Vale Tom Lowenstein OAM 1936-2025

On Thursday, 30th of January 2025, our esteemed Founding Director Tom Lowenstein OAM passed away after a long battle with Alzheimers.

In July 2002 after 42 years as the Senior Partner of Lowenstein Sharp Feiglin Ades (later Lowenstein Sharp), he resigned to form Lowensteins Arts Management Pty Ltd.; our firm of Certified Practising Accountants with offices in Melbourne and Sydney, specialising in taxation and financial advice to members of the visual arts community such as artists, sculptors, performers, musicians, writers, film makers etc.

His was the story of so many post war Jewish migrants who came to Australia after the ravages of the war to make a new start in Australia.

Tom was born in Galanta, Czechoslovakia on the 25th June 1936. He immigrated to Australia with his parents and sister in 1948.

He attended Northcote High School and completed his secondary education at Melbourne Boys High School.

He entered Melbourne University in 1955 and completed his Bachelor of Commerce in 1958 and was admitted to the Australian Society of Accountants soon after.

He began public practice as an Accountant in 1963 and was admitted as a Fellow of the Australian CPAs in 1995.

Of course, so many of you who were in direct contact with him, would have been impressed with his grasp of facts and rapid ability to solve so many of our clients problems, always delivered with rapier like wit, sparkling eyes and his trademark cheeky grin.

He contributed greatly to Australian culture and his involvement was far and wide:

In 1984 he founded the Painters and Sculptors Association, later to be renamed The Australian Artists Association Ltd. (AAA) and became its Executive Director. It was an organisation that promoted the interests of all professional visual artists and represented their views to Government and the ATO.

The Association also presented a medal of lifetime achievement to significant Artists. These recipients were chosen by a committee made up of fellow artists. Over the 20 years since its inception it has awarded medals to Lloyd Rees, Roger Kemp. Arthur Boyd, Charles Blackman, Judy Cassab, Robert Juniper, John Olsen, John Coburn, Margaret Olley and Inge King.

He was Treasurer of the Museum of Modern Art – Heide and was Chairman of the Acquisitions Committee, a position he held for 9 years; from 1992 to 2001. In 2002, he was made a Fellow of the Museum.

With his association with Heide, and together with the State Government and the support of Premier Jeffrey Kennett, he initiated the LSFA Arts 21 Fellowship, an award given to mid career artists.

Tom was also instrumental in setting up the accounting structure of Viscopy, the copyright collection agency for the visual arts set up by Government. He was elected to the Board in 1995 and was heavily involved until 2001.

He was instrumental in setting up the Australian Visual Artists Benevolent Fund, a trust set up to offer short term financial relief for artists who are experiencing financial difficulty and other forms of hardship such as ill health.

He was also involved in a senior capacity for the following organisations: The George Baldessin Foundation, Gertrude Street Artist Spaces (200 Gertrude Street), Kedumba Art Prize in NSW, 45 Downstairs Inc. and The Margaret Olley Art Trust.

In his capacity as the leading accountant specialising in the arts, he had been called upon to give specialist advice to Government and the ATO.

In 2000 he was called before the Senate Estimates Committee to give opinion and advice on the Non-Commercial Losses legislation which resulted in positive changes to legislation.

He was asked to appear regularly with Senior Tax Office Officials to discuss policy implementation on issues affecting Artists such as Trading Stock, Gifting, and taxation issues generally.

He met with various Federal and State Ministers for the Arts to discuss issues of concern to the visual arts community such as the establishment of gallery trust accounts and to examine the impact of taxation changes on the arts community.

This culminated in 2010, when he formed the Save Super Art Coalition acting as a lobbyist on behalf of the arts community in trying to change the minds of the Rudd/Gillard Labor Government who effectively outlawed holding art in superannuation funds (Cooper Report).

He was a regular contributor to magazines and journals on issues of taxation issues affecting artists, investment and superannuation for The Australian Art Collector, BRW, and The Australian Financial Review.

His role also extended to advising authorities involved in investigating art fraud and forgeries together with Melbourne University.

He was a benefactor to many galleries and has donated numerous works to the following public Galleries, Museums and Hospitals:

He had a role in coordinating charity auctions for the Jewish National Fund and Variety Club.

He was an advisor to the Melba Foundation and had acted in an advisory capacity to many not for profit organisations including the Rupert Bunny Foundation – St Kilda Council.

One of his favourite activities was to be called upon to open exhibitions of artists and to lecture groups of graduates.

His remarkable contribution resulted in him being awarded the OAM for services to the arts in 2016.

His passing leaves a large gap in our lives both professionally and personally and in the words of his friend, Dr. Gerard Vaughan former Director of the NGA and NGV:

“Tom was one of those people who made an impact on the lives of so many people, who appreciated the care and interest he always took in their lives. the whole Australian art world owes him a particular debt, for the many initiatives he undertook both on behalf of the sector generally, and for our artists personally. Over the years so many artists have said to me: where would we be without Tom looking after us? His contributions to the lives of so many in the Art world won’t be forgotten”