Carl Plate (1909-1977) was an prominent Australian modernist painter and collage artist born in Perth, Western Australia. He was the son of German born artist and writer Adolph Gustav Plate and the younger brother of artist Margo Lewers.[1]
While working in advertising, he studied part-time at the East Sydney Technical College, Sydney 1930-34. In 1935 Plate travelled to Europe via Cuba, Mexico and the USA. [2] Between 1935-40 he studied at Central School of Arts and Crafts under Bernard Meninsky and at St Martins School of Art under Vivian Pitchforth where he was influenced by Pitchforth’s ideas on ‘holistic composition’.[3] [4]While living in London he travelled extensively in Europe including Scandinavia and the USSR.
Returning from France in 1940, he established the Notanda Gallery in Rowe Street Sydney, as a contemporary art gallery,[5]and later book and print shop focussing on Modernism. Between 1940 and 1943 Plate curated many exhibitions at the Notanda Gallery including England Today: Exhibition of Modern British Art featuring 64 works by 34 artists including Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Paul Nash and Ben Nicholson, 20th Century Masters, a show of prints including Braque, Klee, Kokoschka, Redon, Dali and Modern French Art which included works by Braque, Miro and Picasso.[6][7][8]
In the 1940s and 50s Plate was a prominent board member and exhibitor of the NSW Branch of the Contemporary Art Society (Australia).[9][10]
Plate had 28 solo exhibitions in his lifetime.[11] He was the first Australian non-figurative artist to have solo exhibitions in London and New York, at the Leicester Galleries, 1959[12] and Knapik Gallery, 1962. [13][14]. He exhibited in numerous group exhibitions including Contemporary Australian Painting which toured the Pacific in 1956, Recent Australian Painting at the Whitechapel Gallery and Australian Contemporary Art at the São Paulo Biennial in 1961.[15] In 1967 he won the Aubusson Tapestry-Australian Wool Board Prize (dual), travelling to France to complete the tapestry design.[16]
Plate lived and worked most of his life in the Sydney suburb of Woronora. He also lived and worked in France for extended periods. He died at Woronora in 1977.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales presented a retrospective of his work Project 22, Carl Plate 1909-1977 in 1977. His collages and paintings are represented in many collections including the Australian National Gallery, Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Queensland Art Gallery, Reserve Bank of Australia, Artbank, Merz Collection USA, Cornell University Collection, Australian Embassy Washington and private collections in Argentina, Australia, France, New Zealand, Greece, UK and the USA.[17][
CARL OLAF PLATE (Australian 1909-77), untitled (White Abstract on Black), oil on canvas on board, signed and dated '65 lower right, 45 x 64 cm, framed 61 x 79 cm.
PLATE, Carl (1909-1977) 'Threaded Segments,' 1965-67. Signed lower right. Titled and inscribed verso. Mixed Media on Board 91x121cm PROVENANCE: Goodmans Auctioneers, Sydney, 23rd March 2003 (lot 48); private collection, Victoria.
CARL PLATE, ABSTRACT 1962, ACRYLIC ON CARDBOARD, SIGNED AND DATED LOWER RIGHT, 24 X 33CM, FRAME SIZE: 40 X 48.5CM PROVENANCE: LAWSON-MENZIES, SYDNEY 2005 PRIVATE COLLECTION, QUEENSLAND
CARL PLATE, ABSTRACT 1962, ACRYLIC ON CARDBOARD, SIGNED AND DATED LOWER RIGHT, 24 X 33CM, FRAME SIZE: 40 X 48.5CM PROVENANCE: LAWSON-MENZIES, SYDNEY 2005 PRIVATE COLLECTION, QUEENSLAND
PLATE, Carl (1909-1977) 'Quatuor' No signature apparent. Acrylic on Board 59.5x69cm PROVENANCE: Bonython Gallery, Sydney (label verso); David Jones Art Gallery, Sydney (label verso); private collection, Sydney; Christie's, Melbourne, 2nd May 2002 (lot 298)
Carl Knoll Carlsbad magnificent plate porcelain around 1900 polychrome on-glaze painting pressed mark on the bottom and stamped beehive in the center Cupid with stretched bow and seated Venus on the shore of a seascape framed by the cobalt blue border with rich gold decorations painting signed "K.Förstel" good condition d. 24 cm German Description Carl Knoll Karlsbad Prunkteller Porzellan um 1900 polychrome Aufglasurmalerei im Boden Pressmarke und gestempelter Bienenkorb im Spiegel Amor mit gespanntem Bogen und sitzender Venus am Ufer einer Seelandschaft umrahmt vom kobaltblauen Rand mit reichen Goldverzierungen Malerei signiert "K.Förstel" guter Zustand D. 24 cm
CARL PLATE, ABSTRACT 1956, GOUACHE ON PAPER, 27 X 36CM, FRAME SIZE: 48 X 56CM, CONDITION: VERY GOOD, NO MAJOR FAULTS, WELL FRAMED, LEONARD JOEL DELIVERY SIZE: SMALL
PLATE, Carl (1909-1977) 'Souvenir H [Mooring]' 1970 Ex Colin Lanceley estate, Leonard Joel, Sydney Nov 2015 (lot 140); Sotheby's Sydney Dec 1994 (lot 498) Acrylic on Canvas on Board 49x64cm
Autographed by one the most famous Red Sox of them all, Carl Yastrzemski. With career stats: " '77' ", "1976 AL MVP", "3149 Hits", "452 HR", "1844 RBI" and " HOF 1989" Purchased at Dick Gordons show in Boston. Artwork br John Giancaspro, signed
Carl Olaf Plate (1909-1977) Untitled c.1973 Mixed media & collage on magazine page 17.5 x 20.5 cm PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Sydney EXHIBITIONS: Carl Plate Collage 1938-1976, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre, 28 March-3 May 2009 Cat. no. 1072/73 illus.pp 81 Paintings & Collages, 1960s &1970s Cat. no. 19, July 2010, Damien Minton Gallery, original invoice included
CARL PLATE (1909-1977) Contradiction of Recovery 1960 PVA on board signed and dated lower right: Carl Plate '60 90 x 60cm LITERATURE: Art & Australia, vol.3 no.3, p.187
CARL PLATE , (1909 1977), GRAPH SEGMENTS NO.1, 1961, oil and collage on composition board SIGNED: signed and dated upper left: Carl Plate 61 bears inscription verso: CARL PLATE 700 GNS / Hungry Horse Art Gallery / GRAPH SEGMENTS / No 1 /31. / A7644 DIMENSIONS: 122.0 x 365.0 cm (overall) PROVENANCE: The Hungry Horse Gallery, Sydney Boynthon Gallery, Adelaide Mr David Wynn, Adelaide David Bremer collection, Melbourne Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 2 November 1988, lot 1396 Private collection, Sydney The Collection of Colin and Elizabeth Laverty, Sydney, acquired from the above in November 1988 EXHIBITED: Carl Plate, Some Paintings for New York, Terry Clune Galleries, Sydney, 25 October November 1961, cat. 1 Carl Plate, Knapik Gallery, New York, 24 April 12 May 1962, cat. 1 Survey 3, Farmers Blaxland Gallery, Sydney, June 1963 Australian Painting Today: For Exhibition in Australia and Europe 1963 1965, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 19 September 20 October 1963, cat. 60 (label attached verso); then touring to Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 7 November 8 December 1963; Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 9 January 9 February 1964; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 27 February 29 March 1964; National Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 16 April 17 May 1964; Western Australian Art Gallery, Perth, 4 June 5July 1964; then touring France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, cat no. 58 New Directions 1952 1962, Lewers Bequest and Penrith Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales, 16 August 29 September 1991, cat. 82 (illus. in exhibition catalogue) LITERATURE: Gleeson. J., Painting in Australia since 1945, Art and Australia, Sydney, vol. 1, no. 1, May 1963, p. 16 (illus.) Lynn, E., Carl Plate, Art and Australia, Sydney, vol. 7, no. 2, September 1969, p. 146 (illus. dated as 1960) ESSAY: The last time that I spoke to Col Laverty was at the Melbourne Art Fair in 2012. We talked one on one for about an hour. As was often the case, the conversation quickly turned to abstract art as he told me a story about a Michael Taylor painting he had recently purchased. The purchase had coincided with an unexpected improvement in Cols health and he enthusiastically credited this to the restorative power of abstract art. Col had a manner of talking about painting that was distinctive; maintaining direct eye contact and always softly spoken, he would gently nod his head at you as he spoke. This had a twofold effect for it reinforced the fact that he was telling you something you needed to know, and it also conveyed the feeling that he expected a response. Words were chosen carefully or nothing was said at all. Cols remarks on this occasion have stayed with me as a reminder of how rare a collector like Col Laverty is. His deeply felt belief in the importance of abstract art was second only to that of the artists who dedicated their lives to creating it. Michael Taylor, Tony Tuckson, Dick Watkins, Peter Upward, Richard Larter and Carl Plate were amongst his favourites. A special place was held for artists who had been ground breakers, those who had laid the ground work for others to follow. Colin Laverty himself was a ground breaker in his professional life the results of his work in pathology research continue to have an enormous impact around the world. Carl Plate falls into this category; he was the Pied Piper of the Sydney school of abstract painting, which is characterised by artists whose abstract works are deeply seeded in nature. Twenty years older than Olsen and Upward, the well-travelled student of International Modernism, Plate would have been a senior figure to a gaggle of younger abstract painters. Plates art book shop and gallery Notanda in Sydney, was central to the growth of the contemporary art movement in Sydney. It provided a venue for artists to exhibit and a place where the free exchange of ideas was encouraged. In an interview with Laurie Thomas in 1968, Plate remarked One is aware of a dimension which is non-visual, but you cant be too explicit about it to make something visually which doesn't relate specifically to anything visual but which exists in a timeless area. A thing which has been created as something to look at must somehow incorporate within itself all the concentrated experience which may or may not create a reaction in the person who looks at it. I would like to think that somewhere, somehow, in my pictures is something that people can respond to; but I'm humble enough to wonder whether they can.1 The major examples of Plates Graph Segments series are amongst his most important works. The Art Gallery of New South Wales holds Graph Segments, 1961; this work is closely related to the present work in every way. The gallery notes are as follows... Graph Segments, 1961, belongs to a group of paintings produced in the early 1960s notable for their large scale and dynamic application of mellow earth colours, and re-affirm his belief in the employment of randomness and chance in art as practiced by Surrealist artists Paul Klee and André Breton... The work of Carl Plate occupies a central, almost classical position between the liners and tonalists. Tone is the architectonic base of his work. Line is reduced largely to crisp edges which articulate a shallow space and maintain the surface tension across the pictorial structure. Colour is muted to greys, pale blues and olive greens, with an occasional warm accent. By this means Plate seeks to figure forth in plastic form his imitations of the non-visible. And in his work, as in that of Rose [William], the French heritage is notably present; behind him there stand such artists as Braque, the later Matisse, Hans Arp even, in his feeling for weight and placement, in the delicate confrontation and articulation of the elements of the compositions.2 Sydneys enduring tradition of lyrical abstract painting owes an enormous debt to the efforts of Carl Plate. The late William Rose, Peter Upward and Stan Rapotec are just a few past masters of the genre. Artists such as Michael Johnson, John Olsen and the younger Ildiko Kovacs continue to carry the flame through the generations. These artists and many more working today can trace their lineage back to the ground breaking exhibitions at Sydneys Hungry Horse Gallery and Gallery A. At both these historic venues Carl Plate presented his exhibitions to a wide eyed younger audience hungry for painterly innovation. 1. Carl Plate: works from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, accessed online 21 February 2017, 2. Smith, B., Australian Painting 1788 1970, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1962, p. 363 HENRY MULHOLLAND
![A Collection of Carl Plate Art Prints [12 alike]](https://stageimg.invaluable.com/housePhotos/theodorebruceauctions/93/706193/H3561-L261776794.JPG)
![PLATE Carl (1909-1977), 'Souvenir H [Mooring]' 1970, Acrylic on Canvas on Board, 49x64cm](https://stageimg.invaluable.com/housePhotos/davidson/34/649434/H3427-L178185285.jpg)
