surpassed all previous prices for a painting by a living Australian artist.

At $5.2 million, Points of View has dramatically exceeded the record set last year by a smaller Davson artwork.

Her art is represented by more than 20 framed works on paper in the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre collection.

These works, along with three paintings borrowed for the exhibition, were displayed as the Turning Points exhibit in the gallery in September last year.

Points of View was created as three continuous

canvases by Ms Davson in 1985.

It was originally commissioned by Norman Hepburn for his then Central Coast resort for $12,000.

Since that time the painting has changed hands

several times.

The $5.2 million (US$5.35m) sale places Ms Davson third in the world ranking by value for a

painting by a living female artist.

Marlene Dumas currently holds this record with a sale value of US$6.3 million for her painting The Visitor; a US$5.8 million work by Yayoi Kusama from Tokyo is second.

Cady Noland takes the overall value record for art by a living female artist for a US$6.6 million sculpture.

Achieving the highest sales price for a living artist within a country is predominantly a male domain.

Ms Davson is currently the only female holding this title. She first achieved this ranking in 2011 with her smaller painting On The Ark of Salvation which sold for $1.3 million.

“I am delighted about the sale of Points of View,” Ms Davson said.

“It’s testimony to all those who have believed in my work over the past decades.

“I trust it will also be of encouragement to women artists everywhere that in this 21st century the ‘glass ceiling’ in the arts is finally being shattered.

“I am also elated that the sales value reflects that

art doesn’t need to be confronting or shocking to be considered of high worth.

“It is time for works that inspire and uplift to have their ‘turn in the sun’.”

From 1999 to 2002, Ms Davson’s major retrospective exhibition With Gratitude For The Light toured 14 public regional art galleries throughout Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

It showcased 63 artworks dating from 1972 to 1999.

Points of View featured in this touring exhibition.