FROM THE DIRECTOR

THANK YOU —

Looking back with gratitude and goodwill

ABOVE: CHRIS O'BRIEN (born 1981) Chris' Collection, Chris and Chelsea live in this house 2019 Sold for $650 The Day We All Went Home

OPPOSITE: DABS MYLA (born 1978 and 1980) Neon Cactus Garden Paper Study 2020 Sold for $4,200 The Bushfire Relief Auction While it may seem a little cliché or unoriginal to be thanking clients and friends of a business at a year’s end, it has always been my intention at Leonard Joel that we never forget that the market we make for the beautiful and the rare is only made possible because of the continued custom of our sellers and our buyers; people that trust us. In this year of a global pandemic, our thank you to our community takes on a profound meaning for us.

Just before the world was gripped by Covid-19, two wonderful people, Sandra Powell and Andrew King, approached me wanting to do something for the people, animals and environment that had been ravaged by Australia’s devastating bushfires. Their approach lay at the heart of our Victorian Bushfire Appeal auction and my first thank you goes to them and the artists, gallerists and businesses that so generously and unflinchingly became a part of this fundraiser that enabled us to deliver over $300,000 to this cause.

Not long after these bushfires, Covid-19 presented as a first wave in Australia and eight months on left national industries and Victoria particularly, devastated. As one of the lucky businesses with an online capacity, we wanted to play some small part in giving back where we could to our community during this time. Our weekly, twelve-month commitment to Beyond Blue was one of these efforts and we thank every guest curator, past and ongoing, for making this pledge of ours both interesting and personal.

The ability of organizations to adapt during these times has been often so complex, but where there is a will, and goodwill particularly, there is a way. A heartening example of this was Arts Project Australia’s collaboration with Leonard Joel when their artists were housebound, unable to attend the artistic sanctuary that is so dear to all the individuals that occupy it. The good people of that organization, a handful of enthusiastic Leonard Joel staff and most importantly, the support of civic-minded collectors, delivered a super result and important income for this profoundly caring Victorian organization. My third thank you goes to everyone that participated in this project.

These goodwill projects, that over the year of 2020 we proudly advise delivered to the community over $350,000, I remind myself are ultimately only really possible because Leonard Joel enjoys the support of enough buyers and sellers every day, month and year. This was never more apparent to me than during our stage IV lockdown. Our community continued to support Leonard Joel during the strangest of times and for this I reserve, on behalf of my team and I, our most heartfelt thank you.

To every seller and every buyer over the last eight months we say thank you, not only for your custom but for your patience, too. We recognize our luck during these times and thanks to you all, we will continue to play our small part in contributing, where and when we can, in 2021 to the restoration of beautiful Victoria.

JOHN ALBRECHT Managing Director / National Head of Collections