Item #CL179-21 Bust Of Prime Minister Ben Chifley. Kenneth Palmer, Aust.
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Bust Of Prime Minister Ben Chifley

1946/2015. Bronze, stamped “cire perdue [lost wax], Meridian Melbourne”, signed and editioned 4/7 on base lower right, 47 x 32 x 27.5cm.

Ben Chifley was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949.

“As a returned serviceman completing his fine art and graphic diploma at the Ballarat School of Mines, he [Palmer] was commissioned to sculpt the Prime Minister, Ben Chifley. Having previously modelled the bust from photographs, the young artist was given a sitting of 45 minutes… on September 12, 1946, by a tired Prime Minister on a general election campaign. Chifley, without his pipe, laconically commented to the sculptor: ‘You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.’” Ref: Obituary by Sheridan Palmer, daughter of artist, The Age, 31.1.2001.

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Item #CL179-21

Price (AUD): $12,500.00  other currencies

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