Front line auction

By Kath Gannaway
KEN McFadyen viewed the Vietnam War from a unique perspective. Appointed as the official war artist by the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, he spent 10 months in Vietnam.
“He painted with a rifle in one hand and a paintbrush in the other,” his daughter, Millgrove resident Lisa McFadyen, said.
“He was a fully trained combat soldier who did his training so he would not be a burden on his platoon.”
Mr McFadyen died in 1998, just a year after he returned to live in Millgrove where he had spent his childhood.
On Sunday, 26 March, 36 pieces of Mr McFadyen’s works, including some of the Australian Forces Vietnam Series 1967 and 1968, will be auctioned by Victoria House Auctions in Wandin.
In all, 250 paintings will be auctioned, including works by Pro Hart, Max Middleton, Sidney Nolan, A. M. Boyd, Hugh Sawry and other notable Australian artists.
The McFadyen paintings are among a collection left by the artist to his daughters, Lisa and Jenny, who have now decided to sell some pieces.
Lisa said many of her father’s works were purchased by the Australian War Memorial but some were not what the world wanted to see when her father returned from Vietnam and they remained in his collection.
She said parting with the works was not an easy decision.
“At the moment, they are not being displayed. I would like to see them being loved and cared for by someone who appreciates them, not tucked away in a back room,” she said.
The auction is a coup for Victoria House and for the owner and auctioneer Gary Latham, who said a conservative estimate on the artworks was in the vicinity of $500,000 and predicted some surprises on the day.
“There are unsigned works, some dating back over 100 years with signatures we can’t make out and we have just had an Albert Tucker worth about $30,000 come in with an Eric Wilson worth about $50,000.”
Preparing for the auction last week, Mr Latham said it was by far the most exciting thing that has happened in his 20-year career as an auctioneer.
“I haven’t slept for two weeks,” he said. “This is an auction which could have gone to Christies or Sotheby’s and it is very rewarding that they have entrusted this one to us.”
The auction will take place at Victoria House Auctions, 11 Union Road, Wandin, at noon on Sunday, 26 March.