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Wanted: Harry's Art

9 June 2003- Prince Harry has caused a stir in the art world with an international gallery approaching Sky News to try to buy some of his work.

An art gallery in Portugal has offered £10,000 for two paintings by Prince Harry shown in a Sky News report about his life at Eton.

It featured works portraying lizards influenced by an interest in Aboriginal art.

A gallery administrator, Hugo Martins, emailed Sky News to find out if Harry was willing to sell.

"The nation, indeed the world, has had the pleasure of seeing photographs of His Royal Highness Prince Harry's final days at Eton on Sky News and it is concerning this that I am writing to you today."

"We would like to know if Prince Harry would be willing to accept £5,000 for each of the two works either paid directly to the Prince or to a charity of his choice," he added.

The gallery, the Museum of Modern Art in Sintra, is owned by Joe Berardo whose son-in-law, Zaid Abdali, also works in the gallery.

"My father-in-law is the owner of the collection and he saw the paintings several times," he told Sky News. "

He was very impressed and wanted to know if the Prince would sell them," said Mr Abdali.

Sky News approached St James's Palace with the request. Half an hour later, a spokeswoman came back with the official reply: "They aren't for sale".

Source: BSkyB News (UK)

Harry 'set for Australia'

13 June 2003 - Prince Harry packed up his room at Eton on his last day of school on Thursday and is expected to head to Australia on the traditional English teenager's gap year.

The third in line to the British throne has revealed an interest, and quite a talent, in Aboriginal art. A stint in Australia after leaving school is his likely sojourn before embarking on a military career.

Australia is the No. 1 destination for British school leavers who take a year off before going to university, break which has become a rite of passage for many English students.

While many of them spend much of their time drinking and chasing the opposite sex, Harry might have to forgo two of his favourite pastimes.

His father Prince Charles, who spent a term at Geelong Grammar as a schoolboy in 1966, would want the precocious 18-year-old in an organised environment, similar to his brother William's time working on environmental and community projects in Chile during his gap year.

St James's Palace could not comment on Harry's plans, but speculation is mounting that work in an Aboriginal community would be the ideal way for the adventurous prince to contribute to society while also pursuing a personal interest.

"There are a number of gap-year placements in Aboriginal communities now," said Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com, Britain's foremost adviser on the post school sabbatical.

"Some are working with doctors in Aboriginal communities, others are in conservation projects, working on farms and in communities in the bush.

"They'd be perfect for Harry."

A series of photos of Harry's life at Eton published this week included a shot of the prince with two of his Aboriginal-style paintings of lizards.

The paintings have been valued at £15,000 ($38,000) and Britain's leading expert on Aboriginal art was stunned by their quality.

"I'd offer him a show, I'm really, really impressed," said Australian Rebecca Hossack, who imports and exhibits Aboriginal art at her central London gallery.

"I had no idea he was so accomplished. If he carries on developing as quickly as he already has, he's a real artist.

"It'd be wonderful if he could work as an art co-ordinator at an Aboriginal community. He'd be fantastic and it would be wonderful for him to go out and see these lizards live and eat them.

"It's brilliant he's taken an interest in something so spiritual and it'd be great for him to go from wanting to know a bit about the art to getting to know about the people."

Ms Hossack said she would write to Harry inviting him to the exhibition of Larrakitj, Aboriginal memorial poles from the Northern Territory, now showing at her gallery.

Staying in an outback community would also make it easier to provide security. There was a permanent, but low key, presence around Prince William in Chile.

"The best thing about the gap year for Wills and what will be for Harry if he does something specific, is he suddenly becomes normal, probably for the only time in his life," Mr Griffiths said.

"He'll just be with people who are calling him Harry and treating him like anyone else.

"But it will be very well choreographed. You won't just see him walking down the street in Byron Bay.

"And he's a bit of a ladies' man so there might be a lot of Australian girls who think this guy might be a bit of a catch."

Source:Sydney Morning Herald

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