Contents
001-139 Australian Pottery
140-159 General
160-195 Australian and Colonial Furniture
196-237 Australian Paintings and Other Artwork

Gary and Genevieve Morgan have been collecting Australiana for decades. Their East Melbourne home is a living museum, a celebration of their passion for the artworks, sculptures, pottery, wood carvings and furnishings that are constantreminders of their own history and the two centuries in which they can trace their familys’ presence in Australia. Gary’s great grandfather, William H. Williams jointly published The Diggers’ Advocate in 1853, only eighteen years after John Batman’s visit to the Port Phillip District. A few years later, in 1856, he published Language of the Aborigines of the Colony of Victoria and other Australian Districts.

His other early publications included How to Settle in Victoria (1855), The News Letter of Australasia (1856) and The Collingwood and Richmond Observer (1857). He was one of the best-known printers and publishers in the young colony and was an enthusiastic advocate for immigration and development alongside cooperation with the original inhabitants. Gary is particularly proud of his fore-father’s contribution to Victoria.

Gary’s father, Roy Morgan, born at Malvern in 1908 and educated at Brighton Grammar and Melbourne Grammar, also passionate about his hometown, was elected to the City of Melbourne Council in 1959, chaired the town planning committee, and was involved in negotiations that led to the development of the City Square. He was a councillor until 1974. In the 1940s, he had established what became the best-known market research company in Australia, which was taken over in the 1960s by Gary, who continues as Executive Chairman of the company to this day.

Driven by their shared enthusiasm for Australian creativity and symbology, Gary and Genevieve have always sought to furnish their homes and workplaces with the work of Australian artists and artisans. They have lived in several Victorian-era homes, all of which have accommodated their ever-growing collection. As they acquired more pieces – Gary would say they “rescued” them – the Morgans have generously loaned some of their pieces to various museums, libraries and other institutions so that they could be more widely appreciated. For example, their collection of the works of Nicholas Chevalier was recently displayed in the East Melbourne Public Library and some of their large collection of Early Melbourne Paintings were on display at the Old Treasury Building in Spring Street.

In this second catalogue of selections from the collection, we are delighted to present the wonderful pieces you will see and read about in the coming pages. The wide range of pottery that begins the auction illustrates the many creative approaches Australian potters have brought to this ancient craft: the early output of Bendigo Pottery, the eccentricity of V.A.P., the artistry of Merric Boyd and the whimsy of Grace Seccombe are all well represented. Other notable inclusions are Castle Harris, Marguerite Mahood, Philippa James, William Ricketts and Klytie Pate. The section continues into the 1950s and ‘60s with works by John Perceval, Arthur Merric Boyd and Carl Cooper, amongst others, truly a wonderful selection.

The catalogue continues with a selection of furniture including some early pieces created in New South Wales and Tasmania in the 1830s and ‘40s. George Thwaites gets a look-in as do Andrew Lenehan and W.H. Rocke & Co. Their practical creations are complimented by the beautifully embellished works of art created by Robert Prenzel, Rudolph Unger and Harry Goldman among the other wood carvers represented in this catalogue. All of them have left their mark and their works are keenly sought-after by museums and galleries.

An impressive range of 19th and early 20th Century paintings includes an important S.T. Gill, titled “Kangaroo Stalking”, superb early view of Melbourne by Henry Gritten, a stunning and extremely rare painting at “Sandringham Beach” by Leon (Sonny) Pole, and a lovely self portrait by Constance Tempe Manning dated 1917.

We hope you enjoy the catalogue, and we look forward to welcoming you during
the viewing

Featured Lots