Attilio Guarracino had an enduring and infamous friendship with Australian Artist and writer Donald Friend (1915-1989). The pair first met in Attilio’s birthplace of Ischia, Italy in 1951, forming a romantic, but short partnership with Attilio, as both his lover and model. Despite the brevity of their romance, they remained very close companions until Friend’s death in 1989. Their relationship matured into a platonic relationship, and though Attilio held various positions after arriving in Australia he eventually become Friend’s art agent in Australia from 1968-1976.
Friend was publicly known for living a bohemian lifestyle, and as an avid traveler, spent many years abroad roaming between England, Africa, Greece and Italy. During this time, he practiced different art forms, ranging from painting, drawing, lost wax bronze casting, and writing. Friend’s writing extending from published books, as he was known for his diaries, which were donated to the National Library of Australia, on the proviso they would only be published upon his death. His diaries intimately chronicle his complex life in over two million words. As a leading figure in early Australian Modern Art, this remarkable historical account of his life includes relationships with significant artists and figures such as Margaret Olley, Jeffrey Smart, Barry Humphries, Mick Jagger and Gore Vidal, as well as his time as a gunner on the Australian Imperial Force during World War II.
Despite his full and busy life, a strong and enduring theme throughout his diaries is his life-long friend, Attilio Guarracino. Friend’s diaries document the pairs friendship and many adventures, starting from Guarracino’s move to Australia in 1951, as well as their travels abroad together, including their time spent apart, always followed by a recount of their reunion. Upon Friend’s death, Guarracino was gifted a large part of Friend’s estate, which was housed in his Hawthorn property and consisted of works the pair had collected throughout their travels. In 2013 a portion of the collection was offered for auction with Deutscher and Hackett. The successful first offering had strong international interest, with a third of the sales sent to overseas buyers, with the auction grossing $1.17 million IBP.
Many of the works retained by Guarracino will be offered in our forthcoming auction, celebrating the duos friendship, life story and travels. The eclectic collection can be segregated into four collecting categories, Art, Asian ceramics, furniture and various Asian Decorative Arts. The art component encompasses various artworks by Friend, and other artists such as S.T. Gill, Russell Drysdale and William Dobell, showcasing Friend’s contemporaries and influences. The furniture, ceramics and other Asian arts, were all collections formed during the pairs travels, including a large collection of blue and white porcelain, Indo-colonial furniture and various artefacts from Indonesia, including a documented hardwood carving by 20th century Balinese artist I Nyoman Cokot (Tjokot). Amongst the many works by Friend, there are dedicated works inscribed to Attilio, such as ‘Gods Visit the Self Portraitist (Flora, Amor, Bacchus and Faun), 1954 and ‘St Sebastian’, inscribed “verso Skyros, Greece, for Attilio, 1968”.
It is a rare privilege to have an intimate insight into an artist’s personal memories and items, outside of the artwork they produce. In an exert from Friend’s diary entry in December 1974, Bali, he states…
“Attilio came soon after Christmas, so once again I feel the assurance I need. Of course we’ve so far done nothing but sit talking and talking….And of course much time in the museum where the porcelain is his especial interest. We selected a number of pieces- (Soong and Ming for the most part) for his collection in Melbourne. Blue and white is his first interest….but now he begins to find the simpler and subtler celadons and white Soong and Mings bowls more to his fancy. And of course, I get great pleasure from his appreciation of these things- an appreciation devoid of precocity”.
We look forward to offering this important Australian collection to market and celebrating a significant friendship.
The timed online auction will end on May 19th, with limited in person viewings on the 17th-18th of May at the Hawthorn property.
By Chiara Curcio, Head of Decorative Arts, Design & Interiors
Top Image: Donald Friend (1915–1989) Gods visit the Self-Portraitist (Flora, Amor, Bacchus and Faun), oil on canvasboard, 35.5 x 45.5cm. $12,000-18,000
March 2025