Elioth Gruner Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Elioth Gruner Art Value Price Guide

Aug. 28, 2024
ELIOTH GRUNER, A MOUNTAIN CASTLE, ITALY, C.1924
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882 - 1939) A MOUNTAIN CASTLE, ITALY, c.1924 oil on board 37.5 x 46.0 cm signed lower right: GRUNER inscribed with title verso: A Mountain Castle, Italy bears inscription verso: 18986 / E GRUNER / CAPRI 1924 PROVENANCE Elioth Gruner, until at least 1929 Mrs John Maund, Sydney, by 1940 Artarmon Galleries, Sydney Private collection, Sydney, acquired in 1982 EXHIBITED Salon de la Société National des Beaux Arts, Grand Palais, Paris, 1928 Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 April – 31 May 1940, cat. 35 (label attached verso, lent by Mrs John Maund) Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 5 July – 4 August 1940, cat. 13 (lent by Mrs John Maund) Elioth Gruner 1882 – 1939, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 13 July – 4 September 1983, cat. 44 (label attached verso, as ‘CAPRI, 1924’) Director’s Choice, Artarmon Galleries, Sydney, 13 – 30 April, 2013, cat. 64 (as ‘Capri, 1924’) LITERATURE Ure Smith, S., and Gellert, L. (eds), ,The Recent Work of Elioth Gruner,, Art in Australia, Sydney, 3rd series, no. 27, March 1929, pl. 34 (illus. as ‘Capri / Oil painting’) Campbell, R., ‘The Art of Gruner’, Art in Australia, Sydney, 3rd Series, no. 79, 23 May 1940, p. 31
Deutscher and Hackett
Jul. 24, 2024
ELIOTH GRUNER 1882-1939 Spring Morning, Middle Harbour 1913 oil on canvas 76.7 x 154.7 cm
Est: $250,000 - $350,000
ELIOTH GRUNER 1882-1939 Spring Morning, Middle Harbour 1913 oil on canvas signed and dated 'E GRUNER / 1913' lower right 76.7 x 154.7 cm PROVENANCE Elioth Gruner, Sydney Society of Artists, Sydney Bank of New South Wales, Sydney, acquired from the above in November 1913 Sir John Russell French KBE, Sydney, gift from the above in November 1913 Mr W. Russell French, Sydney, by descent from the above in 1921 A Most Extensive Collection of Rare Antique and Period Furniture …, James R. Lawson, Sydney, 7-9 June 1966, lot 676, 'Sydney Harbour' An Important Collection of Splendid Antique and Period Furniture …, James R. Lawson, Sydney, 1-2 March 1967, 'Middle Harbour 1915' Sir Leon and Lady Trout, Brisbane Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, acquired from the above in 1978 Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's Australia, Melbourne, 22 April 1996, lot 5, 'Dreamy Morning, Middle Harbour 1919', illustrated Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above Australian and European Paintings, Christie's Australia, Melbourne, 23 November 1998, lot 87, 'Dreamy Morning, Middle Harbour', illustrated Ron Walker, Melbourne, acquired from the above The Estate of the Late Ron Walker AC CBE, Melbourne EXHIBITED The Society of Artists Spring Exhibition, Queen Victoria Markets, Sydney, 22 November – 6 December 1913, no. 13, 100 gns Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 April – 31 May 1940, no. 95, 'Sydney Harbour, 1913' Master Works from the Collection of Sir Leon and Lady Trout, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 21 September – 14 December 1977, no. 16 Queensland Art Gallery Acquisitions 1978, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 12 December 1978 – 22 January 1979, no. 65 LITERATURE 'Fine Pictures. Society of Artists. Annual Exhibition', The Evening News, Sydney, 21 November 1913, p. 4 'Spring Pictures. Society of Artists', The Sun, Sydney, 21 November 1913, p. 5 'Society of Artists. Annual Exhibition', The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 22 November 1913, p. 6 'Society of Artists. Annual Exhibition', The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 22 November 1913, p. 4 'The City and Pugilism', The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 22 November 1913, p. 20 'Opening of Society of Artists Exhibition', The Sunday Times, Sydney, 23 November 1913, p. 6 'The Society of Artists' Exhibition', The Sydney Mail, 26 November 1913, p. 19 'Art Exhibitions in Sydney', The Town and Country Journal, Sydney, 26 November 1913, p. 54 'Woman's Page', The Freeman's Journal, Sydney, 27 November 1913, p. 29 'Social News and Gossip', The Catholic Press, Sydney, 27 November 1913, p. 42 'Sydney Week by Week', Table Talk, Melbourne, 4 December 1913, p. 41 'Gossip from Sydney', Goulburn Evening Penny Post, New South Wales, 6 December 1913, p. 1 'Our Art Gallery. The Trustees Criticised. Australians Passed Over', The Evening News, Sydney, 6 December 1913, p. 4 'Society of Artists', The Newsletter, Sydney, 6 December 1913, p. 3 'An Idle Woman's Diary', The Bathurst National Advocate, Bathurst, 12 December 1913, p. 1 'An Idle Woman's Diary', Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, Newcastle, 12 December 1913, p. 11 'A Great Banker. Mr. J. Russell French's Jubilee', The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 12 December 1913, p. 12 'Clever Sydney Artist', The Sun, Sydney, 28 December 1913, p. 12 'A Presentation Picture', The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 20 November 1914, p. 3 Queensland Art Gallery: Selected Works, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 1982, pp. 70, 133 (illustrated), 'Dreamy Morning, Sydney Harbour 1919' Barry Pearce, Elioth Gruner 1882-1939, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1983, p. 14
Smith & Singer
Jul. 07, 2024
Elioth Gruner Catalogue
Est: $100 - $200
Elioth Gruner - The Texture of Light by Deborah Clark. Published by The Newcastle Art Gallery 2014. Catalogue for the exhibition at Canberra Museum and Gallery March - June 2014 and Newcastle Art Gallery July to October 2014. Paperback. Excellent copy
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
Jun. 26, 2024
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882-1939), Mount Tennant (Canberra) 1934
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, SYDNEY ELIOTH GRUNER (1882-1939) Mount Tennant (Canberra) 1934 oil on canvas on board 39.0 x 46.0 cm; 55.0 x 62.0 cm (framed) signed lower right: GRUNER
Menzies
Jun. 26, 2024
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882-1939), Summer 1921
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, SYDNEY ELIOTH GRUNER (1882-1939) Summer 1921 oil on canvas on board 29.0 x 40.0 cm; 42.5 x 53.0 cm (framed) signed and dated lower right: E GRUNER/ 1921
Menzies
Jun. 06, 2024
ELIOTH GRUNER SPRING FROST PRINT
Est: $10 - $40
ELIOTH GRUNER SPRING FROST PRINT
Albion Antique Auction Centre
May. 26, 2024
GRUNER Elioth (1882-1939), Summer Pastoral, New Zealand, c.1931., Oil on Canvas on Board, 36x44cm
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
GRUNER, Elioth (1882-1939) Summer Pastoral, New Zealand, c.1931. Signed lower right. Oil on Canvas on Board 36x44cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, New Zealand, purchased c.1930; thence by descent, private collection, Nelson, New Zealand; Dunbar Sloane, Wellington 10th August 2016 (lot 76); Cordy's Auckland, 6th November 2018 (lot 643); private collection, England; Christie's, London, 12th March 2020 (lot 13); private collection, NSW. EXHIBITIONS: New England Regional Art Gallery, 'Lounge Room Collector No.4: The Vassella Collection,' May - July 2021 (label verso) OTHER NOTES: Related work: Elioth GRUNER 'Rotorua,' 1931 (illus.), currently on show at the Oceania exhibition, New England Regional Gallery
Davidson Auctions
May. 16, 2024
ELIOTH GRUNER, OIL ON BOARD, RURAL LANDSCAPE SCENE TITLED "DROUGHT", SIGNED LOWER RIGHT E.GRUNER 1919, MEASURES 22CM W X 31CM H
Est: $10 - $40
ELIOTH GRUNER, OIL ON BOARD, RURAL LANDSCAPE SCENE TITLED "DROUGHT", SIGNED LOWER RIGHT E.GRUNER 1919, MEASURES 22CM W X 31CM H
Albion Antique Auction Centre
Apr. 21, 2024
ELIOTH GRUNER NORMAN LINDSAY
Est: $100 - $150
Elioth Gruner. Twenty-four Reproductions in Colour from Original Oil Paintings. Forward By Norman Lindsay. Published in Sydney by The Shepherd Press., Sydney, 1947. Number 125 in an edition of 2000 copies. Original cloth with some tiny wear to the top and bottom of the spine. The glassine dustwrapper a little dirty. Very good copy. Complete with 24 tipped in colour plates including the frontispiece - a self portrait
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
Mar. 23, 2024
Attributed to Elioth Gruner (1882-1939),
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Tree on a Hillside oil on canvas board unsigned 10cm x 16.5cm Provenance: Private Collection, Sydney
Aalders Auctions
Mar. 19, 2024
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882-1939) Evening on the Harbour 1920 oil on canvas on board 29 x 37cm
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882-1939) Evening on the Harbour 1920 oil on canvas on board signed and dated lower left: E GRUNER / 1920 29 x 37cm PROVENANCE: Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 22 July 1987, lot 60 (titled Sydney Harbour Mist) Sotheby's, Melbourne, 22 April 1996, lot 109 Private collection, Sydney OTHER NOTES: Elioth Gruner is one of Australia's most important landscape painters, having won the Wynne Prize for landscape painting seven times, more than any other artist besides Hans Heysen. Gruner is renowned for his ability to capture the ephemeral effects of light as it plays upon the landscape. Immigrating from New Zealand when he was a baby, Elioth Gruner grew up in Sydney where his mother encouraged his love of art. Gruner's first painting exhibited was a still-life with the Society of Artists in 1901. From around 1907 his work began to attract serious attention with the artist Norman Lindsay amongst his admirers. In 1912 Gruner dedicated himself to his art full-time. He spent weekends painting beach and harbour scenes around Sydney and in 1915 began to travel to the farmlands of Emu Plains, west of Sydney. Greatly influenced by the French Impressionists, Gruner preferred to paint his landscapes en plein air. In 1916 he won the Wynne Prize for the first time with his small landscape, Morning Light, which was purchased by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Gruner's masterpiece of the Emu Plains series, and his best-known painting, Spring Frost 1919, won him his second Wynne Prize. The present lot was painted just a year following, in 1920, where we see first-hand the use of Gruner's painterly techniques to explore the effects of light and movement upon water. Short daubs of paint knit together to form the dense vegetation on the shore, whilst lengthier vertical strokes blend together over the water to create a moody atmosphere. The hint of movement in the otherwise calm waters is inferred by the patches of horizontal brush strokes in the foreground. The slightly elevated point of view allows for an expansive vista across the harbour to the misted headland in the distance. Whilst the shadow of the nearer headland looms further over the water as night begins to descend. The influence of Australian artist Max Meldrum's tonal theory has often been remarked upon in Gruner's work, as well as the brushwork of E Phillips Fox and Grace Cossington Smith. With the death of his beloved mother in 1922, Gruner was free to pursue overseas travel, the effects of which became prominent in his artist output in the years that followed. His works can be found in galleries and collections across Australia including: the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; and many more. Madeleine Norton Head of Decorative Arts & Art, Sydney
Leonard Joel
Mar. 07, 2024
FRAMED PRINT “THE WAVE” BY ELIOTH GRUNER 1907.
Est: $10 - $40
FRAMED PRINT “THE WAVE” BY ELIOTH GRUNER 1907.
Albion Antique Auction Centre
Feb. 15, 2024
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882 - 1939) - Untitled (Landscape) oil on canvas laid on card 25 x 34.5 cm (frame: 42 x 51 x 5 cm)
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Elioth Gruner Australian, 1882-1939 Untitled (Landscape) oil on canvas laid on card unsigned; inscribed verso "Gruner" to original frame
Lawsons
Jan. 04, 2024
[AUSTRALIAN ART] Elioth Gruner: Twenty-Four Reproductions in Colour (Deluxe Edition)
Est: $400 - $500
Elioth Gruner: Twenty-Four Reproductions in Colour from Original Oil Paintings Sydney: Shepherd Press, 1947. Deluxe Edition. 34cm x 26cm. [30] pages, 24 tipped in colour plates, 8 tipped in drypoint reproductions. Full leather, gilt lettering and decoration, slipcase. Elioth Gruner (1882-1939) was one of Australia's most prominent landscape painters, winning the Wynne prize for landscape painting seven times. Foreword by Norman Lindsay. One of the deluxe edition of 200 copies, of which this is number 129. The deluxe edition printed on high quality rag paper bound in full leather with gilt dentelles, the plates with printed tissue guards, and with an additional 8 tipped in plates of drypoints from the John Collection. Very minor wear to leather. Minor foxing, mostly to endpapers. Very Good Condition.
The Book Merchant Jenkins
Jan. 04, 2024
[AUSTRALIAN ART] The Art of Elioth Gruner
Est: $200 - $300
Sydney Ure Smith; Leon Gellert (editors) The Art of Elioth Gruner Sydney: Art in Australia, No date. First Edition. Signed by the Artist. 28cm x 23cm. [viii], 16 pages, 42 tipped in plates (many in colour). Quarter cloth. Limited to 600 signed and numbered copies, of which this is number 152. An introduction by the editors. Essays by Julian Ashton and Norman Lindsay. Minor wear to boards. Previous owner's inscription. Bookseller's label of Angus & Robertson, Sydney. Very minor foxing and soiling to interior. Very Good Condition.
The Book Merchant Jenkins
Jan. 04, 2024
[AUSTRALIAN ART] Elioth Gruner: Twenty-Four Reproductions in Colour from Original Oil Paintings
Est: $80 - $120
Elioth Gruner: Twenty-Four Reproductions in Colour from Original Oil Paintings Sydney: Shepherd Press, 1947. First Edition. 31cm x 25.5cm. [30] pages, 24 tipped in colour plates. Brown cloth, gilt lettering and decoration, top edge red, original acetate jacket. Elioth Gruner (1882-1939) was one of Australia's most prominent landscape painters, winning the Wynne prize for landscape painting seven times. Foreword by Norman Lindsay. One of the standard edition of 2,000 copies, of which this is number 896. Minor marks to cloth.
The Book Merchant Jenkins
Jan. 04, 2024
[AUSTRALIAN ART] The Recent Work of Elioth Gruner (Deluxe Edition)
Est: $300 - $400
Elioth Gruner The Recent Work of Elioth Gruner Sydney: Art in Australia, 1929. Deluxe Edition. Signed by the Artist. 23.5cm x 19cm. 38 plates. Quarter cloth. Limited to 40 copies, of which 30 are offered for sale, containing a special colour reproduction which is an engraver's proof tipped in, titled 'Man and Mountains', which is signed by the artist. The plates were engraved for this edition only and have been destroyed. A rare deluxe edition produced in small numbers. This copy with the bookplate of Tom Mathieson. Minor wear to boards. Minor foxing to top edge, very minor to interior. Very Good Condition.
The Book Merchant Jenkins
Nov. 25, 2023
GRUNER Elioth (1882-1939), 'The Church', W/Clr, 53x32.5cm
Est: $1,500 - $3,000
GRUNER, Elioth (1882-1939) 'The Church' Signed lower right. W/Clr 53x32.5cm PROVENANCE: Christie's, Melbourne, 26th November 1996 (lot 126); private collection, Sydney. OTHER NOTES: Steven Miller (compiling artist's catalogue raisonné) states, 'no. 242 in the ledger, listed simply as 'The Church' and originally sold through Basil Burdett in 1922 for 30gns'.
Davidson Auctions
Nov. 22, 2023
ELIOTH GRUNER, MORNING, BACCHUS MARSH, VICTORIA, 1930
Est: $35,000 - $45,000
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882 - 1939) MORNING, BACCHUS MARSH, VICTORIA, 1930 oil on canvas 50.5 x 61.0 cm signed and dated lower right: GRUNER / 1930 inscribed with title verso: MORNING / Bacchus Marsh / Victoria PROVENANCE Elioth Gruner ( possibly ledger no. 365, presented to the Returned Soldiers’ Imperial League c.1930) Norman Schureck, Sydney, by 1958 Geoff K. Gray Auctions, Sydney, 28 November 1973, lot 44 Private collection Christie’s, Melbourne, 14 March 1974, lot 432 (as ‘Bacchus Marsh, Victoria’) Private collection, Sydney Private collection, New South Wales EXHIBITED Norman Schureck Loan Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 27 May – 29 June 1958, cat.49 We are grateful to Steven Miller, Head of the Edmund and Joanna Capon Research Library and Archive, Art Gallery of New South Wales, for his assistance with this catalogue entry. ESSAY In the June 1930 edition of The Home magazine, it was announced that ‘Elioth Gruner, who has been painting in Victoria, has been sketching with George Bell and Darryl Lindsay in the Bacchus Marsh district.’1 Gruner was midway through an epic road journey that had taken him from Sydney down to Gippsland, and would subsequently include Adelaide before his return to Sydney in August. He was already one of Australia’s most celebrated landscape artists but was also notable for his considered response to new ideas concerning art, one result of which was his exploration of a mannered form of modernism since the mid-1920s. The fact that he was now painting alongside two well-known artist-peers on Woiwurrung and Wathaurong country in Bacchus Marsh implies that conversations regarding technique and approach would have been high on their agenda, and subtle results of these may be seen in the perfectly composed Morning, Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, 1930. Gruner’s great love was light and its effect upon land cultivated by European hands. As a result, the broken brushwork of impressionism had influenced much of his early input with, for example, Spring frost, 1919 (Art Gallery of New South Wales) winning the prestigious Wynne Prize; he would eventually be honoured with the Wynne awards seven times during his career. In 1923, the British artist Sir William Orpen roundly criticised Gruner’s Valley of the Tweed, 1921 (which had also won the Wynne) in front of the artist whilst the painting was on exhibition in London. At first shocked by the encounter, Gruner subsequently travelled to France and began putting some of Orpen’s suggestions into practice, such as a greater emphasis on design, a flattening of forms and a heightening of colour, all of which may be detected in Morning, Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. In January 1930, Gruner’s On the Murrumbidgee won yet another Wynne and shortly after the announcement, he climbed into his Model A Ford and headed for Gippsland. Several significant works resulted including Mitchell River, Victoria (Deutscher and Hackett, 14 September 2022, lot 24) and Valley near Bairnsdale (Deutscher and Hackett, 10 November 2021, lot 47). Journeying further to join Bell and Lindsay in mid-April, he painted Morning, Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, plausibly one of the ‘24 by 20’ inch (50.5 x 61.0 cm) canvases he mentions in a letter to Basil Burdett, describing them as being ‘quite different to anything so far.’2 Of particular note is the powerful and dynamic interplay between the angled bank of clouds to the right and the contrasting copse of trees which counterbalance the soft curves of the hills and river below; such bold sky-versus-land interplays are not prominent in Gruner’s earlier work. In a companion painting done a few kilometres away, Myrniong, Victoria, 1930 (location unknown), he sets a similar bank of clouds to the alternate side, this time echoing the route of a country road. It is these harmonious yet dynamic contrasts which underscore Gruner’s opinion the Bacchus Marsh paintings were ‘different’; indeed, he subsequently wrote to Burdett of his triumphant belief that he had ‘painted a sky at last.’3 1. 'Art Notes', The Home: an Australian Quarterly, Art in Australia, vol. 11 no. 6, 2 June 1930, p. 13 2. Elioth Gruner. Letter to Basil Burdett, May 1930. Art Gallery of New South Wales archives. MS1995. 9, 1/17/09 3. Elioth Gruner. Letter to Basil Burdett, 29 May 1930. Art Gallery of New South Wales archives. MS1995. 9, 1/17/10 ANDREW GAYNOR
Deutscher and Hackett
Oct. 08, 2023
GRUNER Elioth (1882-1939), 'The Poplars', Etching No.24, 15x17.5cm
Est: $500 - $800
GRUNER, Elioth (1882-1939) 'The Poplars' Etching No.24 15x17.5cm
Davidson Auctions
Aug. 29, 2023
Elioth Gruner (1882-1939) Pastoral Scene
Est: $6,000 - $9,000
Elioth Gruner (1882-1939) Pastoral Scene signed lower right: 'E. Gruner' oil on board 24.5 x 29.5cm (9 5/8 x 11 5/8in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
Aug. 23, 2023
ELIOTH GRUNER 1882-1939 Berry's Bay 1915 oil on canvas on board 22.5 x 29.5 cm
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
ELIOTH GRUNER 1882-1939 Berry's Bay 1915 oil on canvas on board signed and dated 'E. GRUNER / 1915' lower right 22.5 x 29.5 cm PROVENANCE Elioth Gruner, Sydney Miss Dulcie Stainton, Sydney Private Collection Australian and European Paintings, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 3 August 1999, lot 202 Gould Galleries, Melbourne and Sydney (stock 12,271), acquired from the above Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above EXHIBITED Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 April - 31 May 1940, no. 81 Twentieth Century Australian Art: A Major Collectors' Exhibition, Gould Galleries, Melbourne, 25 March - 30 April 2000; Gould Galleries, Sydney, 13 May - 11 June 2000, no. 6, illustrated
Smith & Singer
Aug. 20, 2023
GRUNER Elioth (1882-1939), 'Sun and Showers, Parramatta,' 1932., Sepia Watercolour, 19.5x23cm
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
GRUNER, Elioth (1882-1939) 'Sun and Showers, Parramatta,' 1932. Signed indistinctly lower right. Old labels and receipts verso incl. S.A. Parker Sydney and Artarmon Galleries (identification number #20854) where purchased by current owner March 15th 2007. Original invoice included, with provenance notes. Sepia Watercolour 19.5x23cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, Sydney.
Davidson Auctions
Jun. 20, 2023
ATTRIBUTED ELIOTH GRUNER (Australia 1882-1939), 'Bare Tree on a Hillside', oil on canvas on card, unsigned, later pencil attribution.
Est: $800 - $1,200
ATTRIBUTED ELIOTH GRUNER (Australia 1882-1939), 'Bare Tree on a Hillside', oil on canvas on card, unsigned, later pencil attribution verso, 10 x 16.5 cm, framed 23 x 30 cm. Provenance: Davidson Auctions, Australian & International Art, Sydney, 22/03/2020, lot 145. This work may have been a preparatory sketch for a later etching.
Raffan Kelaher & Thomas
Jun. 02, 2023
1923 Elioth Gruner Dinner Program
Est: $500 - $600
Program Dinner given to Elioth Gruner on the even of his departure for England by the Members of the Cavalier Club. Cavalier Restaurant. Sydney Feb, 6th 1923. Includes Musical Programs, toasts, and menu. 4 pages. Cover a little grubby and tipped image torn. Elioth Gruner [1882-1939] was born in New Zealand. For a time Gruner worked as the Julian Ashtons Gallery Manager as well as a teacher at his Art School. It is after Gruners mothers death in 1922 which allowed him to travel. The Bulletin reports that the Society of the Artists gave him a farewell at the Cavalier Club wishing him luck with an exhibition of Australian Art in London (March 1 1923). Many well-known artists were there to bid him farewell including Julian Ashton, George Lambert, Sydney Ure Smith, Thea Proctor, Will Longstaff, Howard Hinton, BE Minns There is one known copy of this book listed in Australian Libraries. It is not listed in the State Library of New South Wales.
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
May. 15, 2023
Elioth Gruner
Est: $60 - $80
Two books about Elioth Gruner's work. 1) Light and Texture by Deborah Clark Canberra and Newcastle Museum catalogue. 2014. Paperback. Excellent copy. 2) Elioth Gruner 1882-1939 by Barry Pearce. Art Gallery of NSW, 1983
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
May. 15, 2023
Elioth Gruner Limited edition
Est: $150 - $200
Artist monograph Elioth Gruner. With Twenty-four Reproductions in Colour from Original Oil Paintings. Foreword by Norman Lindsay. Sydney, The Shepherd Press, no date, c1947. [26]pp.+ 24 tipped-in full colour plates. Original cloth with gilt decoration. A very good copy. Number 256 of 2000 copies.
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
May. 03, 2023
ELIOTH GRUNER, THE MILL, MOUNT GILEAD, ALSO KNOWN AS THE OLD MILL, MENANGLE, 1926
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882 - 1939) THE MILL, MOUNT GILEAD, ALSO KNOWN AS THE OLD MILL, MENANGLE, 1926 oil on wood panel 24.0 x 28.0 cm signed and dated lower right: GRUNER 1926 PROVENANCE Macquarie Galleries, Sydney Judge Edward, Sydney, acquired from the above in 1926 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, by 1940 (label attached verso) John Young, Sydney Thence by descent Mrs John Young, Sydney James R. Lawson Auctioneers, Sydney, 19 November 1940, lot 161 Private collection, Sydney Private collection, Sydney, a gift from the above in 1958 Thence by descent Private collection, Sydney EXHIBITED Exhibition of Oil Paintings by Elioth Gruner, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, 10 – 21 August 1926, cat. 15 (as ‘Mount Gilead’) Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 April – 31 May 1940, cat. 12 (label attached verso, as ‘The Old Mill, Menangle’) LITERATURE ‘The Studio: Mr. Gruner’s Oil Paintings’, The Australasian, Melbourne, 21 August 1926, p. 45 (as ‘Mount Gilead’) We are grateful to Steven Miller, Head of the Edmund and Joanna Capon Research Library and Archive, Art Gallery of New South Wales, for his assistance with this catalogue entry. ESSAY Elioth Gruner was a restless artist, uncomfortable with city life and undertook many journeys throughout Australia as a result, often for months at a time. In the first half of 1926, when The Mill, Mount Gilead, 1926 was painted, Gruner travelled from Sydney to Bellingen, inland from Coffs Harbour, down to Kelso, near Bathurst, and thence to Menangle, south of Campbelltown. In December, he would continue, heading from Bowral in the southern highlands of New South Wales to Cooma in the foothills of Mount Kosciusko. Gruner ‘worked from nature direct, living in camp or caravan for months on end, and would put up with flies, mosquitos and all the varying tortures imposed on the painter by the Australian climate, rather than succumb to what he regarded as the artificiality of the “easel painting” back in his studio.’1 The Mill, Mount Gilead is a classic example of the jewel-like scenes the artist sought to capture amidst, and in spite of, his physical privations. Gruner was an exceptionally successful artist in his lifetime, winning the Wynne Prize for landscape painting a staggering seven times.2 His fascination with the effect of light on the landscape resulted in a number of masterworks, including Spring Frost, 1919, consistently rated as one of the most popular paintings at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In August 1926, he held his first (and only) solo exhibition at Macquarie Galleries in Sydney, which was so admired that 26 of the 29 paintings were sold by its second day of viewing. Newspaper critics marvelled at his ‘progressive opening up new aspects of technique… brilliantly coping with some new problem.’3 However, Gruner’s star waned over subsequent decades and renewed appreciation has only ensued since curator Deborah Clark’s incisive exhibition Elioth Gruner: Texture of light held at the Canberra Museum and Gallery in 2014. His work is again seeing popularity with astute collectors as a result. The Mill, Mount Gilead regards from afar the convict-built windmill which was erected in the 1830s on the highest ridge of Thomas Rose’s Mt Gilead farm, sited on the traditional lands of the Dharawal people. It originally had a domed roof and four large sails but fell into disrepair after wheat rust affected local crops in the 1860s. Gruner’s view is from an opposing hill and the warmth of the mid-morning sun captures the surviving stones of the tower.4 He aligns its peak with a passing row of low clouds, and perfectly counterbalances the rich greens of agriculture with the hazy blue of the background mountains, all surmounted by a cloud-whipped sky. The critic for The Australasian, who wrote of the Macquarie Galleries show, described the present work as ‘a cool and collected little study … which might be (set) in Holland, so neat and well-groomed and immaculate it is.’5 It was purchased from the exhibition by Judge Edward, who, it seems, sold it back to the Macquarie’s Director, John Young, who then gifted it to his wife Eva, herself a specialist in Australian artists, particularly Conrad Martens. The verso of this painting illustrates this connection with the distinctive Macquarie Galleries logo still affixed, designed by John D. Moore and featuring a woman standing in a doorway. The Mill, Mount Gilead has only been exhibited twice in its history and has not been seen publicly since Gruner’s memorial exhibition in 1940. 1. Daryl Lindsay, ‘Elioth Gruner: 1882 – 1939’ in Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria, 1940, n.p. 2. Gruner was awarded the Wynne Prize in 1916, 1919, 1921, 1929, 1934, 1936, and 1937 3. ‘Oil Paintings. Mr. Gruner’s Exhibition’, Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 11 August 1926, p.10 4. Rose’s mill tower still stands today. 5. ‘The Studio: Mr. Gruner’s Oil Paintings’, Australasian, Melbourne, 21 August 1926, p.45. The critic referred to the painting by its catalogue name of ‘Mount Gilead.’ ANDREW GAYNOR
Deutscher and Hackett
May. 02, 2023
ELIOTH GRUNER 1882-1939 (Still Life) 1933 oil on canvasboard
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
ELIOTH GRUNER 1882-1939 (Still Life) 1933 oil on canvasboard signed and dated 'GRUNER / 1933' lower right 31 x 40.5 cm PROVENANCE Elioth Gruner, Sydney Sidney Gilfillan, Sydney Private Collection, Sydney, by descent from the above Private Collection, Sydney Private Collection, United Kingdom, acquired from the above in 2010
Smith & Singer
Apr. 04, 2023
Elioth Gruner (1882-1939) Figure at the Haystack, 1917
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Elioth Gruner (1882-1939) Figure at the Haystack, 1917 signed and dated lower right: 'E. GRÜNER / 1917' oil on panel 20.0 x 27.5cm (7 7/8 x 10 13/16in).
Bonhams
Mar. 19, 2023
GRUNER Elioth (1882-1939), Rural Property Under Cloudy Skies, Oil on Canvas on Board (double sided), 20x25.5cm
Est: $12,000 - $18,000
GRUNER, Elioth (1882-1939) Rural Property Under Cloudy Skies Signed (incised) 'GRUNER' lower left. Sketch verso of European gardens (possibly Versailles). Oil on Canvas on Board (double sided) 20x25.5cm PROVENANCE: Sotheby's Melbourne 24th July 1988 (lot 257); private collection, Sydney.
Davidson Auctions
Mar. 19, 2023
GRUNER Elioth (1882-1939), Cottage and Outbuilding, Pencil, 20.5x28.5cm
Est: $500 - $800
GRUNER, Elioth (1882-1939) Cottage and Outbuilding Pencil 20.5x28.5cm
Davidson Auctions
Mar. 19, 2023
GRUNER Elioth (1882-1939), 'Sun and Showers, Parramatta,' 1932., Sepia Watercolour, 19.5x23cm
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
GRUNER, Elioth (1882-1939) 'Sun and Showers, Parramatta,' 1932. Signed indistinctly lower right. Old labels and receipts verso incl. S.A. Parker Sydney and Artarmon Galleries (identification number #20854) where purchased by current owner March 15th 2007. Original invoice included, with provenance notes. Sepia Watercolour 19.5x23cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, Sydney.
Davidson Auctions
Jan. 12, 2023
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882-1939) TITLED MORNING - BACCHUS MARSH, VICTORIA, OIL ON CANVAS, SIGNED LOWER RIGHT, GRUNER 1930, BEARS TITLE TO VERSO, MEASURES 49CM X 59CM,
Est: $8,000 - $15,000
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882-1939) TITLED MORNING - BACCHUS MARSH, VICTORIA, OIL ON CANVAS, SIGNED LOWER RIGHT, GRUNER 1930, BEARS TITLE TO VERSO, MEASURES 49CM X 59CM,
Albion Antique Auction Centre
Dec. 16, 2022
Elioth Gruner
Est: $150 - $200
Elioth Gruner Twenty-Four Reproductions in Colour from Original Oil Paintings Foreword by Norman Lindsay. Published in Sydney by The Shepherd Press 1948. Twenty four tipped in colour plates. Hardback with the original clear glassine dustwrapper. A very good copy. Number 901 in an edition of 2000 copies
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
Dec. 15, 2022
ELIOTH GRUNER (1881 - 1939) Forest Creek drypoint etching, no. 27 10.5 x 15 cm (frame: 34 x 36 x 3 cm) signed lower right
Est: $500 - $700
ELIOTH GRUNER (1881 - 1939) Forest Creek drypoint etching, no. 27 10.5 x 15 cm (frame: 34 x 36 x 3 cm) signed lower right
Lawsons
Dec. 04, 2022
GRUNER Elioth (1882-1939), 'To the Hills', Etching 13/50, 12.5x15cm (plate)
Est: $500 - $1,000
GRUNER, Elioth (1882-1939) 'To the Hills' Etching 13/50 12.5x15cm (plate) PROVENANCE: Deceased estate, Sydney.
Davidson Auctions
Dec. 01, 2022
ELIOTH GRUNER, ST. TROPEZ, 1924
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882 - 1939) ST. TROPEZ, 1924 oil on board 35.0 x 44.5 cm signed, dated and inscribed lower right: E. GRUNER / FRANCE / 1924 inscribed with title verso: St. Tropez PROVENANCE J. Cannell, New South Wales, c.1928 Thence by descent Brian Cannell, New South Wales, by 1940 W. D. Gordon, Sydney Spink Auctions, Sydney, 8 October 1980, lot 144 Private collection, Sydney EXHIBITED Salon National des Beaux Arts, Grand Palais, Paris, 1928 Loan Exhibition of the works of Elioth Gruner, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 21 December 1932 – 21 February 1933, cat. 99 Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 April – 31 May 1940, cat. 26 (lent by Mr. Brian Cannell) Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 5 July – 4 August 1940, cat. 38 Elioth Gruner 1882 – 1939, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 13 July – 4 September 1983, cat. 45 (label attached verso) LITERATURE Art in Australia, The Recent Work of Elioth Gruner. Deluxe Edition, Third Series, Ure Smith Publishing, Sydney, no. 27, March 1929, pl. 23 (illus.) Pearce, B., Elioth Gruner 1882 – 1939, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1983, cat. 45, p. 47 RELATED WORK Aloes, St Tropez, c.1924, oil on canvas on board, 37.0 x 35.5 cm, in the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide ESSAY In 1923, Elioth Gruner sailed for London with financial assistance from his friend and patron, the collector Howard Hinton. This was the fulfilment of Gruner’s great desire to see the works of European artists in the flesh. A prodigy of Julian Ashton’s art school, Gruner later ran a small gallery in Bligh Street, Sydney that focussed solely on Australian painting. By the time he left the country, he had also been awarded the Wynne Prize three times and would subsequently win four more. With this in mind, Gruner was asked to manage a large touring exhibition of Australian art to be shown in London – to which he reluctantly agreed. Titled Exhibition of Works of Australian Artists, it was a show dominated by Australian plein air landscape paintings, which sensationally put Gruner at the sharp end of noted British artist Sir William Orpen, who roundly criticised Gruner in front of his paintings – unaware that he was the artist. Realising his mistake, Orpen then – more supportively – gave him a range of suggestions about form, composition and technique. It is to Gruner’s credit that he took these comments seriously. At the exhibition’s end, and possibly in company of Roy de Maistre, he travelled to Paris where, counter-intuitively to his previous studies, he absorbed himself in the work of Cézanne and Gauguin. From Paris, he went to St Tropez and set himself a series of post-impressionist challenges seen in a discrete number of works, of which St Tropez, 1924 is an early example. One of Cézanne’s most influential statements was that a landscape painting is not real life; it is an image of real life. He flattened planes, stressed the importance of structure, and interrogated the use of paint. Cézanne’s art was the basis for cubism and in many ways, St Tropez recalls George Braque’s famous Houses at l’Estaque, 1908 (Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art), as Gruner crowds his middle ground with the jostle of houses located near the town square, each reduced to a basic planar form. Importantly, his overall small output of work was due to the ‘considerable time (he spent) in the careful pre-consideration of his subject matter and, frequently, a long time in the execution of his picture.’1 In St Tropez Gruner looks toward the Chapelle de la Miséricorde built in 1645 by a quasi-official religious order called the ‘black penitents.’ His subject choice of houses and the domed bell tower is already a marked change as, prior to Europe, urban buildings rarely featured in Gruner’s paintings (one example being The Bustle of Life, 1914, see lot 26) with stray barns and rustic cottages appearing instead. In St Tropez, however, they are the focus, a radical departure for such an artist. Large buildings, when they do appear in his earlier work, are mostly used anonymously as distant zones of delineation; they have no presence other than providing perspective. In reality, the Chapelle’s tower is glazed with green and gold tiles but here, Gruner reduces it to two small sections of soft brown. The distant mountains over the bay are likewise simplified to two solid tones of blue, echoed by a further two roof lines of purpled shadow. Gruner returned in 1925 and began a fresh take on the Australian landscape. In 1929, his long-time supporter, Art in Australia magazine, published an issue devoted to his work. Reproduced were four of his St Tropez paintings, including this lot, plus one from a boat trip to Capri.2 1. Burdett, B., ‘The Later Work of Elioth Gruner’, Art in Australia, Sydney, 3rd series, no. 27, 1 March 1929, n.p. 2. A fifth St Tropez painting is also known. ANDREW GAYNOR
Deutscher and Hackett
Dec. 01, 2022
ELIOTH GRUNER, THE BUSTLE OF LIFE (also known as MARTIN PLACE, SYDNEY), 1914
Est: $45,000 - $65,000
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882 - 1939) THE BUSTLE OF LIFE (also known as MARTIN PLACE, SYDNEY), 1914 oil on wood panel 13.5 x 23.0 cm signed and dated lower right: E. GRUNER / 14 bears inscription verso [partially obscured]: … Hobart / 1914. PROVENANCE Mildred Lovett (Mrs Stanley Paterson), Hobart, acquired directly from the artist, 1914 Gordon Esling, Sydney James R. Jackson, Sydney, 1951 Sotheby’s, Melbourne, 7 May 2001, lot 121 (as ‘Paris’) Savill Galleries, Sydney Private collection, Sydney, acquired from the above EXHIBITED Society of Artists’ Annual Exhibition, Society’s Rooms, Queen Victoria Markets, Sydney, November 1914, cat.165 (as ‘The Bustle of Life’, lent by Mildred Lovett) Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 April – 31 May 1940, cat. 213 (as ‘Martin Place’, label attached verso, lent by Mrs S. Paterson) We are grateful to Steven Miller, Head of the Edmund and Joanna Capon Research Library and Archive, Art Gallery of New South Wales, for his assistance with this catalogue entry. ESSAY Elioth Gruner’s Bustle of Life 1914, is a painting filled with light and activity, intensified by its modest scale. Gruner stood next to the General Post Office (GPO) building and painted the view looking up the incline, creating what is known as an enfilade view in the process. Originally called Moore Street, though also known colloquially as ‘Post Office Street’ until the early 1920s, Martin Place no doubt follows an original track laid down by the Cadigal people as they took a short cut overland through what are now the Botanic Gardens, trekking between the two fishing grounds of the contemporary Circular Quay and Woolloomooloo Bay. The location was only 200 metres from the small gallery that Gruner managed in Bligh Street, and judging by the sunlight and midday shadows, probably began life as a paint sketch on one of his lunchbreaks, later finished in his studio. Encouraged by his mother, Gruner displayed an early talent for art and, by the age of 12, was attending drawing lessons with Julian Ashton, enrolling formally at his art school two years later. In 1912, he worked at the Fine Arts Society’s gallery and part-time as school assistant to Ashton, but with the advent of World War One, the gallery closed and Gruner relied on teaching and painting sales to survive. He lived precariously, as recounted by John Brackenreg many years later, when Gruner told him that in 1913 ‘I had tuppence left in my pocket, so I walked in to Bondi Junction to catch a tram into city, wondering whether I had any luck to sell a picture (at The Society of Artists’ annual exhibition). (W)hen I got there they had sold the lot.’1 This was a 120-guinea windfall for the struggling artist. Starting with the arched colonnade of the GPO (opened 1874) at lower right, Gruner looks east up Moore Street from the George Street corner. Midway is the Pitt Street crossing where thoroughfare became a narrower laneway leading to Castlereagh Street and beyond. The tall building beyond the GPO housed the Reuters news agency, and in the distance may be seen the spire of St Stephen’s church. On the left stand a variety of office buildings containing shipping agents, government departments, accountants, dentists and other professional workers. Fashionable people, street barrows, and horses with carts populate the rest of Gruner’s scene. This vista was radically changed by the early 1930s when the Place was widened and lengthened with a number of buildings, including St Stephen’s, demolished in the process. Controversially, the church was then rebuilt in Macquarie Street resulting in the lamented demolition of Burdekin House, long considered the most beautiful colonial house in Sydney. As such, Gruner’s Bustle of Life presents a lost moment in time – one of the last days of summer pleasure before the catastrophe of the war erupted in August. Within weeks, this scene had transformed into a major centre for volunteer soldier registration and was later filled with passionate crowds debating the divisive issue of conscription. In 1918, crowds again descended on Martin Place to celebrate the long-awaited Armistice. 1. John Brackenreg, 1982, cited in Pearce, B., Elioth Gruner 1882 – 1913, Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, 1983, p.14 ANDREW GAYNOR
Deutscher and Hackett
Sep. 14, 2022
ELIOTH GRUNER, MITCHELL RIVER, VICTORIA, ALSO KNOWN AS GIPPSLAND LAKES, C.1930
Est: $100,000 - $140,000
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882 - 1939) MITCHELL RIVER, VICTORIA, ALSO KNOWN AS GIPPSLAND LAKES, c.1930 oil on canvas 65.0 x 79.0 cm signed lower right: GRUNER PROVENANCE Walter D. Pye, New South Wales, by 1933 Sotheby's, Melbourne, 14 August 1989, lot 408 (as ‘The Entrance’) James Fairfax AC, New South Wales Thence by descent Private collection, Sydney EXHIBITED Loan Exhibition of the Works of Elioth Gruner, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 21 December 1932 – 21 February 1933, cat. 73 LITERATURE Tildesley, B., ‘The Gruner Exhibition at the National Art Gallery’, Sydney Mail, Sydney, 28 December 1932, p. 17 Elioth Gruner’s Oil Paintings, special issue of Art in Australia Sydney, 3rd series, no. 50, 15 June 1933, p. 25 (illus., as ‘Gippsland Lakes’) Dobson, R., Australia Land of Colour, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1962, p. 12 (illus., as ‘Gippsland Lakes, Victoria’) Ingram, T., ‘Art Market’, in Art and Australia, Fine Arts Press, Sydney, vol. 27, no. 2, Summer 1989, p. 293 (illus., as ‘The Entrance’) We are grateful to the East Gippsland Historical Society; and Steven Miller, Head of the Edmund and Joanna Capon Research Library and Archive, Art Gallery of New South Wales, for their assistance with this catalogue entry. ESSAY In the early months of 1930, Elioth Gruner stood on top of the summit now known as Eagle Point, ten kilometres south of Bairnsdale. Here on the lands of the Gunaikurnai people he painted Mitchell River, Victoria, c.1930 which shows the junction of the river as it flows into Jones Bay through a cutting made by an earlier flood. In the distance are the hills to the north of Bairnsdale whilst in the foreground lie a series of farmlets below the ‘Bluff’ at Eagle Point. To the right, just out of frame, run the unusually long natural phenomena known as the Mitchell River silt jetties. It is a harmonious view of a bucolic land unmistakeably shaped by European hands. Until the early 1920s, Gruner had painted in the Barbizon-informed plein air manner championed by his teacher and then employer, Julian Ashton, for whom the young man was one of his favoured protégés. Gruner’s paintings of farmers and cattle in the frosty early morning were immensely popular and had already earned him three Wynne Prize awards between 1916 and 1921 (he went on to win another four by 1937). These earlier works were also distinguished by an almost impressionistic use of paint application and texture. He travelled to London in 1923 where he encountered the British artist Sir William Orpen, who openly criticised his work, advising Gruner to use a thinner, more pastel-like application of paint. Orpen also suggested that he place an increased emphasis on structure, pattern and rhythm of forms in the landscape, much in the manner of English modernist painters who also favoured painting such scenery from a high vantage point. Over the next years, Gruner concentrated on these ideas with increasing success and Mitchell River, Victoria Mitchell River, Victoria is one of four known works from this Gippsland journey, with the others being Lakes Entrance, last exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1940; Bairnsdale, Victoria, not seen publicly since its sale at auction in 1974; and Valley near Bairnsdale, 1930, sold through Deutscher and Hackett in November 2021. Mitchell River, Victoria was also reproduced in colour in Art in Australia (as ‘Gippsland Lakes’) in an edition devoted to Gruner’s work in 1933. The magazine was a solid supporter of the artist throughout his career and had similarly featured his paintings in an earlier volume in 1929. Mitchell River, Victoria has been owned by two distinguished collectors, Dr. Walter Pye, who donated his family’s Darling Point mansion ‘Lindesay’ to the National Trust in 1963; and his close friend Sir James Fairfax AC. The latter was forthright in his appreciation of Mitchell River, Victoria, and on Pye’s death, Fairfax purchased the painting, referring to it thereafter as ‘Walter’s Gruner.’ 1. ‘An impression of the Society of Artists’ Annual Exhibition’, Art in Australia, 3rd series, no. 34, October – November 1930, p. 16 ANDREW GAYNOR
Deutscher and Hackett
Aug. 24, 2022
ELIOTH GRUNER 1882-1939 Dawn 1937 oil on canvasboard
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
ELIOTH GRUNER 1882-1939 Dawn 1937 oil on canvasboard signed and dated 'GRUNER 1937' lower right 41 x 36 cm frame: original, S.A. Parker, Sydney PROVENANCE Elioth Gruner, Sydney Ethel Wise, Sydney Trevor Bussell Fine Art Gallery, Sydney Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above in 1987 Private Collection, Sydney, by descent from the above EXHIBITED Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 April - 31 May 1940, no. 125 LITERATURE Elioth Gruner Memorial Loan Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1940, p. 25
Smith & Singer
Aug. 21, 2022
GRUNER Elioth (1882-1939), Evening, Drypoint Etching no. 6, 13.5x17.5cm (plate)
Est: $700 - $1,200
GRUNER, Elioth (1882-1939) Evening Signed and inscribed in pencil. Drypoint Etching no. 6 13.5x17.5cm (plate)
Davidson Auctions
Aug. 21, 2022
Attrib. GRUNER Elioth (1882-1939), Study for 'The Barn (Carting Hay)' c.1917., Oil on Board, 21x29cm
Est: $3,000 - $6,000
Attrib. GRUNER, Elioth (1882-1939) Study for 'The Barn (Carting Hay)' c.1917. Work of this title and subject is in the collection of the Geelong Art Gallery (see image). This work is likely a preparatory sketch for the Geelong painting. Signed lower right 'E. GRUNER,' undated. Oil on Board 21x29cm PROVENANCE: Deceased estate, Sydney.
Davidson Auctions
Aug. 20, 2022
Elioth Gruner (1882-1939),
Est: $300 - $500
The Poplars drypoint etching no.17 signed, titled and numbered below image 15.5cm x 18cm
Aalders Auctions
Aug. 07, 2022
Elioth Gruner. Cows sheltering under the trees. Oil on board. Signed. H 31cm, W 40cm
Est: $13,000 - $19,500
Elioth Gruner. Cows sheltering under the trees. Oil on board. Signed. H 31cm, W 40cm
Christian McCann Auctions
Jul. 27, 2022
ELIOTH GRUNER, FIELD, 1917
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882 - 1939) FIELD, 1917 oil on canvas on compressed card 28.5 x 37.0 cm signed and dated lower left: E GRUNER / 1917 PROVENANCE Private collection Sotheby’s, Melbourne, 22 April 1991, lot 247 (as 'Fields') Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, acquired from the above The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, Melbourne, acquired from the above on 8 May 1991 EXHIBITED Overland, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Victoria, 10 March – 15 July 2012 Colour and Movement, Benalla Art Gallery, Victoria, 19 February – 9 June 2016 Figures and Landscapes, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Victoria, 16 December 2017 – 11 March 2018 on long term loan to Gippsland Art Gallery, Victoria LITERATURE Nainby, B., Stanhope, Z., and Furlonger, K., The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, in association with Latrobe Regional Gallery, Melbourne, 2009, pp. 16, 41 (illus.), 220 RELATED WORK Spring Morning, 1917, oil on cardboard on canvas, 40.0 x 29.1 cm, in the collection of the Newcastle Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales ESSAY Field, 1917 was executed en plein air at a farm owned by James Innes at Emu Plains, near the Nepean River on the lands of the Darug people. Set on ‘rising land in the shadow of the Blue Mountains’,1 Gruner stayed on the property in a small hut, sleeping on its floor, ‘wrapped up in chaff bags to keep the chill out of his blood, (and watching) for those clear, colourless dawns to arrive, with a palette set to a key that would paint the unpaintable, light itself.’2 In a letter to Hans Heysen in 1918, Gruner exclaimed that ‘I simply must work on the spot or be absolutely in touch with it.’3 One measure of Gruner’s early success was his triumph in the Wynne Prize of 1916 with Morning light, 1915, his first of seven such awards. He had originally studied at Julian Ashton’s art school (later teaching there) and in 1915, explored Max Meldrum’s tonalist theories, the legacy of which may be seen in Morning light. In Field, however, Gruner breaks from the smooth ambiguity of Meldrum and applies his paint in distinct, impastoed strokes to capture the lushness of the grassy field, the fences that bisect it, and the deep viridian green of the shadows. The sense of immediacy is heightened by patches of bare canvas left exposed in these areas, with the whole surmounted by the blue of the distant mountains and a sky whose windy turbulence is evocatively implied by energetic strokes of swirling pigment. 1. Clark, D., Elioth Gruner: Texture of light, Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra, 2014, p.24 2. Lindsay, N., ‘Foreword’, Elioth Gruner: twenty-four reproductions in colour from original oil paintings, Shepherd Press, Sydney, 1947, n.p. 3. Elioth Gruner, letter to Hans Heysen, 1918, cited in Pearce, B., Elioth Gruner, 1882-1939, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1983, p.8 ANDREW GAYNOR
Deutscher and Hackett
Jul. 27, 2022
ELIOTH GRUNER, ROLLING HILLS, YASS, 1929
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
ELIOTH GRUNER (1882 - 1939) ROLLING HILLS, YASS, 1929 oil on canvas 41.0 x 46.5 cm signed, dated and inscribed lower left: To Mr. & Mrs. Wallace/an appreciation/from ELIoth GRUNER/1929 PROVENANCE Mr and Mrs Wallace, New South Wales Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 2 – 3 November 1988, lot 105 (as ‘Rolling Hill, Yass’) Bridget McDonnell Gallery, Melbourne (label attached verso) Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, Melbourne, acquired from the above on 10 October 1990 EXHIBITED Exhibition of Australian Paintings, Earl Gallery, Melbourne, n.d., cat. 21 (illus. in exhibition catalogue) Early Australian Paintings, Bridget McDonnell Gallery, Melbourne, 11 – 30 September 1990, cat. 11 (illus. in exhibition catalogue) The Bus Collection of Australian Art, Wollongong City Gallery, New South Wales, 16 March – 12 April 1992, cat. 17 Dawn to Dusk: Landscapes from the Cbus Collection of Australian Art, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Victoria, 31 May – 16 Nov 2014 Colour and Movement, Benalla Art Gallery, Victoria, 19 February – 9 June 2016 Figures and Landscapes, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Victoria, 16 December 2017 – 11 March 2018 on long term loan to Geelong Art Gallery, Victoria LITERATURE Nainby, B., Stanhope, Z., and Furlonger, K., The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, in association with Latrobe Regional Gallery, Melbourne, 2009, pp. 14 (illus.), 220 RELATED WORK Rolling Hills Near Yass, 1929, oil on canvas, 51.4 x 61.2 cm, in the collection of Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Gift of the Queensland Art Fund 1931 ESSAY The paintings created by Elioth Gruner of the Ngunnawal lands around Yass in the mid-west of New South Wales are amongst his most celebrated. As curator Deborah Clarke notes, these images marked ‘the high point of his progression towards creating modern landscape.’1 The major work from the sequence, On the Murrumbidgee, 1929 (Art Gallery of New South Wales), shows the sinuous river of the title winding through the hills and valleys with such immediacy that it is little surprise that the painting was awarded the Wynne Prize, Gruner’s fourth such win.2 Rolling Hills, 1929, is more intimate and focusses on one bend of the Murrumbidgee with a further glimpse of the water continuing above after negotiating a horseshoe bend that lies out of sight to the left. This is the preliminary plein air study that Gruner executed on site before painting the slightly larger Rolling Hills near Yass, now in the collection of the Queensland Art Gallery. Giving an ‘almost aerial view of steep dry rocky slopes that appear to be carved out of the landscape’,3 Rolling Hills provides a clear illustration of Gruner’s assured technique as he captures a scene contrasting the sloping lands cleared for sheep with the surviving trees gathered at the lower fringe. Others grow scattered elsewhere on the denuded flanks, whilst dead trunks emerge from the water’s edge. Above is a blustery sky full of shifting clouds and the sense of a fresh country day is palpable. The 1920s had been a testing period for Gruner during which his art adopted elements of modernism’s flattened space and focus on design resulting from his encounter in London with the artist Sir William Orpen who was openly critical of the Australian’s work. His modest adoption of these more contemporary techniques led to further criticism from his former colleagues, particularly Norman Lindsay, who detested all modern art. Gruner was, by temperament, a loner and this hostility and self-doubt led to him having a breakdown in 1927 triggered further by alcoholism and depression. One step towards his recovery was the purchase of a Model A Ford in which he began to travel widely, vastly improving his outlook and sense of purpose. Gruner first visited the Yass region in 1928 and revisited repeatedly in subsequent years, depicting ‘the ancient hills as broad simple masses pushed up from the river valley and arranged in undulating rhythms across the picture plane.’4 1. Clark, D., Elioth Gruner: Texture of light, Canberra Museum and Gallery, ACT, 2014, p.12 2. Gruner won the Wynne Prize a record seven times: 1916, 1919, 1921, 1929, 1934, 1936 and 1937 3. Clark, ibid. 4. ibid. ANDREW GAYNOR
Deutscher and Hackett
Jun. 24, 2022
Elioth Gruner Limited edition
Est: $100 - $200
Elioth Gruner With Twenty-four Reproductions in Colour from Original Oil Paintings. Foreword by Norman Lindsay. Sydney, The Shepherd Press, and, 1947. [26]pp.+ 24 tipped-in full colour plates. Original cloth with gilt decoration. A very good copy. Number 866 in an edition of 2000 copies.
Sydney Rare Book Auctions