by Anthony Meyer
I remember the inception of the Oceanic Art Society when Harry Beran first mentioned the idea in the early 1990s. We discussed it face to face during my trips, and over the phone, and by mail (the postal kind) and we took it quite seriously because there were two sides to the coin.
Creating a society, club or “tribe” of Oceanic art enthusiasts was both a wonderful idea but at the same there was a real risk of changing the way the market was structured in Australia at the time.
On the other hand, we reasoned, if we connect all the people maybe new pieces would appear, more would become available, a real network could develop, and this might be to the advantage of us all.
In the late 1980s there was little or no interest outside of a handful of collectors and dealers and a smattering of university and museum people who connected with the aforementioned from the private sector. Prices were extremely low compared to those already moving upwards in Europe and the USA. Knowledge and qualitative appreciation were limited to the happy few and if you knew a bit about the art forms then great deals were to be made. There was Oceanic Art just about everywhere in antique shops, general auctions, junk shops, the homes of old timer colonial administrators, ex-service men, retired patrol officers, missionaries, doctors etc. It was mostly from New Guinea and the Solomons which is normal given the history of Australia and New Guinea and of course WWII and truly much of the art was of interest.
The other reason the OAS was created was to somehow give a private impetus to the administration of the various museums in Australia which have extensive and wonderfully important collections of Oceanic art. The Australian museums at that time, although they organized several remarkable exhibitions, were mostly interested in developing their Asian art departments at the expense, it seemed to us all, of the Oceanic sections.
Finally, after several bouts of intense discussion amongst the Australian collectors and dealers – and I was involved in many of them along with and through Harry Beran – the OAS was born with one foreign member – myself.
That all changed over the years and now the OAS is fully international and a wonderfully viable and active association of like-minded people.
Yes, the market changed – but for the better. The OAS is responsible of course in part but the world was waking up to Oceanic art in a big way. Through the OAS collectors in Australia discovered that there were other people out there with similar interests and began to interconnect. Dealers recognized the importance of the Australian marketplace and began visiting Down-Under on a regular basis to buy of course, but also to sell. The auction houses began to offer specialized Tribal sales. The OAS newsletter and website were created over the years and they became important standards offering erudite and enthusiastic information and commentaries on Oceanic art.
The symposiums were started very early on – I remember giving a talk in 1995 on my freshly published book on Oceanic art – it was the very first presentation of my book and probably one of the first talks organized by the OAS. Thanks to many of the members of the Society I was able to publish privately held pieces on top of the many held in the reserves of Australian museums that had not been seen by the Australian public for decades or possibly ever.
The OAS has its place in history. So many wonderful and enthusiastic people have been – and are still members. Those who have gone on to the realms of the ancestors and the spirits live on through our memories and their names are attached as provenance to great works of art that are either still out on the market or already ensconced in museum collections. The OAS has published several important books and organized exhibitions and shows.
And now with the incredibly positive support, hard work and generosity offered by several members of the Society, the OAS has begun to host some highly successful international symposia on Oceanic art including one held at the very select Savage Club in Melbourne in October 2017.
Happy Birthday to the Oceanic Art Society, long life to all its members and a special thank you to Harry Beran for all the hard work and for the love of Oceanic art that he put into creating the Society!
Anthony JP Meyer
Rue des Beaux Arts, Paris, France