‘A Collection of Works by Wes Walters: Part II’ within our forthcoming Auction Salon on Thursday 28 January.
Known for his near-realistic portraits and abstract landscapes, Wes Walters was arguably one of the most talented artists of his generation. Winning an Archibald prize with his portrait of Phillip Adams and painting portraits of Arthur Boyd, Dr Joseph Brown and Sir Donald Bradman, his portraits always embodied and captured a real likeness to the sitter. He had a talent for contorting the figures, depicting nude models with their torsos balancing on bars or figures in a state of suspension.
Walters created moody and textured landscape paintings across canvas, reflecting his time spent travelling around Australia as a practicing artist. These works are on a large scale, which is common in Walters’ practice, as he wanted to possess every inch of the canvas. His landscapes evoke delicate, almost translucent, and lyrical harmonising forms; strokes of charcoal that occasionally make contact with the canvas or paper.
In the artist’s later years, he experimented with abstraction. This series follows on with abstract uses of colour and texture. He has used an array of mediums laid upon one another to create an alluring and textured process. These works form some of the most desired and obscure pieces of his oeuvre as he would create them in the privacy of his home studio, and they had never been seen by the public until the early 2000s.
This collection also provides us with insights into Wes Walters’ creation processes through one of his sketchbooks. Sprawled across the pages are drawings, notes and ideas referencing artworks, many of which are featured in the collection.
Browse the full catalogue of works online from Wednesday 27th January 2021.
Hannah Ryan, Art Salon Manager
January 2021