HANKE, Henry (1901-1989) 'Gili Gili Wharf, Milne Bay, New Guinea,' circa 1943. Provenance: Estate late Ivy Shore; thence by descent. Oil on Canvas on Board 30x44cm
OTHER NOTES: This painting by official war artist and Archibald Prize winning artist Henry Hanke was completed just a few months after Australian troops inflicted the first land defeat on Japanese troops in World War II, at this spot in Papua New Guinea in September 1942. Hanke was the first artist on site after the Battle of Milne Bay. The painting was purchased directly from the artist by Sgt Alexander Lindsay McPherson (NX95616) during the war, and was later bought from the McPherson estate by TV Producer and RMC Duntroon graduate Harvey Shore, whose mother (artist Ivy Shore) had become a close friend of Henry Hanke after he had been made a director of the Royal Art Society art school in Sydney. Hanke often visited Ivy Shore's Woollahra home before his death in 1989.