A von Guerard painting ‘Mount Arapiles towards the Grampians’ turned up in Scotland, and made its way back to Australia to sell for $220,000 at auction to an undisclosed Sydney buyer.
The 1870 painting had not been on public view for 152 years before it was sold.
An image of a second painting The Mitre Rock and Lake from Mount Arapiles featured in the book Arapiles: A Million Mountains, authored by Natimuk resident and rock-climbing expert Keith Lockwood.
“In the past few weeks, this second Eugene von Guerard painting has also turned up in England, and is now on its way back to Australia, to be documented and sold,” Mr Lockwood said.
“It’ll probably go for a lot of money, so if there are any rich benefactors out there, I’d love to hear from them.”
Mr Lockwood said he was contacted by von Guerard art expert Ruth Pullen who asked him to locate the site of the painting.
He said the image in his book had been reproduced with the permission of former Horsham Regional Art Gallery curator Trevor Smith. “So it’ll be wonderful to see the real original and see how much it’s going to sell for,” Mr Lockwood said.
“It is also further enshrining or embellishing the important heritage that exists at Mount Arapiles.
“It’s exciting, and it shows what a wonderful place Mount Arapiles is and has been for many, many, many years for all sorts of cultures.”
Mr Lockwood said the painting depicted The Pharos – a standalone pinnacle named after a rocky crest in Alexandria, Egypt – and Tiptoe Ridge pinnacle, with the Little Desert, Mitre Salt Lake and Mitre Rock in the background.
He said anyone who wanted to capture the same view could drive to Arapiles and park at Bluff car park, before walking southeast for about 100 metres along a trail that leads to an outlook as shown in the von Guerard painting.
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