A MUSEUM in Australia has been confirmed as the new owner of the original draught for the Sydney Harbour Bridge – which had been hanging in Darlington for decades.
The watercolour by Cyril Farey of one of Australia’s most famous landmarks was sold for £26,000 at an auction by Anderson and Garland, in Newcastle, last month.
It had been at Cleveland Bridge, in Darlington, until this year when the company’s remaining assets were sold off following its collapse last year.
Read more: Original Sydney Harbour Bridge draught sells for £26k in Newcastle auction
The buyer of the painting has now been revealed as the Australian National Maritime Museum, which described it as “nationally significant”.
Daina Fletcher, the museum’s head of acquisitions development said: “We are excited to have purchased this significant depiction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the Australian National Maritime Museum.
“It is an important maritime work, drawn by one of Britain’s most accomplished architectural artists for bridge engineers Dorman Long at the time the firm was awarded the contract in 1924.
“The exquisite watercolour imagines the bridge, formally opened eight years later in 1932, as an icon of an aspirational future for our nation. Its symbolism and presence resonate today, especially as we mark the bridge’s 90th year.”
The scale-view rendering of the bridge was purchased during a hotly contested auction in Newcastle.
Signed and dated 1924, the draught was produced by architect, Cyril Arthur Farey.
Considered Britain’s pre-eminent architectural illustrator, Farey completed the work for Teesside firm Dorman Long.
Based in Middlesbrough, the steel company expanded into bridge building in the 1920s.
This draught helped sell their work on the winning design for a bridge to span Sydney Harbour – a dream that dated back to 1815.
The painting accurately captures how the bridge would look when finally opened in 1932.
Read more: Pictures show what's left to buy at Darlington Cleveland Bridge
Dr Peter Hobbins, head of knowledge at the Australian National Maritime, said: “This is a beautiful watercolour – everyone who sees it falls in love with it. As an historian, what draws me to the painting is how it captures our maritime history and the sentiments of a nation recovering from World War I.
“It features the pride of the Royal Australian Navy, HMAS Australia, alongside the vigorous movement of commercial shipping. The bridge’s pillars also served as monuments to the fallen of the Great War, and were built from the same sandstone as the Cenotaph in Martin Place.
“Farey clearly understood these powerful ties, especially in the aftermath of Australia’s enormous wartime sacrifice. His masterly draught is truly visionary, stretching from the past into the future.
“There are so many aspirations bound up in this luminous watercolour – I can’t wait to see it on our shores and in our galleries.”
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