Fred Jessup
Curious King
Oil on cardboard
Verso in pencil : “Curious King” /Fred Jessup/Macquarie Galleries
33.5
x 26.0
cm
$3200 including GST
Provenance:
Provenance: Macquarie Galleries; Sotheby's, Melbourne, 22/04/1991, Lot No. 168; Bonham’s and Goodman’s, Sydney, 19/7/2009, lot 51, illustrated on cover.
There is a 54-minute documentary on DVD on the artist by Tom Donnellan which includes the following cover notes: ‘Frederick Arthur Jessup [ b. 1920 Talbot, Victoria, Australia - d. 2007 South of France ]. Fred, when he completed his art studies in Sydney, following service in the Australian Forces in WW2, spent most of his artistic life in France. He visited many countries in search of inspiration including his homeland, Australia. He lived the precarious life of an artist well-versed in the disciplines of costume design, graphic art, print making and pottery. For many years he produced paintings exclusively for the Wally Findlay Galleries International. He worked up to his final days in his rural retreat in the South of France on singular commissions or creations of his muse. In his eighty-fourth year he was still feverishly honing his art in his wonderful studio which was a time capsule spanning centuries. This inspirational documentary permits a view into the life of an artist dedicated to his craft despite his advancing years.’ The art studies referred to above were at the Dattilo Rubbo Art School. He as closely associated with Margaret Olley, Donald Friend, and David Strachan. Two of Jessup’s works, both dated 1962, are in the Art Gallery of NSW.