BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Tuscany with Sunflowers 1987 oil on canvas signed and dated lower left: Barry Humphries '87 54 x 65cm (68 x 77cm framed) PROVENANCE: Cliff DeYoung, Los Angeles OTHER NOTES: If you study the sunflowers at the bottom of this painting, you'll notice one rising half again taller than the others. For me, it has always symbolized Barry's wit, intelligence, and comic genius standing unmistakably above the rest. I met Barry Humphries in London in 1980 while we were filming Shock Treatment, the musical comedy from the creators of The Rocky Horror Show. We shared the same car to and from the studio, and during those daily rides we quickly developed a genuine friendship. Not long afterward, I saw his Dame Edna performance and became an enthusiastic admirer of his work. Throughout the 1980s, I returned often to London for film work, and my wife and I spent many memorable occasions with Barry, his wife Diane, and their sons. There were Sunday lunches, dinners, and evenings at the theater. We spent a week with them at a manor house Barry had rented in Robertsbridge, just south of London. Barry found it particularly amusing that the English butler, Thorley, seemed distinctly put out by the prospect of serving a house full of Australians and Americans. In the 1990s, Barry was a frequent presence in Los Angeles, performing his Dame Edna stage shows, hosting a weekly television chat show, and appearing regularly on Ally McBeal. During those years, we spent considerable time together with the boys and my daughter, taking trips to a dude ranch in Solvang, visiting Palm Springs and touring Alcatraz in San Francisco. I've always felt Barry would have had no objection to my selling this painting. A few years after he gave it to me, he noticed it hanging on my wall. He paused for a moment, smiled, and said, "You know, Cliff, this picture might be worth something when I'm dead." It was the usual Barry one-liner---delivered dry and a bit shocking for comic effect. Cliff DeYoung Los Angeles 2025
BARRY HUMPHRIES & DAVID DRIDAN Portrait of David mixed media on paper initialled lower left and right: B.H.and D.D. 37 x 26cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Self Portrait 1973 oil on card signed, dated and inscribed lower right: B.H. / By / Barry Humphries / 1973 24.5 x 19cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Skillogalee, Watervale, Clare Valley, South Australia 2005-2006 oil on canvas on board signed and dated lower right: Barry Humphries / 05/06 44 x 60.5cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Portrait of Rosalind 1966 oil on canvas on board signed and dated lower right: Barry / Humphries / 1966 60 x 45cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) 69 (Self-Portrait) 1970 oil on board inscribed verso: 69 / Barry Humphries / 70 73.5 x 59.5cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Portrait of David 1966 oil sketch on board signed, dated and inscribed lower left: Barry / Humphries / 66 58.5 x 41cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Pink Gin 1966 oil on board signed, dated and titled lower right: Pink Gin / Barry Humphries / 1963 71 x 51cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) David Enjoying a Red 1977 oil on board signed and dated lower right: Barry / Humphries / 1977 74 x 68.5cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024 RELATED WORKS Barry later designed the label for David Dridan's Tinshack Shiraz, 2004
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Self Portrait 1979 oil on board signed and dated lower left: Barry Humphries / AUG 79 50 x 39.5cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024
Barry Humphries Easel and Painting Accessories easel box, paints, hat for the sun, brushes and oval palette (signed and dated) 58cm high, 39cm wide, 55cm deep (variable) PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024 EXTRA NOTE Barry would leave this with David for his return painting trips to South Australia
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Tucker Box 1972 oil on Arnot's carton box signed, titled and dated on top: TUCKER - BOX / 31/12/72 Barry Humphries 30cm high, 39cm wide, 25cm deep PROVENANCE Gift from the artist The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024 OTHER NOTES Barry Humphries made this for David Dridan to take his various letters to Canberra each month for his meeting with the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) The Painting Class, John Dutton and Dr Bonnen 1978 oil on board signed and dated lower left: Barry Humphries 78 50 x 40.5cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Bob Hogg (Sunday Night Student) 1979 oil on board signed and dated lower right: Barry Humphries 79 75 x 59.5cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Landed Gentry, Mr John Dutton (Sunday night student), 1979 oil on board signed and dated lower right: Barry Humphries 79 49.5 x 39.5cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Murray River 1993 oil on canvas signed and dated lower right: Barry Humphries '93 43 x 59cm PROVENANCE The David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, 17 November - 13 April 2024 OTHER NOTES Accompanied by a framed photograph of Barry executing the painting ESSAY South Australian landscape painter David Dridan has amassed a beautiful collection of stories and artworks from a lifelong friendship with the late Australian comedian Barry Humphries. The collection was recently memorialised at a 2024 exhibition at the Adelaide Festival Centre, titled ‘By Barry Humphries: From the David Dridan Family Collection'. I interviewed Dridan about the collection, where he reminisced fondly of his painting trips to Wilpena Pound, the Clare Valley, the Flinders Ranges, and Sand Hill - often spent in the company of Barry Humphries. Dridan's paintings are held in significant public and private collections worldwide. His careers in the arts spans teaching, serving as Curator for The Art Gallery of South Australia, co-founding the Fleurieu Art Prize, and running a private gallery, workshop and a winery. Aside from his busy working life, Dridan painted extensively, capturing the diverse landscape throughout South Australia. This selection of paintings, ephemera, and artworks represents the mutual respect between the two artists, Dridan and Humphries, distilled in brushstrokes and bolstered by a strong friendship that endured despite the tyranny of distance. The collection includes ephemeral material such as Humphries' own easel, paints, and a painting hat (Lot 47). Humphries was known for stripping down to his Speedos, putting on the aforementioned painting hat, and away he'd go! He acquired great accolades for his stage personalities and iconic alter egos, Dame Edna Everage and Les Patterson. However, despite his success as a vaudevillian and writer, Dridan reflected, ‘Barry always said he wished he were a painter and not a comedian.' The collection includes a rare example of Humphries' early Dadaist artworks titled ‘Tucker Box' (Lot 46). The sculptural piece involves a painted Arnott's carton box laden with Humphries unique sense of humour in references to the famed Melbourne artist, Albert Tucker. The eccentric piece was a gift from Humphries in 1977, intended for Dridan to carry his letters and paperwork on trips to Canberra each month for his meetings with the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board. In London in 1960, Dridan and Humphries connected through a letter introduction from a mutual friend. As a young artist, Dridan had won a coveted grant from the British Council to study painting conservation and gallery administration at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1960-61. Barry was in London performing his one-man show - with a promising career on stage unfolding before him. Young, rambunctious, and sharp-witted, the pair became fast friends. A contradiction of sorts, equal parts larrikin and refined connoisseurs of the arts and culture London had to offer. In between stage shows and studying at the V & A, the young Humphries and Dridan would meet at Hyde Park to look at art on Sundays, countered by hours of drinking at The Bunch of Grapes pub in Knightsbridge - where Barry's high jinks often led to other punters paying for their drinks.'[1] A couple of evocative portraits included in the collection show their bonding epitomised in a pair of portraits painted later in 1966. One shows a sensitive profile of Dridan (Lot 51), coupled with an effervescent self-portrait of Barry, the composition dominated by a slather of pink paint (Lot 66). Like Humphries, Dridan possesses an undeniable magnetism and charm that draws people to him. For many years, he ran a popular painting class out of his studio, enjoying the company as much as teaching. Some of the regular painters were quite serious and eventually became full-time artists with successful commercial careers, whereas others were there for the company, wine appreciation, and the conversation. ‘Initially, they were all ‘medicos' that came up Sunday night, bringing a bottle of red with them. John Dutton (Lot 43) came every Sunday with his paints, and he'd put them on the bar, but he never did any painting!'[2] David recalls with glee and a hint of mischief. ‘Barry was a great advantage to that class!' Many of the portraits in this collection by Humphries are of the Sunday night group. Portraiture played a significant role in Humphries's artistic development, and he had a knack for capturing a person's essence. Whenever Humphries had time, he would visit Dridan in Strathalbyn, a picturesque township south of Adelaide surrounded by rolling hills and farmland. ‘One of the highlights and the things that Barry loved when he got to Australia was going down and painting with David Dridan, Tim Storrier and John Olsen in the Adelaide Hills.'[3] His appearance occasionally caused a stir in the local newspaper, but generally, he was there to rest and relax amongst the company of other artists. ‘Once a year in the later years, Barry always came, with John Olsen and Tim Storrier occasionally - a group of about eight people, including Geoff Wilson and Silvio Apponyi, we'd go out for a week in some area of the country, Coorong or Flinders Ranges.' David recalls these trips with fondness, ‘They were a good bunch. Barry was more of an expressionist; he was quite active in his activities, he'd finished one painting while I'd still be getting mine out.'[4] It was always an entertaining outing, Storrier recalled, ‘We'd just stay in an old house, and every day you'd go out to the estuary and paint among the dunes and long grasses. In reality, nobody really did very much at all. There was a lot of talk, the conversations were very funny, but you never knew where it was going to go with Barry.'[5] This closely cherished personal collection celebrates the passage of Dridan and Humphries' friendship, a collection of paintings created in good company and with a purity of expression that comes from simply enjoying the moment. David Dridan, at the young age of 92, has lost none of his spirited raconteur, still painting and causing mischief. His boisterous voice booms down the phone line: ‘I'm a firm believer of having art in your life.'[6] Now in an aged care facility, his collection is on loan for people to enjoy, and his room is filled to the brim with recent paintings. Dridan enjoys educating those around him about the importance of colour, art, and music. This is a unique opportunity to acquire artworks that have been cherished within the David Dridan family collection for decades, maintaining their intimate provenance. The collection is a celebration of the shared passion for painting between Dridan and Humphries, reflecting the unique Australian landscapes and the people who inspired them. It encapsulates the joy that art brings to everyday life, highlighting the deep connection between these two remarkable artists and their creative journeys together. Sarah Garrecht Footnotes: 1.Belinda Willis, A lifetime's friendship, memorised in paint, SA Life, February 2024, pp.96-100 2. In conversation with David Dridan, September 2025 3. Rowan Dean, The Many Lives of Barry Humphries: A treasury of reminiscences, Wilkinson Publishing, Melbourne, 2023, p.176 4. Dridan (n 2) 5. Dean (n 3) pp. 144-145 6. Dridan (n 2)
HUMPHRIES, Barry (1934-2023) 'Brampton Island [Qld]' 1989. Signed and dated lower left. Oil on Canvas 59.5x90.5cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, Sydney (gift from the artist)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Sketch of a Woman (Maro?) pencil on paper titled lower centre: MARO? artist's estate blindstamp lower right 23 x 27cm (unframed)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) The Corporate Smile 2019 mixed media on canvas, triptych each signed and dated lower right: Barry Humphries / 2019 Each 95 x 67cm (Each 98 x 70 x 7.5cm framed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Steven Isserlis Playing the Cello pencil on paper 35 x 27cm (51 x 44cm framed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Someone Other Than Charlie Hindlip Painting pencil on paper titled upper right: SOMEONE / OTHER / THAN / CHARLIE / HINDLPP / PAINTNG artist's estate blind stamp lower centre 35 x 27cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Provençale Landscape, St Jerome, Provence 2011 watercolour and ink on paper signed and dated lower left: Barry Humphries 011 titled on gallery label verso 29.5 x 41cm (61.5 x 49.5cm framed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) LIAM, TIFFANY, COME HEEAH! 2010 watercolour and ink on paper initialled and dated lower right: BH. / 010 titled on mount upper right: LIAM / TIFFANY / COME / HEEAH! 17 x 10.5cm, mount 31 x 24.5cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) There's Nothing You Can Do About It Now watercolour and ink on paper initialled twice lower left: BH. BH. titled lower centre: THERE'S / NOTHING / YOU CAN / DO ABOUT / IT / NOW. 11 x 18cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Charlie Hindlip Drawing pencil on paper artist's estate blind stamp lower right 27 x 35cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Himself, 7AM ink on tinted envelope initialled lower right: BH titled in French lower left: 7AM / LUI MÊME 25 x 17.5cm (51 x 44cm framed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) 'Lovers', Flower Drum Restaurant 2012 ink and crayon on folded paper signed lower right: Barry Humphries titled and dated upper left: 'LOVERS' / FLOWER DRUM REST. / 15/7/12 21 x 30cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Woman Smoking 2015 pencil, ink and crayon on paper signed and dated lower right: Barry Humphries / 2015 11 x 18cm PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Sketch, Maro pencil titled lower centre: MARO? artist's estate blindstamp lower left 27 x 35cm PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Dame Edna pen and watercolour on paper signed lower left: Barry / Humphries 28 x 21.5cm (51 x 44cm framed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Did I Tell You? ink and watercolour on paper initialled lower left: B.H. titled lower centre: DID I / TELL / YOU? 11 x 18cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Well Graham, When Can We Talk About It? ink and watercolour on paper signed upper right: Barry Humphries titled lower left: WELL, GRAHAM / WHEN CAN WE / TALK ABOUT IT / ? 20 x 20cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Sketch, Steven Isserlis Playing the Cello pencil on paper titled and initialled lower left: STEVEN / ISSILIS / BY / BH artist's estate blindstamp lower right 35.5 x 27cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Businessman ink and watercolour on lined paper signed lower centre: Barry / Humphries titled lower right: Businessman 21 x 13.5cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Landscape with River and Pavillion coloured pencil and watercolour on paper 29.5 x 42cm PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Mother and Daughter, Toronto ink and watercolour on lined paper titled and initialled lower left: MOTHER + / DAUGHTER / BH inscribed lower centre: KIT / KAT / TORONTO 20 x 26.5cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Sketch of a Man pencil on paper artist's estate blindstamp lower right 35.5 x 27cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Put Yourself in My Position ink and watercolour on paper signed and titled lower right: PUT YOURSELF / IN MY POSITION / Barry Humphries 24.5 x 21cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Left Bank Street 2011 watercolour and ink on paper signed and dated lower left: Barry Humphries 011 inscribed lower right: Rue Git / Le Coeur / Paris signed, titled and dated on label verso: LEFT BANK STREET / BARRY HUMPHRIES / (GOUCHE) / 2011 41 x 32.5cm (82 x 64cm framed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) After the Office ink and crayon on paper signed lower right: BARRY / HUMPHRIES titled lower left: AFTER THE / OFFICE 18 x 11cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Australian Floorscape photograph signed lower right: Barry Humphries titled lower left: 'Australian Floorscpae' 25 x 37cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) Anything You See You Fancy? pencil and watercolour on folded paper signed and inscribed lower left: Barry / Humphries / CHICAGO titled lower right: ANYTHING YOU SEE / YOU FANCY? 21 x 29.5cm (unframed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
BARRY HUMPHRIES (1934-2023) French Street Scene 2011 watercolour and ink on paper signed lower left: Barry Humphries titled and dated on gallery label verso 40 x 34cm (59 x 53cm framed) PROVENANCE: The Estate of Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
![HUMPHRIES Barry (1934-2023), 'Brampton Island [Qld]' 1989., Oil on Canvas, 59.5x90.5cm](https://image.invaluable.com/housePhotos/davidson/59/801459/H3427-L419210904.jpg)
