"This is what every art historian dreams of finding in their lifetime and they never do. Here he is." How art valuer Elizabeth Arthur discovered a brilliant, obsessive mind.
A fascinating story and the art looks amazing. The exhibit is on at Hamilton Art Gallery until 29 October.
It’s the late 1980s and inside a derelict farmhouse on the outskirts of Mount Gambier in South Australia, a reclusive, retired high school maths teacher begins constructing exquisite wooden boxes, each unique, their organic forms determined by the chunk of wood they came from.
A solitary man with a brilliant mind, in retirement Martiensen retreats into the farmhouse he was raised in and begins working at a frenzied pace.
His sister, left to deal with her brother’s deceased estate, thinks Martiensen’s paintings are rubbish and immediately makes moves to get rid of them.
Days after his death in 2007, the extraordinary discovery of Martiensen’s artworks came across the desk of Elizabeth Arthur, a psychotherapist and art valuer who lives just across the state border, in Hamilton, Victoria.
Since then, she has spent many years studying, sorting and cataloguing Martiensen’s works, interviewing his friends and family and eventually published a book about him in 2020.
As a psychotherapist, Dr Arthur has taken a deep interest in the unique and brilliant mind of Martiensen, but as an art valuer she said it was also clear that he had a masterful hand.
The original article contains 1,080 words, the summary contains 176 words. Saved 84%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
It’s the late 1980s and inside a derelict farmhouse on the outskirts of Mount Gambier in South Australia, a reclusive, retired high school maths teacher begins constructing exquisite wooden boxes, each unique, their organic forms determined by the chunk of wood they came from.
A solitary man with a brilliant mind, in retirement Martiensen retreats into the farmhouse he was raised in and begins working at a frenzied pace.
His sister, left to deal with her brother’s deceased estate, thinks Martiensen’s paintings are rubbish and immediately makes moves to get rid of them.
Days after his death in 2007, the extraordinary discovery of Martiensen’s artworks came across the desk of Elizabeth Arthur, a psychotherapist and art valuer who lives just across the state border, in Hamilton, Victoria.
Since then, she has spent many years studying, sorting and cataloguing Martiensen’s works, interviewing his friends and family and eventually published a book about him in 2020.
As a psychotherapist, Dr Arthur has taken a deep interest in the unique and brilliant mind of Martiensen, but as an art valuer she said it was also clear that he had a masterful hand.
The original article contains 1,080 words, the summary contains 176 words. Saved 84%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!