A thoughtfully gathered collection of locally inspired artworks from the home of Susan Duncan and Bob Storey will soon be offered at auction, bringing together art, place and community in a way that feels unmistakably Pittwater.
Following Susan’s passing late last year, Bob has since moved away from Pittwater. In a generous and considered gesture, a substantial selection of artworks from their home has been donated to the West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade. The donation reflects Susan and Bob’s long-standing connection to the brigade and to the people it serves. It is not a dispersal of a formal collection. Rather, it is a practical and heartfelt decision to pass on works that were part of everyday life, allowing them to be lived with again rather than packed away or lost from view.
Susan Duncan and Bob Story
Wherever possible, the hope is that these works remain locally held, continuing to hang in Pittwater homes rather than moving into distant or anonymous hands.
Susan was widely known for her gently humorous and observant depictions of Pittwater through her many books, capturing the texture of daily routines, neighbourly ties and the landscape itself. That same sense of place ran quietly through the artworks that surrounded her and Bob at home. They were works chosen for affection, connection and familiarity rather than status.
Artists with deep Pittwater ties
The collection brings together a range of Australian artists, many with personal or creative connections to Pittwater and its offshore communities. These are works acquired through friendship, shared history and proximity to place rather than through formal collecting or purely commercial intent.
The auction comprises approximately 40 works, including original linocut prints, watercolours, mixed-media pieces and selected prints. All are framed, many in their original, time-worn frames, reflecting a life lived alongside art rather than a curated or investment-driven holding.
Alongside contemporary works, the collection includes historical images of the Pittwater area, offering glimpses of bays, shorelines and offshore settlements as they once were. These quieter records sit comfortably alongside more interpretive works, adding context and continuity without spectacle.
Artists represented include Katie Clemson, with whom Susan and Bob shared a close personal association. Clemson’s finely detailed linocuts, including works depicting Australian landscapes and Pittwater boatsheds, reflect a careful, patient practice grounded in observation.
Woody Point, by Katie Clemson - Linocut
Also included are works by Gwyn Perkins, whose illustrations document island and foreshore life with clarity and restraint; Rod Scott, known for closely observed wildlife studies; and Bill Giles, whose work reflects long-standing creative friendships rather than formal commissions.
Scotland Island Dog Race, Christmas card by Gwyn Perkins
Church Point Public Wharf by Bill Miles
The collection also includes work by Marion van den Driesschen, whose layered, process-driven approach draws on landscape and material, themes closely aligned with the environment Susan and Bob valued.
Several works were produced through long-standing collaborations with master printmakers, including Paul Smith, whose technical skill is highly regarded and who is also an artist in his own right. Alongside his own practice, Smith has worked with a number of notable Australian artists, including Margaret Olley and Ben Quilty.
by Marion van den Driesschen
The Laurel May by Paul Smith, Artist holding work
Other artists in the collection are friends, contemporaries and creative peers of Susan and Bob. In many cases, the local stories behind the works are as meaningful as the images themselves.
A heartfelt reason for the auction
Susan and Bob were deeply part of Pittwater life as neighbours, friends and supporters of local causes, including the West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade. Their home reflected those connections, and the artworks reflect a similar spirit. They were gathered over time, lived with, and valued for what they represented rather than what they might one day be worth.
This auction is being held to responsibly pass on those works while giving the local community first opportunity to acquire them. Proceeds will support the ongoing work of the West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade, reinforcing the sense that this is an act of continuity and care.
Auction format and key dates
The auction is being conducted via the AirAuctioneer online platform, combining the accessibility of an online auction with a local, in-person conclusion.
At its heart, this auction is about stewardship. It is about passing on artworks that were part of a Pittwater home and allowing them to continue their quiet lives within the community where they belong.
Key details
- Online auction: Open now, closing Monday 9 March at midnight
- Live auction: Saturday 7 March, Elvina Reserve, 3.30pm
- Approximately 20 works will be concluded live
- Live auction works will pause online bidding from 1.00pm on Saturday 7 March
- All other works remain available online until final close
- Printed catalogue available at the live event by donation
Full event details, images and catalogue previews are available here: airauctioneer.com/the-art-of-living
West Pittwater RFS, taken in 2019-2020 fire grounds
West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade
Community Protection on Land and Water
West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade is a volunteer brigade serving the western foreshores of Pittwater, including Elvina Bay, Lovett Bay and surrounding offshore communities. Operating as part of the NSW Rural Fire Service, the brigade provides frontline fire and emergency response in an environment defined by bushland, waterways and limited road access.
West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade shed in Elvina Bay
What distinguishes West Pittwater is its unusually close connection to the community it protects. Brigade members live locally and share the same access constraints, environmental conditions and risks as residents. This shared experience underpins a strong culture of preparedness, trust and mutual support, extending beyond emergency response into community engagement, education and locally driven fundraising that directly supports brigade capability.
West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade composite Crew with Lovett Bay Cat.
West Pittwater is one of a small number of water-based brigades within the RFS. Its principal firefighting appliance on Pittwater is Elvina Boat, a dedicated marine fire and rescue vessel and the primary marine firefighting resource on Pittwater. Elvina Boat enables direct response to incidents involving waterfront homes, vessels, marinas and bushland that cannot be accessed by road, playing a critical role in protecting both life and property on the water.
West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade Fire Boat moving in
As an offshore brigade, West Pittwater also acts as a first responder during severe weather events. The brigade regularly undertakes storm response activities including downed and hazardous trees, storm damage mitigation, access clearing and community safety support, often in conditions where road-based resources may be delayed or unable to reach affected areas.
In addition to fire suppression, the brigade provides regular operational support to NSW Police, NSW Ambulance, Fire and Rescue NSW and other emergency services, assisting with medical evacuations (including medivac operations), flood mitigation, evacuations and coordinated multi-agency emergency responses. This capability is particularly vital in water-only access communities, where timely, locally based response can be life-saving.
West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade at West Head Medivac.
Based at Elvina Bay and supported by a sister station at Lovett Bay, the brigade operates both marine and land-based firefighting equipment. Volunteers train regularly alongside neighbouring brigades, ensuring readiness for local incidents and for wider regional deployments when required.
West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade represents the strength of a community-led emergency service: neighbours protecting neighbours, on land and on water, in one of Pittwater’s most distinctive and challenging environments.
West Pittwater Rural Fire Brigade Training Team at Tarrangaua in Lovett Bay