Untitled [cactoid composition] 1986 [W/P]

An unusually large sketch in this medium, this drawing is closely comparable with several major canvases of this period, notably The Cacti Succulents (1986), where there is a similar sense of a group of hybrid ‘creatures’ in some sort of relationship.

Here, though, the individual forms are not so much menacing as humorous. The quirky character on tubular legs to the left echoes a number of Arkley’s mid-1980s doodles, especially those in his Mills and Boon books (e.g. Chateau of Fire 131 and Wintersbride 9).

This is one of several works on paper previously owned by Arkley’s brother: see e.g. Untitled [‘Lines and Spots’] 1979 [W/P].

{new entry, added May 2025, revised July 2026}

Provenance

• The artist
• Gift from the above to Robert Arkley
• Auctioned by Deutscher and Hackett, Melb., 27 May 2025, lot 24: dets.and ill.as shown here… est.$8-10K; not sold
• Auctioned by Christian McCann, Melb., 24 Sept.2025, lot 764: ill., dets.; est.$8-12K, sold for $7,000 plus buyer’s premium