The 56 lots come from the collection of John Schaeffer and will be offered in Sydney on April 29.
Schaeffer has built and re‐built his collection of predominantly high Victoria art over many decades.
A sale of his collection was held in London in the early 2000s - including works bought against stiff competition from UK collectors Andrew Lloyd Webber and Isabel Goldsmith. This month’s offering, with an estimate of Aus$3.3m-4.4m, features works by American, Belgium, British, Dutch, French, and Italian artists of the mid to late 19th centuries.
Both a rare large-size 1934 cast of Sir Alfred Gilbert’s bronze 'Perseus Arming' (1882) and a version of Frederic, Lord Leighton’s 'An Athlete Wrestling with a Python' (1877) are estimated at Aus$180,000-220,000 each.
Edward John Poynter’s 1887 oil in spectacular neoclassical gilt frame 'A Corner of a Marketplace' (pictured), depicting female models in a classical setting is the potential best-seller at Aus$450,000-650,000.
John Schaeffer was born in Amsterdam and migrated to Australia in the 1950s, later buying a cleaning company that became one of the top 20 companies in Australia. His initial art collecting focused predominantly on Australian art. It was however a visit to the exhibition The Pre‐Raphaelites at the Tate Gallery in 1984 that represented what he called “a defining and life‐altering moment.”
