Tretchikoff prints were kitch in the 1960s, but no one knew it then. They were seen as exotic, trendy and sophisticated. They were also affordable, and they turned up everywhere, multiplying like cane toads.
Times changed. Demand for Tretchikoff's prints went off the boil, allowing him to count his millions at leisure.
Several decades later, and his prints are trendy again.
They are still kitch, but to meet growing demand, they are no longer so affordable.
So, I was delighted to find this Balanese Lady, in excellent condition, at a church stall.
Here is the ebay sales blurb, with a starting price of $120.
* If you have come to my auction site, you know perfectly well who Tretchikoff is, that he is an artist whose prints are very collectible, especially those which date back to the 1960s.
* This framed print, 'Balanese Girl', is from that era.
* Both the frame and print seem almost new, except that the sticker on the back has that 1960s feel. It records that it was a lay-by from the Co-op (no record of which Co-op). (If you do not know what a lay-by is, you are showing your youth.)
* As a matter of fact, I come from that era. My mother had a Tretchikoff print on her wall. It was the sole piece of art in the whole house. She hung it on the feature wall in the lounge room. That wall was painted a rich orange (the rest of the walls were a creamy colour).
* My parents could not afford original art, so they opted for the latest thing, which was a framed print from the department store. At the time, my mother would have been seen as very modern.
* Now we see her as very retro.
* But I digress.
* This print is framed without glass and backed with masonite. It is as solid as, and I wonder if it was ever hung on a wall at all.
* The colours are as rich as if new. Our Balanese girl looks down, enigmatic, refusing to meet your eye: she knows something, and she ain't telling.
Sold $252.50 to Bassendean, WA.
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