Danila Vassilieff Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Danila Vassilieff Art Value Price Guide

Feb. 21, 2025
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958) Russian - Australian
Est: €10,000 - €15,000
Danila Ivanovich VASSILIEFF (1897 Rostov on Don - 1958 Melbourne) ; Fiancee on her wedding ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 75 x 50 cm (29 1/2 x 19 2/3 in.) ; frame size 87 x 62 cm (34 1/4 x 24 1/2 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $650 , National post with tracking service $450 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $520 , National post with tracking service $380
Art-Torg
Aug. 21, 2024
DANILA VASSILIEFF 1897-1958 Children with Bicycle, Fitzroy (1949) oil on board 41.5 x 49.5 cm
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF 1897-1958 Children with Bicycle, Fitzroy (1949) oil on board signed ‘Vassilieff' lower right 41.5 x 49.5 cm PROVENANCE Danila Vassilieff, Melbourne Dr and Mrs Clem Christensen, Melbourne, acquired from the above Private Collection, Queensland, by descent from the above Important Australian Art, Sotheby's Australia, Melbourne, 27 August 2007, lot 39, illustrated Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above LITERATURE Felicity St John Moore, Vassilieff and His Art, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, cat. no. P278 Felicity St John Moore, Vassilieff and His Art (rev. ed.), Macmillan, Melbourne, 2012, cat. no. 356
Smith & Singer
Aug. 08, 2024
DANILA VASSILIEFF, PORTRAIT OF MICK AND MAIDA 1940,
Est: $2,000 - $4,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF, PORTRAIT OF MICK AND MAIDA 1940, WATERCOLOUR AND GOUACHE ON PAPER, SIGNED LOWER LEFT, 28 X 39.5CM, FRAME SIZE: 48.5 X 59.5CM
Leonard Joel
Jun. 28, 2024
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958) Russian - Australian
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Danila Ivanovich VASSILIEFF (1897 Rostov on Don - 1958 Melbourne) ; Fiancee on her wedding ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 75 x 50 cm (29 1/2 x 19 2/3 in.) ; frame size 87 x 62 cm (34 1/4 x 24 1/2 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $650 , National post with tracking service $450 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $520 , National post with tracking service $380
Art-Torg
Jun. 25, 2024
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) The Marriage c.1953 oil on composition board 89.5 x 120cm
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) The Marriage c.1953 oil on composition board signed lower left: Vassilieff 89.5 x 120cm PROVENANCE: Sotheby's, Melbourne, 25 August 1997, lot 233 Private collection, Perth LITERATURE: St John Moore, F., Vassilieff and His Art, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, cat. no. 301, illus. p. 159
Leonard Joel
May. 26, 2024
VASSILIEFF Danila (1897-1958), '[Person] in the Street (Glimpses in Wartime)' 1943/4., W/Clr & Gouache, 22.5x16.5cm
Est: $350 - $450
VASSILIEFF, Danila (1897-1958) '[Person] in the Street (Glimpses in Wartime)' 1943/4. No signature visible. Remnants of old label verso. W/Clr & Gouache 22.5x16.5cm
Davidson Auctions
May. 26, 2024
VASSILIEFF Danila (1897-1958), 'Street Urchin (Glimpses in Wartime)' 1943/4., W/Clr & Gouache, 22.5x18.5cm
Est: $350 - $450
VASSILIEFF, Danila (1897-1958) 'Street Urchin (Glimpses in Wartime)' 1943/4. No signature visible. Old label verso and exhibition number 85. W/Clr & Gouache 22.5x18.5cm
Davidson Auctions
Apr. 18, 2024
§ DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) College Street, Sydney 1937 oil on board in hand-made and painted frame 23 x 30cm
Est: $2,800 - $4,800
§ DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) College Street, Sydney 1937 oil on board in hand-made and painted frame signed lower left: Vassilieff 23 x 30cm PROVENANCE: Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 7 November 1975, lot 828 Private collection, Melbourne Menzies, Melbourne, 20 March 2014, lot 5 Private collection, Melbourne LITERATURE: Moore, F. St. J., Vassilieff and his Art, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, p.143, cat. no. 43 Moore, F. St. J., Vassilieff and his Art, MacMillan Publishers, Melbourne, 2012, p.198, cat. no. 76
Leonard Joel
Apr. 11, 2024
§ DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) College Street, Sydney 1937 oil on board in hand-made and painted frame 23 x 30cm
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
§ DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) College Street, Sydney 1937 oil on board in hand-made and painted frame signed lower left: Vassilieff 23 x 30cm PROVENANCE: Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 7 November 1975, lot 828 Private collection, Melbourne Menzies, Melbourne, 20 March 2014, lot 5 Private collection, Melbourne LITERATURE: Moore, F. St. J., Vassilieff and his Art, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, p.143, cat. no. 43 Moore, F. St. J., Vassilieff and his Art, MacMillan Publishers, Melbourne, 2012, p.198, cat. no. 76
Leonard Joel
Mar. 27, 2024
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958), Streetscene with Rotunda 1937
Est: $28,000 - $35,000
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, MELBOURNE DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Streetscene with Rotunda 1937 oil on board 37.5 x 44.5 cm; 54.0 x 60.0 cm (framed) signed lower right: Vassilieff
Menzies
Mar. 19, 2024
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Surry Hills oil on canvas laid on board 59 x 43.5cm
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Surry Hills oil on canvas laid on board signed lower right: Vassilieff signed and titled verso 59 x 43.5cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, United States of America Christie's, Sydney, 28 August 2001, lot 98 Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITIONS: Special Exhibitions of Contemporary Art, British and Continental Artists, National Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 10 October - 31 December 1938 (label verso)
Leonard Joel
Mar. 19, 2024
§ DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) College Street, Sydney 1937 oil on board in hand-made and painted frame 23 x 30cm
Est: $5,000 - $8,000
§ DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) College Street, Sydney 1937 oil on board in hand-made and painted frame signed lower left: Vassilieff 23 x 30cm PROVENANCE: Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 7 November 1975, lot 828 Private collection, Melbourne Menzies, Melbourne, 20 March 2014, lot 5 Private collection, Melbourne LITERATURE: Moore, F. St. J., Vassilieff and his Art, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, p.143, cat. no. 43 Moore, F. St. J., Vassilieff and his Art, MacMillan Publishers, Melbourne, 2012, p.198, cat. no. 76
Leonard Joel
Oct. 08, 2023
VASSILIEFF Danila (1897-1958), 'Deciding,' c.1945-46., W/Clr & Gouache, 33.5x30cm
Est: $500 - $700
VASSILIEFF, Danila (1897-1958) 'Deciding,' c.1945-46. Unsigned, but with old estate labels verso. W/Clr & Gouache 33.5x30cm
Davidson Auctions
Oct. 06, 2023
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958) Russian - Australian
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Danila Ivanovich VASSILIEFF (1897 Rostov on Don - 1958 Melbourne) ; Fiancee on her wedding ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 75 x 50 cm (29 1/2 x 19 2/3 in.) ; frame size 87 x 62 cm (34 1/4 x 24 1/2 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $650 , National post with tracking service $450 / Shipping to EU, Middle Assia - DHL $520 , National post with tracking service $380
Art-Torg
Aug. 16, 2023
DANILA VASSILIEFF, STREET SCENE, CENTENNIAL PARK, 1936
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897 - 1958) STREET SCENE, CENTENNIAL PARK, 1936 oil on canvas 39.5 x 41.5 cm PROVENANCE Elizabeth Vassilieff Wolf, Melbourne Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne (as 'Sydney Street') Private collection, Melbourne Christie's, Melbourne, 24 November 1993, lot 207 (as ‘Street Scene’) Henry and Dinah Krongold, Melbourne The Estate of Paul Krongold, Melbourne EXHIBITED Spring Exhibition 1975 Recent Acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 14 – 30 October 1975, cat. 37 (as ‘Sydney Street’) LITERATURE St John Moore, F., Vassilieff and His Art, Macmillan, Melbourne, 2012, cat. 60, p. 197
Deutscher and Hackett
Jul. 13, 2023
DANILA VASSILIEFF, YOUNG BET, GOUACHE ON PAPER, TITLED VERSO, UNSIGNED, 37 X 29CM, FRAME SIZE: 55 X 47CM PROVENANCE: PANORAMA GALL...
Est: $400 - $600
DANILA VASSILIEFF, YOUNG BET, GOUACHE ON PAPER, TITLED VERSO, UNSIGNED, 37 X 29CM, FRAME SIZE: 55 X 47CM PROVENANCE: PANORAMA GALLERY (LABEL VERSO)
Leonard Joel
Jul. 13, 2023
§ DANILA VASSILIEFF, SYMPATHISING, GOUACHE ON PAPER, UNSIGNED, TITLED VERSO, 37 X 29CM, FRAME SIZE: 55 X 47CM PROVENANCE: MOSSGREE...
Est: $400 - $600
§ DANILA VASSILIEFF, SYMPATHISING, GOUACHE ON PAPER, UNSIGNED, TITLED VERSO, 37 X 29CM, FRAME SIZE: 55 X 47CM PROVENANCE: MOSSGREEN AUCTIONS, MELBOURNE 2012
Leonard Joel
Jun. 29, 2023
DANILA VASSILIEFF - FACTORY WORKER VIII - Watercolour
Est: $500 - $800
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) FACTORY WORKER VIII Watercolour 30 x 22cm Estimate $500/800 AUD
GFL Fine Art
Jun. 28, 2023
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958), Koornong Schoolgirl 1941
Est: $7,000 - $10,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Koornong Schoolgirl 1941 oil on canvas 45.0 x 38.0 cm signed upper right: Vassilieff (portrait of a man verso)
Menzies
Jun. 27, 2023
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Chinese Still Life c.1935 oil on board 34 x 43cm
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Chinese Still Life c.1935 oil on board titled verso 34 x 43cm PROVENANCE: The Estate of Elizabeth Vassilieff, New South Wales Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITIONS: Oil Paintings by Danila Vassilieff, The Macquarie Galleries, Sydney (probably) LITERATURE: St. John Moore, F. Vassilieff and His Art, Oxford University Press, London, 1982, p. 141 (as Still Life), cat. no. P24 Art in Australia, A Quarterly Journal, February edition 1936, p. 74 (illus.) OTHER NOTES: RELATED WORK: Trio, (monkeys, fruit and flowers) 1935, plywood, 45.5 x 51.4cm, The Collection of Mr and Mrs Alan Geddes (illus. in Vassilieff and his Art p.188)
Leonard Joel
Jun. 27, 2023
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Lisa Picking Plums 1947 oil on canvas 67 x 59cm
Est: $12,000 - $18,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Lisa Picking Plums 1947 oil on canvas titled and dated on unknown label verso 67 x 59cm PROVENANCE: The Estate of Elizabeth Vassilieff, New South Wales Private collection, Melbourne LITERATURE: St John Moore, F. Vassilieff and His Art, Oxford University Press, London, 1982, p. 154, cat. no. P227
Leonard Joel
Jun. 09, 2023
Danila VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Russian - Australian
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Danila Ivanovich VASSILIEFF (1897 Rostov on Don - 1958 Melbourne) ; The friends ; mid 20th century ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 45 x 56 cm (17 3/4 x 22 in.) ; frame size 50 x 61 cm (19 2/3 x 24 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $300 , National post with tracking service $155 / Shipping to EU, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $200 , National post with tracking service $85
Art-Torg
May. 23, 2023
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958)
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Strange Landscape gouache on paper
Shapiro Auctioneers
Apr. 23, 2023
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958) Girl of the Night, c.1944-45
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958) Girl of the Night, c.1944-45 signed lower right: 'VASSILIEFF' oil on composition board 58.0 x 48.0cm (22 13/16 x 18 7/8in).
Bonhams
Apr. 10, 2023
Danila Vassilieff
Est: $50 - $100
3 Art Catalogues for Danila Vassilieff: Vassilieff by Felicity St John Moore Heide Park and Art Gallery 1985; Sculpture Survey Mildura Arts Centre 1985 and Joseph Brown Gallery 1973; good condition with some marks
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
Mar. 21, 2023
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Blue Head c.1955 gouache on paper
Est: $3,000 - $4,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Blue Head c.1955 gouache on paper artist's name and title on Tolarno Galleries label verso 27.5 x 37cm PROVENANCE: Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne c.1980 (label verso) Private collection, Melbourne Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne 2016 (label verso) Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITIONS: Works on Paper, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne, 9 December 2014 - 7 March 2015, cat. no. 11 LITERATURE: St. John Moore, F., Vassilieff and His Art, Macmillan, Melbourne, 2012, p. 147 (related work)
Leonard Joel
Dec. 16, 2022
Danila Vassilieff
Est: $100 - $120
3 Art Catalogues for Danila Vassilieff: Vassilieff by Felicity St John Moore Heide Park and Art Gallery 1985; Sculpture Survey Mildura Arts Centre 1985 and Joseph Brown Gallery 1973; good condition with some marks
Sydney Rare Book Auctions
Dec. 01, 2022
DANILA VASSILIEFF, THE WEDDING, 1954
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897 - 1958) THE WEDDING, 1954 oil on canvas 91.5 x 61.0 cm signed lower right: Vassilieff PROVENANCE The collection of the artist A. G. Morant, Melbourne, 1958, a bequest of the artist Museum of Modern Art and Design, Melbourne, 1959 – 1980 A. G. Morant, Melbourne, returned, 1980 Sue Gough, Queensland, acquired in 1984 Private collection Sotheby's, Melbourne, 19 April 1994, lot 183 The Reg Grundy AC OBE and Joy Chambers–Grundy Collection (stamped and label attached verso) EXHIBITED Memorial exhibition of the Paintings and sculpture of Danila Vassilieff, Museum of Modern Art and Design, Melbourne, 9 June 1959 Vassilieff: A Retrospective exhibition of Paintings, Sculptures and Watercolours, Heide Park and Art Gallery, Melbourne, 11 August – 22 September 1985; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, cat. 40 LITERATURE St John Moore, F., Vassilieff and His Art, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, cat. p300, pp. 110 – 11, 113 (illus., dated ‘1952’), 158 St John Moore, F., Vassilieff: a retrospective exhibition of Paintings, Sculptures and Watercolours, Heide Park and Art Gallery, Melbourne, 1985, p. 27 Bojić, Z., Imaginary homelands: the art of Danila Vassilieff, Andrejević Endowment, Serbia, 2007, pl. 23, pp. 44, 131 St John Moore, F., Vassilieff and his art, Macmillan Art Publishing, Melbourne, 2012, cat. 379, pp. 130, 132, 133 (illus.), 210 ESSAY The son of a Cossack father and Ukrainian mother, Danila Vassilieff cut an exotic figure in 1930s Melbourne, where he arrived in mid-1937, having eloped from Sydney with his third wife. His liberated approach to art-making eschewed formal training and the necessity for fine materials, and his belief that the creative act was something immediate and physical as opposed to being driven by aesthetics and intellect, garnered him enthusiastic friends and followers, especially among the younger artists of the day.1 While some found his direct, expressive style and insistence on painting exactly what he saw as an assault on good artistic taste, others championed his approach. Writing in the Melbourne Herald, Basil Burdett declared, ‘[Vassilieff’s art] is as different from average Australian painting as chalk is from cheese, but it is the authentic vision of a man of sensibility and power whose vivid sense of life must out, like murder.’2 Vassilieff was a notorious womaniser, ruggedly handsome, charismatic and confident in his charm and appeal. When, in 1947, Elizabeth Hamill offered to buy ‘Stonygrad’, the house he had built in Warrandyte using local, hand-quarried stone, Vassilieff was instantly attracted and famously chased her around the table, saying, ‘You buy the house, you buy me. You have me and the house for the same price.’3 Remarkably, Hamill took up the impromptu offer and the pair were married the following month. The artist’s passion for his new wife is reflected in an extended series of expressive, boldly coloured oil paintings he produced that year which focus on her face, recording her fine features and fair hair.4 It was also at this time that Vassilieff began to carve stone sculptures, taking naturally to the new technique, and making the most of the textural and colour variations offered by his material. Striking in scale, The Wedding, 1954 is part of a series of thematically-linked paintings which, as Felicity St John Moore describes, reflects Vassilieff’s state of being in the face of the impending breakdown of his relationship with Elizabeth.5 Unlike earlier paintings where he draws with the paintbrush, leaving much of the white ground exposed, here the panel is completely covered with paint. Strong colour is laid down in decisive and heavily textured brushstrokes, conveying both the physicality and psychologically-driven energy of his approach. The emotion of the moment is visible in the face of the groom and his figure dominates the scene, looming above the diminutive bride, who wears a long yellow gown and white veil, her gloved hand holding a posy of red and white flowers. Vassilieff moved between the depiction of more realistic imagery and a distinctive, immediately recognisable style of expressionism during these years, and it is in works such as The Wedding that the absolute originality of his vision and the power of its expression are most fully communicated. 1. See St. John Moore, F., Vassilieff and His Art, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, p. 42 2. Burdett, Basil, Herald, Melbourne, 16 September 1937, cited in St John Moore, F., Vassilieff and His Art, Macmillan, Melbourne, 2012, p. 46 3. Vassilieff cited in St John Moore, 2012, ibid., p. 91 4. Eight of these portraits are in the Rosenblatt Family Collection, Melbourne: see Miekus, Tiarney, ‘Artist Danila Vassilieff was selling his house. There was just one catch’, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 August 2020, accessed online, 17 October 2022 5. St John Moore, 2012, op. cit., p. 130 KIRSTY GRANT
Deutscher and Hackett
Nov. 30, 2022
DANILA VASSILIEFF Australia, 1897-1958 - Bathing and Dressing circa 1944 signed watercolour
Est: $800 - $1,200
DANILA VASSILIEFF Australia, 1897-1958 Bathing and Dressing circa 1944 watercolour 30 x 24cm signed
Lawsons
Nov. 29, 2022
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958) Coconut Grove, 1933
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958) Coconut Grove, 1933 signed and dated lower right: 'D. VASSILIEFF / 1933' oil on canvas on board 29.0 x 39.5cm (11 7/16 x 15 9/16in).
Bonhams
Nov. 29, 2022
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958) Gossip, 1933
Est: $5,000 - $8,000
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958) Gossip, 1933 initialled and dated lower right: 'D.I.V./H-1933' oil on canvas on board 35.5 x 43.0cm (14 x 16 15/16in).
Bonhams
Oct. 25, 2022
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Camp Followers 1942 oil on board
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Camp Followers 1942 oil on board artist's name, title and date inscribed on gallery label verso 44.5 x 60cm PROVENANCE: The Estate of the Late Elizabeth Vassilieff, New South Wales Macquarie Galleries, Sydney (label verso) Leonard Joel, Sydney, 25 July 2010, lot 11 Eastgate and Holst, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne
Leonard Joel
Oct. 25, 2022
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Fitzroy Street Scene c.1938 oil on plywood panel
Est: $22,000 - $28,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Fitzroy Street Scene c.1938 oil on plywood panel signed lower left: Vassilieff 45 x 54.5cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, Melbourne c.1950s Thence by descent OTHER NOTES: During the 1930s a stronger awareness of modern art developments began to emerge in Australia. Danila Vassilieff was well acquainted with figurative expressionism and other modernist trends, absorbing them naturally throughout his extensive travels. While many artists of this period made Australians conscious of our great country towns, Danila Vassilieff was one of the first to look for human scenes in more metropolitan areas. Returning to Australia in 1935 after years abroad, Vassilieff settled briefly in Fitzroy, Melbourne. Regularly painting the everyday life on the impoverished streets of this inner-city suburb, he recorded children playing in the streets, dogs running down a cobbled laneway and ladies chatting on a street corner. With the application of a subdued palette, from the pale blue sky to the golden tones of the workers' cottage bricks, Vassilieff invites the viewer to look down the street towards what is seemingly the Fitzroy Town Hall peering over the roofs in the distance, viewed from Moor Street. The architectural detail of the buildings and cottages owes something to Vassilieff's skills as a draftsman and engineer, while his delicate handling of the brush and deep tonal understanding reveal a talented hand with a strong understanding of the social realism of the day. Lucy Foster Senior Specialist, Fine Art
Leonard Joel
Oct. 14, 2022
Danila VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Russian - Australian
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Danila Ivanovich VASSILIEFF (1897 Rostov on Don - 1958 Melbourne) ; The friends ; mid 20th century ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 45 x 56 cm (17 3/4 x 22 in.) ; frame size 50 x 61 cm (19 2/3 x 24 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $300 , National post with tracking service $155 / Shipping to EU, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $200 , National post with tracking service $85
Art-Torg
Sep. 13, 2022
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958)
Est: $3,500 - $4,500
The School Play, c. 1949 oil on board, signed l.l.c. 'Vassilieff'
Shapiro Auctioneers
Sep. 13, 2022
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958)
Est: $3,500 - $4,500
The Bride, 1950 oil on board, signed l.r.c. 'Vassilieff'
Shapiro Auctioneers
Sep. 06, 2022
DANILA IVANOVITCH VASSILIEFF (Australia 1897-1958), 'Koornong School Teacher', circa 1938, oil on board, 44 x 36 cm, framed 58 x 49..
Est: $400 - $600
DANILA IVANOVITCH VASSILIEFF (Australia 1897-1958), 'Koornong School Teacher', circa 1938, oil on board, 44 x 36 cm, framed 58 x 49 cm. In original gilt frame. Provenance: from Elizabeth Vassilieff to Stuart Littlemore. Notes verso.
Raffan Kelaher & Thomas
Sep. 06, 2022
DANILA IVANOVICH VASSILIEFF (Australia 1897-1958), 'The Oracle', (Portrait of ABC radio personality, the Late Frank Rowan Esq. of Wa.
Est: $400 - $600
DANILA IVANOVICH VASSILIEFF (Australia 1897-1958), 'The Oracle', (Portrait of ABC radio personality, the Late Frank Rowan Esq. of Warrandyte), oil on canvas, circa 1941-1942, initialled upper right, 52.5 x 48 cm, framed 64 x 58 cm. In original fame. Provenance: exhibited Maquarie Gallery, Sydney 1978. From Elizabeth Vassilieff to Stuart Littlemore. Handwritten otes verso.
Raffan Kelaher & Thomas
Jul. 27, 2022
DANILA VASSILIEFF, CATTLE IN LANDSCAPE, C.1938
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897 - 1958) CATTLE IN LANDSCAPE, c.1938 oil on plywood 31.5 x 41.5 cm signed lower left: Vassilieff PROVENANCE Private collection Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne Private collection, acquired from the above in 1979 Deutscher~Menzies, Melbourne, 1 May 2002, lot 95A The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, Melbourne, acquired from the above EXHIBITED Spring Exhibition 1979, Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne, 17 – 30 October 1979, cat. 128 Edge of Silence, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Victoria, 2010 - 2011 LITERATURE St John Moore, F., Vassilieff and his Art, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, cat. p122, p. 148 Nainby, B., Stanhope, Z., and Furlonger, K., The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, in association with Latrobe Regional Gallery, Melbourne, 2009, p. 236
Deutscher and Hackett
Jul. 27, 2022
DANILA VASSILIEFF, EAST MELBOURNE HILLSIDE, STEEP STREET, C.1930S
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897 - 1958) EAST MELBOURNE HILLSIDE, STEEP STREET, c.1930s oil on canvas 35.0 x 49.0 cm signed lower left: Vassilieff PROVENANCE Private collection, a gift from the artist in 1945 Sotheby’s, Sydney, 14 August 1990, lot 208 Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, Melbourne, acquired from the above on 20 August 1990 EXHIBITED on long term loan to Gippsland Art Gallery, Victoria LITERATURE Nainby, B., Stanhope, Z., and Furlonger, K., The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, in association with Latrobe Regional Gallery, Melbourne, 2009, pp. 61 (illus.), 236 ESSAY Born in South Russia in 1897 – the son of a Cossack father and Ukrainian mother – Danila Vassilieff cut an exotic figure in 1930s Melbourne. His liberated approach to art eschewed formal training and theory, and his belief that the creative act was something direct and physical, as opposed to being driven by aesthetics and intellect, garnered him enthusiastic friends and followers.1 Young artists including Albert Tucker, who described him as the ‘father figure for his generation’, valued his experience and example as a painter who refused to be constrained by rules and tradition.2 Although Vassilieff’s paintings had their detractors, others regarded them highly, celebrating their vitality and raw expressive power. Writing in response to Vassilieff’s 1938 exhibition at Riddell Galleries, Melbourne, Herald art critic Basil Burdett had a bet each way, acknowledging that ‘His technical shortcomings may outnumber the sores of Lazarus but his pictures are alive.’3 Vance Palmer, who contributed an introduction to the exhibition catalogue, was less ambivalent, declaring: ‘Each of these pictures burns with a strange intensity. Each gives out an excitement from its core, quickening the eyesight and the imagination… The answer I think must lie in the artist himself. The secret passion that has been put into the work, by whatever technical method, comes out again to affect the beholder. Vassilieff has been profoundly moved by life – the commonplace life of back street and country hillside – and so he has the power to move us, too. Perhaps that is the only valid reason why men should either paint or write.’4 Vassilieff painted a range of subjects but is arguably best known for his images of street life which, viewed from our twenty-first century perspective, provide a fascinating and nostalgic glimpse into the past. Whether he depicts children playing, as in Fitzroy Street Scene, 1937 (Art Gallery of New South Wales), or people posing for a commercial street photographer, as in Smith Street, c.1939 (National Gallery of Australia), Vassilieff captures his working-class subjects directly, with honesty and a palpable sense of empathy. He frequently painted in Fitzroy, Collingwood and East Melbourne, where, as his partner noted at the time, ‘He does not need to go searching for subjects… he often has a chat with the children of the neighbourhood and paints them’.5 The primary focus of this painting is the buildings, single and double-story Victorian terrace houses with their distinctive bluestone foundations, built cheek by jowl along the steep East Melbourne street. Forms are outlined in black paint and the palette is muted and earthy, but Vassilieff’s technique of painting on a white ground in a series of rapid, sketchy strokes – almost like drawing with a paint brush – as well as leaving areas of the ground exposed, imparts a liveliness and sense of luminosity to the image. Basil Burdett perhaps best summed up these street scenes, writing that ‘[Vassilieff’s] pictures of Fitzroy and Surry Hills are almost as racily Australian as an epic of urban life by C. J. Dennis…[his] is the authentic vision of a man of sensibility and power’.6 1. See St. John Moore, F., Vassilieff and His Art, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, p. 42 2. Albert Tucker quoted in Uhl, C., Albert Tucker, Lansdowne Press, Melbourne, 1969, p. 14 3. Burdett, B., ‘Is Australian Art so Dull, After All?’, Herald, Melbourne, 17 October 1938, p. 11 4. Palmer, V., Introduction to Catalogue, Riddell Galleries, October 1938 quoted in St. John Moore, op.cit., pp.46-47 5. Helen MacDonald, quoted in Herald, Melbourne, 23 February 1938 quoted in St. John Moore, op. cit., p. 43 6. Burdett, B., Herald, Melbourne, 16 September 1937 quoted in St. John Moore, op. cit., p.40 KIRSTY GRANT
Deutscher and Hackett
May. 22, 2022
VASSILIEFF Danila (1897-1958), 'At the Bath,' 1943-44., W/Clr & Gouache, 32x24cm
Est: $250 - $500
VASSILIEFF, Danila (1897-1958) 'At the Bath,' 1943-44. From the series 'Intimate Glimpses/Scenes and Intimacy/Bathing & Dressing.' No signature apparent - various labels verso. Provenance: Elizabeth Vassilieff; private collection (gift from Elizabeth Vassilieff). W/Clr & Gouache 32x24cm
Davidson Auctions
May. 22, 2022
VASSILIEFF Danila (1897-1958), 'Koornong School Pupil II,' 1944/5., Gouache, 29x27.5cm
Est: $300 - $600
VASSILIEFF, Danila (1897-1958) 'Koornong School Pupil II,' 1944/5. No signature apparent - various labels verso. Provenance: Elizabeth Vassilieff; private collection (gift from Elizabeth Vassilieff). Gouache 29x27.5cm
Davidson Auctions
May. 22, 2022
VASSILIEFF Danila (1897-1958), 'Girl on a Doorstep,' 1941., W/Clr & Gouache, 34x23.5cm
Est: $450 - $750
VASSILIEFF, Danila (1897-1958) 'Girl on a Doorstep,' 1941. From the series 'Melbourne Wartime, Glimpses in the Street. No signature apparent - various labels verso. Provenance: Elizabeth Vassilieff; private collection (gift from Elizabeth Vassilieff). W/Clr & Gouache 34x23.5cm
Davidson Auctions
May. 22, 2022
VASSILIEFF Danila (1897-1958), 'Artist's Cottage', Oil on Board, 29.5x36cm
Est: $800 - $1,500
VASSILIEFF, Danila (1897-1958) 'Artist's Cottage' Pencil signature verso. Oil on Board 29.5x36cm
Davidson Auctions
Apr. 12, 2022
DANILA VASSILIEFF 1897-1958 My Portrait oil on composition board
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF 1897-1958 My Portrait oil on composition board signed 'Vassilieff' lower left; signed and inscribed 'VASSILIEFF / "MY PORTRATE [sic]"' verso 51 x 61 cm PROVENANCE Danila Vassilieff, Melbourne Argus Gallery, Melbourne Harry Oviss, Melbourne, acquired from the above on 11 August 1965 for £26.5.0 The Estate of the Late Harry Oviss, Melbourne
Smith & Singer
Mar. 31, 2022
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958), Woronora 1937
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
DANILA VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Woronora 1937 oil on canvas on board 42.0 x 50.0 cm
Menzies
Mar. 30, 2022
Danila Vassilieff (1897-1958)
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Untitled watercolour on paper
Shapiro Auctioneers
Feb. 11, 2022
Danila VASSILIEFF (1897-1958) Russian - Australian
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Danila Ivanovich VASSILIEFF (1897 Rostov on Don - 1958 Melbourne) ; The friends ; mid 20th century ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 45 x 56 cm (17 3/4 x 22 in.) ; frame size 50 x 61 cm (19 2/3 x 24 in.) ; signed lower right corner ; Shipping to USA - DHL $300 , National post with tracking service $155 / Shipping to EU, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $200 , National post with tracking service $85
Art-Torg