Garry Shead
Etching House for Garry Shead Fine Art limited edition original etchings and quality prints.
Etching House is considered to be the largest retailer of Garry Shead Australian Limited Edition fine art Etchings
and works on paper in Australia.
Australian fine art etchings and limited edition prints have
been very successful for Garry Shead as he is one of the best etchers to come out of Australia for a long time, a true master.
Garry Shead has just completed his new etching titled "The Sacrifice"
available September 2009, stock of the new etching titled Sacrifice is getting low. Over half the edition has been allocated in the first week.
New Etchings from Garry Shead Coming to Etching House July 2010.
Garry Shead July 2010, has 4 new fine art limited edition
etchings being released, 2 in colour and 2 in black and white, Etching
House
will release these very soon, please stay in touch with Etching House.
Garry Shead draws inspiration form Greece, new innovative interpretation form Greece, coming
soon.
The following
painting and art work's listed are some of Garry Shead recorded painting sales
from 2003 to 2007 by major Auction House's such as Sotheby's, Deutscher
Menzies, and Christies.
New Etchings form Garry Shead Coming to Etching House.
Garry Shead July 2010, has 4 new fine art limited edition
etchings being released, 2 in colour and 2 in black and white, Etching House
will release these very soon, please stay in touch with Etching House.
The latest record sale was the oil painting titled "Queen of
Suburbia" it sold at $432,000 by Sotheby's Auction house in 2007 setting a
new record for Garry Shead art works.
2007 - Queen of Suburbia $432,000
166 x 212 cm,
Oil on canvas, signed and dated 97 lower left; inscribed with title on the
back.
2005 - Epiphany 1998
$216,000
16/03/2005
Oil on canvas, signed lower left: Garry Shead, 166 x 212.5 cm,
2003 - Young Prince 136.5 x 182.5 cm,
$204,000
Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right: Garry Shead 03.
2007 - Coat of Arms 1995
$192,000
19/11/2007
Oil on canvas, signed and dated 'Garry Shead 95' lower right, 122 x 153 cm,
2005 - The Novel 1994
$168,000
21/09/2005,
Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right: Garry Shead/ 94, inscribed on
frame verso: 'The Novel' Garry Shead 94, 152.5 x 122 cm,
2006 - The Sentinel $162,000
21/11/2006
Oil on composition board, signed and dated 92 lower right, 90 x 120 cm
2007 - Envoy III (D. H. Lawrence Series) $156,000
13/06/2007
Oil on canvas, signed lower right: Garry Shead, inscribed verso: Envoy III, 92
x 122 cm,
2003 - The Dance 2003$141,000
29/10/2003
92 x 122 cm
Oil on board, signed lower right: Garry Shead, inscribed with title verso:
2005 - The Visitor
$131,450
22/11/2005
Oil on board, signed 'Garry Shead' lower right and further signed, dated and
titled 'Garry Shead/The Visitor 93-94' on the reverse, 89.9 x 120.5 cm.
Auction Art Sales from 1988 to 2007 inclusive in 000's of Dollars -
Australian Art - 34,354/1988 - 39,080/1998 - 145,230/2007 with the
bulk of the growth being from 2002 to 2007 inclusive.
Indigenous Art - 666/1988 - 5,283/1998 - 23,866/2007.
International Art - 3,454/1988 - 5,758/1998 - 6,534/2007.
Grand Total - 38,474/1988 - 50,120 /111998 - 17,5630/2007.
Trend and price information contained in this Etching House web site segment
are from recorded Auction Sales in Australia. The major growth period
seems to be 1998 to 2007, with a strong period from 2002 to 2007. The cycle
shows 3 years steady growth then one of rest and back to 3 years of growth. The
purpose of this information is purely for interest of sake only.
Infromation about the Garry Shead Oil Painting and Etching titled Sacrificeis available from Etching House
Sacrifice was also done as an Oil painting; it is also featured in the book
kangaroo by D.H. Lawrence.
Excerpt from Speech by Professor Sasha
Grishin AM, FAHA
The Sir William Dobell Professor of Art
History - from Etching House
‘The Sacrifice' Take for example
the major canvas, The Sacrifice
In the centre are two figures accompanied by the two birds - the magpie
and the sulphur-crested cockatoo - and there is the kangaroo in flames in the
background which seems to be a source of illumination. All of this, taken together with the coastal
cottage and the scrubby foreshore of the NSW coastline, may remind one of the
DH Lawrence series, but such a reading would be somewhat erroneous. On closer examination it would appear that
the male figure, positioned strategically in the exact centre of the
composition, appears as if crucified in space, his head slightly inclined to
one side as in traditional medieval Crucifixion of Christ scenes. I think that it was Arthur Boyd who
originally introduced the swooping magpie in his Crucifixion imagery of the
1940s. With Shead the magpie and the
cockatoo adopt the role of the sun and the moon, the polarity which defines
human existence and without which no traditional Crucifixion scene would be
complete. The most interesting and
telling figure is that of the female nude, who like a mermaid belongs to the
sea knowing that if she leaves the water she must perish, while if she returns
to the sea she will sacrifice her love for ever. What is very unusual in Shead's oeuvre is
that she has her faced turned away from the spectator and her identity is known
only to the one who is crucified. Her
form and the colour of her hair suggest that this could be Judit, the artist's
wife who died on 8th of May 2007, yet the work thrives in its sense of
ambiguity. When the identities are not
firmly fixed, then there is room for allegory and symbolism and the freedom of
association which delivers a deeply personal reading uniquely relevant to each
beholder. On closer examination it seems
that the kangaroo is opening the window and offering a path of escape - but for these
sacrificial lovers there is no, and never will be, a way out.
Sacrifice by Garry Shead at Etching House
Detailed Background information on Garry Shead -
Garry Shead won his first Archibald Prize in 1993.
Garry Shead is a respected and noted painter, printmaker, and etcher.
Etching House is proud to collect and deal in his work new or pre - owned.
Garry Shead's works highlight's a distinctive passion and love for the
Australian Landscape as well as a passion for Australian Life and culture, his
work also brings romantic and humorous elements to his truly Australian scenes.
Stockman Series - Garry Shead produced the Stockman series
from the 1990s this was followed by the famous D.H. Lawrence series based on
the Lawrence's book Garry Shead did a
"Kangaroo" and satirical "Monarchy" series of Etchings and
Paintings which brought even more attention to this iconic Australian artist
are - 1961-62 studied at the National
Art School.
Editor, the Arty Wild Oat Cartoons published in OZ, The Bulletin, and Sydney
Morning Herald.
1963-6 Scenic artist with the ABC TV
1967 Young Contemporaries Prize, Travelled to Japan
1968 Expedition to Sepik Highlands, Papua New Guinea
1972 Artist in residence, Power Studio, Cite des Arts, Paris
1981-82 Artists in residence, Michael Karolyi Foundation, Venice, France.
Travelled in, Spain Holland and
1986 Winner, Mahalb Art Prize (New South Wales Law Society)
1987 Finalist, Doug Moran National Portrait Prize
1989-90 travelled to New York, London, and Budapest.
1993 Winner of the Archibald Prize
2004 Winner Dobell Prize for drawing.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1996 Phillip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane
1996 Lyall Burton Gallery, Melbourne
1995 Greenaway Art Gallery, Adelaide
1995 Solander Gallery, Canberra
1995 Michael Nagy Fine Art, Sydney
1994 Dover Street Gallery, London
1993 Greenaway Art Gallery, Adelaide
1993 Lyall Burton Gallery, Melbourne
1993 Phillip Bacon Gallery, Brisbane
1993 D.H. Lawrence Series, Australian Gallery of New South Wales
1992 Solander Gallery, Canberra
1992 Wollongong City Gallery
1992 Michael Nagy Fine Art, Sydney
1991 Solander Gallery, Canberra
1990 BMG Galleries, Adelaide
1989 Green Hill Galleries, Perth
1988 William Mora galleries, Melbourne
1988 Artnet, Sydney
1987 Solander Gallery, Canberra
1985 Gary Anderson Gallery, Sydney
1984 The Print Source, Sydney
1981-3 Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
1978 Abraxas Gallery, Canberra
1976 Abraxas Gallery, Canberra
1976 Hogarth Gallery, Sydney
1975 Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
1975 Watters Gallery, Sydney
1975 Abraxas Gallery, Canberra
1966-1974 Numerous exhibitions at Watters Gallery, Sydney
Group Exhibitions
Garry Shead has participated in numerous group exhibitions including the
Archibald Prize Exhibition, The Blake Prize Exhibition and Sulman Prize
Exhibition.
Garry Shead Awards
1986 Winner, Mahlab Art Prize (New
South Wales)
1993 Winner Archibald Prize
2004 Winner, Dobell Prize for Drawing
Garry Shead collection held by national galleries
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Queensland Art gallery, Brisbane
Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery
Newcastle Regional Art Gallery
Wollongong City Art Gallery
National Museum, Budapest, Hungry
Separation Art Gallery
Visual Arts and Crafts Board, Sydney
State Bank, Sydney
University of Western Australia
University of New South Wales
Australian National University
Queensland University of Technology
Brisbane City Art Collection
Art bank, Sydney
National Film Library
Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra
Garry Shead is a Australian artist who won the Archibald Prize in 1992/93
with a portrait of Tom Thompson, and won the Dobell Prize in 2004 with Colloquy
with John Keats (diptych).He went on to win the Young Contemporaries Prize
in 1967 and travelled to, Vienna and Budapest. He returned to in the 1980s.
His paintings are in many galleries here and overseas. Garry was a friend of
Brett Whiteley and participated in the famous Yellow House activities; he
also has shown more than seventy group exhibitions and had over fifty
solo exhibitions.
Etching House specialize in etchings by Garry Shead as well as many other
artists producing Australian Limited Edition Fine Art Etchings and works on
paper, artists like of Norman Lindsay, Charles Blackman, David Boyd, Olsen,
Nolan and Whiteley, from time to time we have a variety of Garry Shead
Australian Oil paintings available from the secondary market, these paintings
are usually sold by word of mouth before they even come into stock.
Garry Shead is highly acclaimed for his Lyrical paintings in particular the
D.H. Lawrence series of 1993, later release's where -In 1998 he did a series
called "Encounters with Royalty" Followed by "The Erotic
Muse" in 2001 then -The Ern Malley Series. Garry also did a great series
called the "Bundeena Series" along with the famous Annunciation and
Epiphany etchings, just to mention a few. His latest series is The God Game and
Magus Study, Last Muse, refer to the artists Gallery in the Etching House Web
Site. The romance and beauty of Dance was also revealed in the Tango series
which saw the release of Tango 1 edition 75, Tango 2 edition 99, Tango 3
edition 99, all sold out quickly. Tango 4 has come and gone, Etching House has
only a few of each left in the archive store room.
Garry Shead through his unique talent evident in his oil paintings, original
etchings and Limited edition works on paper has earned him a very high level of
broad public appeal with great respect and now solid demand for his works with
collectors and investors of Australian Fine Art, along with a ever growing
following and respect form people of all ages and mean both in Australia and
with visitors from overseas.
Garry has participated in many group exhibitions, in particular the Archibald
Prize held each year at the Gallery of New South Wales. His work is not a
prolific and he has a good established secondary market. Etching House
specializes in this area as we believe personally in Garry Shead as a solid and
long term quality Artist.
Garry Shead's art from a collector or investors point of view has had a solid
and impressive level of consistent (R.O.I) return on investment for many
people.
Garry has a diverse range of subject matter and medium that constantly has
found broad appeal while achieving his objectives in Art, Beauty and Meaning.
Garry Shead is truly one of the best Australian Artists, Etching House is proud
to be a part of this Iconic Artist World. So can you
Garry by nature appears distinctively Australian and is a true gentleman with a
passion for life and art which is also reflected in his work. Garry has
captured a true Australian flavour that has come from the soul, his work is
wonderfully lyrical, timeless and of mythical presence not unlike Nolan, Arthur
Boyd, Picasso, Chagall.
Garry Shead came to visit Etching House again, this time at the 2006 Art Sydney
06 show, he often visits the Art Show showing his support for Art, it is a
reflection of his love of art and ours of his. Garry has enjoyed seeing the
largest collection of his works in one display from as early as the Stockman
series, Bundeena series right to today's Ern Malley series.
- Garry Shead has recognized that Etching House is focused on generating
New collectors to the art world, people who have not yet discovered the joy of
collecting fine Australian works of art by prominent Australian artists, for
this reason Garry Shead has been keen to keep some of his newly released works
very affordable, its a way of giving back to the art world that has been good
to him.
- Etching House sets trend and offers to its customers a new 12
month Lay By purchase program (terms and conditions apply) for Australian
Fine Art, paintings, Etchings, Works on paper, Limited edition etchings,
limited edition prints, prints on paper.
- Garry Shead has completed his new book titled: "The Apotheoses of
Ern Malley"
The Book "The Apotheoses of Ern Malley" by Garry Shead contains many
images and details from the highly successful Ern Malley series, the book
includes three original etchings all signed by Garry Shead, these etchings are:
- "The Immortal
Poet"
- "Tragic Poet"
- "The Sleeping
Poet"
These new etchings by Garry Shead are loose inside the book to accommodate
framing.
- Annunciation Etching, by Garry Shead sold out and rising in value
to new high, talk to Etching House.
- Affordable Art Show - Art Melbourne 09, See Garry Shead works April
2009 Melbourne,
at Etching House stand.
- D.H Lawrence series - Checkmate - Arrival - Awakening - Thirroul -
Wave - all available at Etching House.
- Etching House has the new Garry Shead Tango Dance series In Stock -
Original colour Etchings - Tango 1 - Tango 11 - Tango 111. Tango IV March 08,
limited stock. .
On 5 February 1954, when Garry Shead was just twelve years old, he was taken
with other boys from his school to the Sydney Showground to welcome Queen Elizabeth
II. Images of the Queen and references to the royal visit start to occur in
Garry Shead's art in the 1960s and come to fruition in a major series of
paintings of the mid-1990s. While the 'Royal Suite' paintings do engage the
republican discourse and many of the images comment on this absurd queen who
moves incongruously amongst her subjects, they also comment on feelings of
tenderness, on erotic yearnings and on royal fantasies. Dr. Sasha Grishin
argues that the 'Royal Suite' paintings are icons of their time. They refer to
a state of innocence in the 1950s with Blinky Bill koalas and wide-eyed
subjects who gather to worship this three-eyed white goddess. They also provide
us with glimpses of a reality which we only realized much later, with the Aboriginal
people marginalized and exploited, and Australian sovereignty subverted.
Perhaps more importantly, they relate to an Australian reality of the 1990s
where, by exorcising the daydream fantasies of the past, we can prepare
ourselves for independence in the future.
The Queen was Bob Menzies' white goddess, the white goddess of in the 1950s and
the early 1960s. At the base of a lot of opposition to the republic could be a
profound filial panic at the idea of losing a female deity.
In 1996 Garry Shead painted a large canvas titled Ceremony. The scene is set
against the dusty red earth of inland, with Uluru somewhere on the horizon and
a country sports oval in the foreground. On one side a drifting wisp of smoke
leads the eye to a camp fire around which several Aborigines are clustered. On
the other side, in the background, is a small grandstand accompanied by a few
spindly olive-green eucalyptus saplings. The barren outback and endless blue
sky contrast with the wonderful green fecundity of the oval, which is enclosed
within a neat white picket fence. It is as if a line of demarcation has been
drawn separating two worlds that exist independently of one another. On the
oval, a slightly ridiculous royal ceremony is taking place. Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II stands on a stretch of red carpet in full regalia and pours two
cups of tea. Presumably one cup is for herself and the other is for her
consort. A ceremonial vase containing a sprig of wattle stands on the table
before her. Behind the Queen are her subjects, like Magi bearing gifts and
accompanied by solemn kangaroos as a guard of honour. To our right, another
ceremony appears to be taking place, as Prince Philip kneels on a spread-out
Union Jack as if on a picnic blanket. Having stripped off the emblems of
office, he seems to be ready to deflower a local bride. These are the strange
ingredients that Carry Shead has brought together harmoniously and with great
lyrical skill within this glorious sunlit composition.
On first encounter, many elements in this royal iconography (and the numerous
variations that pervade the 'Royal Suite' series) appear enigmatic, even
slightly incongruous, despite the pictorial clarity with which the artist has
defined the imagery. While the participants appear at once recognizable through
their various attributes and insignia, a single coherent reading is not
possible. Rather, there are several competing narratives, both public and
private, brought lovingly together under the glare of the all encompassing
Australian sun. And, on closer investigation, identities can prove ambiguous
and slightly problematic.
If indeed this is a series of paintings about the youthful Queen Elizabeth II -
identified through crown and regalia - then the purpose of her location in the
unmistakably Australian setting is not immediately apparent. If the figure next
to her is the royal consort, then how do we interpret the strange sexual
ceremonies in which he also participates, sometimes to one side or behind a
door that has been left ajar? This ambiguity is given a further dimension, for
if we glance into Prince Philip's face we may notice a semblance of the
artist's own features. The queen of the paintings may also be playing more than
a single role - while she appears as Queen Elizabeth II, who at the age of
twenty-eight first visited Australia
in 1954, her facial features resemble a youthful image of the artist's mother.
The seriousness with which the participants play out their absurd roles, and
the singular determination with which they confront their predicament, subverts
an easy narrative interpretation. This is not merely a grand spoof. The
canvases can be read as history paintings, rich in a sense of allegory; they
are also narrative paintings that go beyond simply telling a story. More accurately,
they can be described as history paintings involved in telling many stories
which are built up in layers of pictorial narrative. They present a palimpsest
through which we catch echoes of the royal progress, personal sexual fantasies
and daydreams, the republican discourse, and other biographies and
autobiographies. Interwoven through this rich fabric are various visual clues;
their interpretation has been ultimately left to the viewer.
On 3 February 1954, when Garry Shead was twelve years old, Queen Elizabeth II
became the first reigning monarch to visit. During the two months of her
national tour, accompanied by Prince Philip, an estimated seventy per cent of
the Australian population flocked to see her in person.
Garry's parents took him on a journey to Mossman where they camped overnight in
order to watch the royal liner, Gothic, enter Sydney Harbor.
They were amongst the estimated half-a-million people who lined the headlands
to welcome Her Majesty. The following morning, when the Queen stepped ashore at
Farm Cove at 10.43 a.m., Sydney
gave the monarch, in the words of the local press, a 'gay and boisterous
welcome'.
On the first day of the visit, approximately one-and-a-quarter-million people
paid homage to the Queen in Sydney.
That night a massive fireworks display culminated in a great pyrotechnic
portrait of the Queen and Prince Philip.
About Etching's, the process of making a multi-plate colour etching Tango 1 by Garry Shead.
As used in Tango I, involves the artist drawing parts of the image on each
of the three plates. Some information is on a plate which is inked up all over
in yellow, some of the marks and tones are red and are drawn on the second
plate, while the main or key information (lines and dark tones) is drawn on the
key plate and printed last.
Garry first does a loose pen drawing onto the first zinc plate which has on it
a very thin emulsion or coating, through which Garry then scratches the line
drawing. These lines expose the plate underneath, and then they can be etched
in nitric acid to establish them in the plate. The plate is usually proofed
(printed) at this stage.
The next stage on the key plate is to put in the tones. Some areas of Tango I
are light in tone, whilst others are very dark indeed. A light coat of rosin
powder is applied to the plate surface and melted on. Garry paints a resist
onto the plate to protect the areas which are to have no black tone. The plate
goes into the acid for a short time. Then a further resist is applied to areas
which are to remain fairly light. Into the acid goes the plate for a second
time. This process is repeated until only the darkest shadows are still exposed
to the action of the acid. These areas of the plate are etched for the longest
time in acid and are bitten the deepest. Garry is able to study a proof of this
tonal state and actually scratch and smooth back areas which he feels are too
dark.
The whole image is then transferred to plates #2 and #3 and lightly etched so
he can see the outlines. Areas of the yellow plate which are to be yellow in the
print are then given an aquatint and etched. Areas of the red plate which are
to have red tones on them are also aquatinted and etched. Now the three plates
are ready to be proofed together for the first time. They are each fine-tuned
by the artist. This stage took place in Wollongong
and Darwin for
Tango I.
The proofing of the prints takes place once the artist has approved the final
proof. Two printers worked together on the printing of Tango I: with the
printing of the 75 etchings taking around a week's work. Some of Garry's colour
etchings take even longer to print, owing to the number of separate plates
which need hand-inking for each print.
The techniques described here have been in use for around 500 years. Rembrandt
is still regarded as one of the finest etchers to have lived, whilst Goya is
renowned for his use of the tonal aquatint process. Garry Shead lives and works
in Bundeena, just south of Sydney.
Love on Mount Pleasant
The demolition began early on a winter's morning in July
1966.
The corrugated iron winery at Mount Pleasant in Pokolbin, that had been the
hub of a momentous outpouring of creative genius, was gone. It was the site
where the great winemaker Maurice O'Shea, (1897-1956) had spent his working
life. Attuned to the natural nuances of every season, he never missed a vintage
in his thirty-five years at Mount
Pleasant.
It was a time when much of the country's idiosyncratic
heritage was treated with scant regard. Considered an unsafe workplace and an
eyesore, the old winery didn't stand a chance. The respected wine authority,
Len Evans, pleaded in vain with the McWilliams family, who had been O'Shea's
sponsor since 1932, to spare this singular piece of Australian wine-making
history. Now the only records we have are in anecdotes from the few people who
remembered the place, and the photographs taken by Max
Dupain of the 1951 vintage wine.
Garry Shead (b.1942) is one who has vivid memories of Mount Pleasant. Maurice
O'Shea was Carry's uncle. His mother, Nora Florence O'Shea, married Gordon
Shead in 1937. She was Maurice's youngest sister. As a child, Shead recalled
driving from Sydney's North
Shore to Mount Pleasant during the Easter holidays.
The vintage was in, and it was a time to celebrate while the wines matured and
slumbered in their darkened casks.
Apart from being the renowned vigneron, Maurice was a superb
cook - a true gastronaut, matching wines, perhaps a 1953 Mount Pleasant
Florence Reisling (named in honour of Carry's mother, Nora Florence) or the
magical 1937 Mountain 'A' Dry Red, with scintillating dishes such as Jewfish
poached in white wine, coq au vin or yabbies Provencal, or his rogue dish,
Bandicoot in red wine. Close at hand were fresh vegetables from the garden -
eggs were never far away and milk was supplied by the cows roaming the
paddocks. Maurice's culinary marvels were fired, baked and steamed in a tiny
galley kitchen on a kerosene stove. Of course, he had reinforcements in the
form of escapees from the city - the renowned chef, Henri Renault was never far
from the action, with further support from the great food and wine entrepreneur,
J.K. (Johnny) Walker. This was the culmination of all Maurice's efforts
-bringing together the best of wine and food to enjoy in the company of family
and friends.
The final act in a day of feasting at Mount Pleasant was a walk up the Old Hill
through the gnarled old vines planted by Charles King in 1880. Looking back
across the valley, a panorama unfolds linking the bush, the vines, the valley
and the sky in an intense landscape experience. The scene was the subject of
Garry Shead's first oil painting View of Mount Pleasant, 1953, where the
budding artist seems to have unconsciously obliged the precepts of the colonial
picturesque.
From this vantage point, Hal Missingham, then director of
the Art Gallery of NSW, observed how Maurice O'Shea's corrugated iron shed was
indeed an integral part of the Australian landscape, and, on closer inspection,
imbued with a character unique in its day. The winery encompassed a workplace
with its old oak stave presses and concrete vats, cellar, studio and library,
living quarters and kitchen galley. There was no electricity - all the work was
powered by hand. The corrugated iron structure rose up from a dirt floor, and
to keep it cool in summer, the exterior was whitewashed, amplifying the dynamic
interplay of light and shade.
In this magical realm, Uncle Maurice supported his nephew's
nascent interest in art. He encouraged the boy, giving him books to fire the
imagination -The LittlePr/nceby Antoine de Saint-Exupery as well as Shead's
favourite, Captain Marryat's Midshipman Easy. Maurice was Carry's earliest
mentor. At the time of O'Shea's death in 1956, Carry Shead, the teenager, was
coming to grips with having to wear thick, heavy spectacles to combat myopia,
just as his uncle had done to eventually triumph and gain recognition as Australia's
greatest winemaker.
Ten years after Maurice's death, in the year the winery was
demolished, Carry Shead began experimenting with ways of depicting the complex
character and nature of O'Shea. In works such as Slightly Bemused, 1966, and Maurice
with Bandicoot, 1966, Shead's witty use of wine-glass bases to represent a pair
of spectacles reveals something of the artist's imaginative process and humorous
inclination sparked by the legacy of Uncle Maurice.
Maurice George O'Shea, eldest son of an Irish-born wine and
spirit merchant, John Augustus O'Shea, and French-born mother, Leontine
Beaucher was born on the 13 June 1897 at 1 Miller Street, North Sydney.
Five of six children survived. In May, 1907, Nora was born. She would be Garry's
mother and Maurice's favourite sibling. Nora was 5 years-old when her father
died. The charismatic wine merchant died aged 42 from cirrhosis of the liver.
It was said that Maurice inherited his father's brain and his mother's heart.
Whatever the case, Leontine had to make a decision on the future of her
16-year-old son. The wine business was in his blood. The New South Wales Wine
and Spirit Company was the family business. But first, his education would need
attending to.
In 1913, Maurice was sent to France to finish his schooling at
the Lycee Montpellier. Being bright and charming, he excelled. Having finished
school, he was eligible for French military service but, as a consequence of
his extreme short-sightedness, he was rejected. For the next two years, he studied
at the Ecole Nationale d'Agriculture at Grignon, near Paris. He went on to complete a degree in
viticultural science at Montpellier
University with
qualifications in botany, history and chemistry. It was here he immersed
himself in the mystery of fermentation and the creation of wine that begins
life with yeasts turning sugar into alcohol. He applied himself to the
winemaker's art, honing his ability to detect subtle fragrances and emerging
characteristics that would intensify over time. Briefly, he lectured on
analytical wine chemistry, and importantly, travelled the wine regions of France'...tasting
the best and worst so that great wine and poor wine and the pathways to both
became intrinsic to him.
These encounters, in effect, would be the cornerstone of his
future success. At the time, very few talented figures in the arts in Australia had
the opportunity to experience first-hand the thrill of recognition that
exposure to a first-rate work of art provided. Artists relied on poor
reproductions while an aspiring winemaker would have to rely on the safe and
gentle passage of vintages from Burgundy and Bordeaux.
Etching House List of colour plates used for Garry Shead Oil Paintings of Australia
The Arrival,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower left 'Carry Shead 92'
Plate 2, The Conspirators,
90.8 x 121.5
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 3, They were there,
91.5x122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower
right 'Carry Shead 92'
Plate 4, Thirroul,
91.0 x 121.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 5, Railway Station,
91.0 x 121.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower left 'Garry Shead 93'
Plate 6, Thirroulia,
90.2 x 121.2 cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower left'Garry Shead 93'
Plate 7, Kangaroo,
91.0 x 121.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate
8, The Presence I,
91.5x122.0 cm, oil on composition board
Plate 9, The Struggle,
122.0 x
152.5 cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 10, 1922,
122.Ox 152.5
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower left 'Carry Shead 92'
Plate 11, Fame,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on board,
signed lower right 'Garry Shead
93'
Plate 12, The Visitors,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 13, The
Wave,
91.0 x 121.0
cm, oil on canvas on board,
signed lower left 'Carry Shead 92'
Plate 14, Le dejeuner sur
I'herbe,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 15, Aboriginal,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower left'Carry Shead 92'
Plate 16, Headland,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower left 'Carry Shead 92'
Plate 17, Sentinel,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Garry Shead
92'
Plate 18, The Cliff,
91.5 x 122.0 cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower left 'Garry Shead 92'
Plate 19, The Letter,
122.0 x 152.5 cm,
oil on composition board
Plate 20, The Presence II,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower
right 'Garry Shead 92'
Plate21,Dz«&,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower
right 'Garry Shead 92.'
Plate 22, Nightfall,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Garry Shead
92'
Phte 23, NightfallII,
62.0 x 60.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower left 'Carry Shead 92'
Plate 24, Firelight,
122.0 x 152.5
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 23, The Dream,
122.0 x
152.5 cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 26, New Land,
90.5 x 121.4 cm, oil on composition board
Plate 27, The Guards,
91.5
x 122.0 cm, oil on
composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 28, The Antipodes,
90.5 x 120.5 cm, oil on composition board
Plate 29, Rainbow,
60.0 x 60.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 30, The Cocky,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right'Carry Shead 92'
Plate
31, Flaming Kangaroo,
91.0 x 121.5 cm,
oil on composition board
Plate 32, Creation,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right'Carry Shead 92'
Plate 33, The Dance,
62.0 x 60.0
cm, oil on hard board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
93'
Plate 34, The Awakening,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on hard board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
93'
Plate 35, The Envoy I,
91.5x 122.0 cm, oil on composition
board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 36, Noon,
25.5 x 30.5
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 37, Treason,
91.5 x 122.0 cm, oil on board
Plate 3 8, The Secret,
60.0 x 60.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 39, Intruder,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on canvas,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 40, Marriage,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
93'
Plate 41, Checkmate,
91.0 x 121.5
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
93'
Plate
42, The Supper,
91.0 x 122.5 cm,
oil on composition board
Plate
43, The Meeting,
91.5 x 121.0 cm,
oil on composition board
Plate 44, Death of Cooky, 91.0 x 106.0 cm, oil on canvas, signed lower right 'Carry Shead 92'
Plate 45, Death of Kangaroo,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 46, The Monument,
91.2 x 121.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
93'
Plate 47, Main Street,
91.5 x 122.0
cm, oil on composition board,
signed lower right 'Carry Shead
92'
Plate 48, Apotheosis ofD.H.
Lawrence, 91.2 x 122.0 cm, oil on composition board, signed
lower left 'Carry Shead 92'
All images in this site are at the courtesy of the
artist.
Etching House specialise in Limited Edition Works on
Paper by Australia's iconic and awarded artists - Etching house for over
a decade has educated thousands of people in the fine art of collecting Etchings
and limited edition works on paper, Etching House has been the single largest promoter
of Etchings and the education of what Etchings are today, a lost tradition that
has been around since the 14th century.
Masters like Norman Lindsay, Lionel Lindsay are 2
iconic Australian Fine art Etching makers, Norman and Lionel Lindsay have one
of the largest range of Etchings "works on paper" ever made in this country.
In later years the true masters have been followed by
the likes of Garry Shead Archibald & Dobell Prize winner, Jeffrey Smart represented
by major galleries and in major collections,
Tim Storrier AM Archibald Prize winner, Tim is also represented
by major galleries and in major collections,
John Olsen represented by major galleries and in
major collections,
Margaret Olley AC, AO, represented by major galleries
and in major collections,
David Boyd, represented by major galleries and in
major collections,
Fred cress AM, Archibald Prize & People's Choice Award Winner,
Ray Crooke AM,
Jason Benjamin Archibald, Packers Prize and Mosman
Art Prize winner,
Jasper Knight Archibald Finalist and Mosman Art Prize
winner,
Charles Blackman OBE represented by major galleries and
in major collections,
Craig Ruddy Archibald Prize & People's Choice award winner,
Limited Edition Works on Paper are well known in today's
Fine Art World. They are more affordable than original artworks, hand finished
and signed by the artist, collectable and have in some cases has shown a
considerable increase in value.
All images in this site are at the courtesy of the artist.
A complete Garry Shead D.H.Lawrence reference collection is available at Etching House
