Bert Flugelman's famous steel sculptures and other artworks are scattered throughout the Illawarra and Southern Highlands, but now fans of his work can buy a piece of their own in an upcoming sale.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Two years after his death in February 2013, the prominent artist's wife, Rosemary, is moving from his Bowral home and will sell a treasure trove of paintings and sculptures over two days this weekend.
Bert's eldest daughter Kay Flugelman, 60, said she was sad to be selling off the works, but was keen to see them "live on in other people's lives".
"All the art work has been housed in Rosemary and Bert's house, and now we've sold the house and will be moving out," Ms Flugelman said.
"So this is really the last opportunity for all of Bert's works that are left to be displayed all together. It's sad, but the great thing is that they will get to live on in other people's lives.
"Art continues to give, generation after generation. So I'm glad Dad is everlasting, really."
Dr Flugelman is already immortalised throughout the Illawarra thanks to a long academic and artistic career in the region.
He worked at the University of Wollongong from the 1980s, and made the soaring Mount Keira steel structure commemorating early experiments with flight in the Illawarra.
Other Flugelman art works on display in Wollongong include the stainless steel Spiral and Wave outside Wollongong City Gallery as well as Gateway to Mount Keira - a curvy stainless steel structure affectionately nicknamed the toaster element or devil's bike rack by UOW students who walk under it on the way to class.
A portrait of the sculptor by his close friend, Southern Highlands painter Guy Warren, won the Archibald Prize in 1985.
Further afield, Dr Flugelman is known for Mall's Balls, in Adelaide's Rundle Mall, and Sydney's celebrated Dobell Memorial Sculpture, which is known to many as the shish kebab.
On March 14 and 15, about 10 of Dr Flugelman's large sculptures, 15 maquettes (small models) and numerous prints, oil paintings, watercolours, drawings and sketches dating from the 1960s until just before he died will be on sale.
This includes his final sculpture, the rust-coloured spiral Ammonite, which was on display at Sculptures By The Sea in 2011.
"He worked in every medium," Ms Flugelman said.
"Making art was like breathing for him, if he wasn't making something he wasn't happy.
"I spent my childhood with him while he was making things, and he taught me a language - a way of seeing and viewing the world that's quite exceptional."
She said the family had already fielded lots of inquiries about the sale and was expecting a crowd at their Burradoo property on Saturday and Sunday.
■ Details: The late Bert Flugelman's Artwork Southern Highlands sale will be held on March 14 and 15 between 10am-4pm at 20 Phillip Street, Burradoo.
