The Ultimate Australiana? Prenzel Aboriginal Portraits

Known as Woman with a Pipe and The Laughing Man, this lively pair represents the ultimate in Australiana — carved by master-carver Robert Prenzel after original photographs by Henry King. Carved in native timbers, they are hauntingly lifelike and nearly life-sized.

Robert Prenzel was a renowned Australian woodcarver and cabinetmaker born in 1866 in Kittlitztreben (present-day Poland). He trained in Europe before immigrating to Australia in 1888, quickly gaining recognition for his exceptional carving skill. His work combined traditional European craftsmanship with Australian motifs and was highly sought after in the Art Nouveau period, spanning decorative furniture, architectural carvings, panels, mantelpieces, and ceilings for wealthy families and public buildings.

Henry King was a photographer in Sydney during the latter 19th and early 20th century with a gift for portraying the Aboriginal people of Eastern Australia — sympathetic, natural portraits that create a sense of pride rather than the “curio factor” that so easily defines ethnographic images. The joy in the face of his Laughing Man is crystal clear, and somehow Prenzel translated the photograph into wood with the same spirit intact.