Every year, modernist Eric Thake would send his friends a hand-made Christmas card. Original linocut prints, these cards have since become canonical, each observing a changing nation through one its most distinct voices. They also speak to Thake’s innerworld, with this particular work coming from the collection of his friend, revered writer and curator Ursula Hoff.

‘Comparisons’ is a comment on the art world. It pictures a gallery visitor looking at an Easter Island statue while a Melanesian figure admires the latest model Volkswagen. Cryptic but telling, ‘Comparison’ satirises both the museum and act of looking, urging us to consider what compels us to marvel at certain artefacts.

Represented across numerous public collections, including at the National Gallery of Australia, ‘Comparisons is a museum-quality work. It speaks to Thake’s remarkable vision, Australian modernism and the friendship between an artist and scholar. With strikingly excellent provenance, it is a prize for collectors of modernist art.

Eric THAKE (1904 - 1982)
'Comparisons' 1957
linocut on paper
Image Size: 21 x 15 cm
Dimensions: 21 x 30 cm overall sheet size, scored to fold
Signed: Signed and dated lower right: Eric Thake 1957; titled lower left: “Comparisons”. Inscribed reverse sheet, ink: With Best Wishes / for Xmas + 1958 / Eric and Grace Thake
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Impressions of this work are represented at the:
Art Gallery of New South Wales, accession number: DA33.1967;
Art Gallery of Western Australia, accession number: 1971/0Q19; and
National Gallery of Australia, accession number: 73.257.17

Condition: Excellent

© The Artist or Assignee