Lot 119
Leonard French(1928-2017)Before the Fire, 1974-78
2 December 2025, 19:30 AEDT
SydneyAU$20,000 - AU$30,000
Ask about this lot
Alex Clark
Head of Sale, Senior Specialist
Merryn Schriever
Managing Director, Australia
Leonard French (1928-2017)
Before the Fire, 1974-78
signed lower right: 'French'
inscribed with title and date on label verso: 'FIRE AND RAIN SERIES 1974 - 78 / Before the Fire'
synthetic polymer paint and enamel on hessian on board
122.0 x 137.0cm (48 1/16 x 53 15/16in).
signed lower right: 'French'
inscribed with title and date on label verso: 'FIRE AND RAIN SERIES 1974 - 78 / Before the Fire'
synthetic polymer paint and enamel on hessian on board
122.0 x 137.0cm (48 1/16 x 53 15/16in).
Footnotes
PROVENANCE
probably, Rudy Komon Gallery, Sydney
Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne
The National Australia Bank Art Collection, acquired from the above in 1978 (label attached verso)
Deutscher and Hackett, Melbourne, 22 February 2022, lot 25
Private collection, Melbourne
EXHIBITED
possibly, Leonard French: Fire and Rain 1974 - 1978, Rudy Komon Gallery, Sydney, 14 October - 8 November 1978
The Seventies: Australian Paintings and Tapestries from the Collection of National Australia Bank, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 15 October - 28 November 1982
The Seventies Exhibition: Selected Paintings from the National Australia Bank Collection, MacLaurin Hall, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 6 September - 1 October 1989, cat. 12
'The Seventies' Exhibition: Selected Paintings from the National Australia Bank Collection 'Modern Art of the Seventies', Caulfield Arts Complex, Melbourne, 18 January - 11 February 1990, cat. 9
The Seventies: Contemporary Australian Paintings from the National Australia Bank Collection, organised by Regional Galleries Association of New South Wales, New South Wales, cat. 12; and touring, Tamworth City Art Gallery, New South Wales, 24 May - 24 June 1990; Dubbo Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales, 11 July - 6 August 1990; Wagga Wagga City Art Gallery, New South Wales, 17 August - 10 September 1990; Moree Plains Regional Gallery, New South Wales, 3 October - 31 October 1990
LITERATURE
Anna Cohn, 'Leonard French at 50', The Australian Jewish Times, Sydney, 2 November 1978, p. 14
Robert Lindsay, The Seventies: Australian Paintings and Tapestries from the Collection of National Australia Bank, The National Bank of Australasia, Melbourne, 1982, pl. 39, p. 52 (illus.)
Ronald Millar, 'A Confident 10 Years', The Herald, Melbourne, 21 October 1982, p. 37 (illus.)
Deborah Hart, William Delafield Cook, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1998, p. 119