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Australian Art

Bonhams Australian Art auctions have achieved outstanding results for works by artists spanning the early colonial period, such as Thomas Griffith Wainwright, through to Australia's most celebrated contemporary practitioners, such as Del Kathryn Barton. We hold several auctions a year in Sydney.

Our recent auction records include Margaret Preston's Australian Native Flowers and John Coburn's Icon, both considered modern masterpieces of Australian art. We champion overlooked practitioners, especially women artists. In 2021, we brought to auction previously unseen works by leading Australian modernist Stella Bowen and Post Impressionist Florence Ada Fuller.

The Australian Art department has handled works from important collections including Sir Elton John and David Furnish and The Fairfax Family. We also have a strong reputation for managing the sale of entire collections and estates across multiple sale locations and departments. In 2018, we auctioned celebrated collector Michael Hobbs's Australian art collection in Sydney to great acclaim, while his Modern British and Post War and Contemporary Art collections were successfully handled by our London salerooms, with Frank Auerbach's Figure on a Bed achieving an outstanding £1,448,750 (AU$2,724,090).

Buying and selling Australian art at Bonhams
Bonhams Australian Art department has specialists in Sydney, Melbourne and London. We are the only global auction house to have offices in Australia with salerooms in both Sydney and Melbourne.

With offices and representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams gives buyers and sellers access to a global network of collectors and unparalleled marketing resources to achieve the highest price and level of client satisfaction possible. Contact a specialist directly for more information or submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

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Thinking of selling? Get a free auction estimate by submitting your item online or contacting your local Bonhams. With specialists based in towns and cities worldwide, we are your local auction house.

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Exceptional results

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Merryn Schriever

Managing Director, Australia

Merryn Schriever is Director of Bonhams Australia. Since joining Bonhams in 2013, Merryn has overseen significant diversification and expansion of the company's presence in the Australian market, resu…

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Alex Clark

Head of Sale, Senior Specialist

Alex Clark began his career at Christie's in 2002 and, following a move to Sotheby's Australia, he joined Bonhams as an Australian art specialist in 2011. During his career he has been involved with t…

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Kate Floro

Digital Content Manager

Kate Floro is the Office Manager and Senior Graphic Designer for Bonhams Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, and joined Bonhams in 2012 after working in several Sydney art galleries. I…

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Penelope Pfahl

Client & Accounts Manager

Penelope Pfahl is the Client and Accounts Manager of Bonhams Australia. She graduated from the University of Sydney in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Art History. She joined Bonhams …

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Submit your item online for a free and confidential valuation. If it’s suitable for sale, a specialist will provide an auction estimate and advise on the next steps for selling.

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