The Balmoral apartment of the late Ruth Faerber, one of Australia’s most inventive printmakers, has been listed with a $9 million guide.
Ruth died in November 2024 aged 102. She lived in the apartment at 4/37 The Esplanade, Mosman, for 16 years and was still making art in her hundreds. In October 2022, the Art Gallery of NSW hosted a celebration for her 100th birthday.
Born in Woollahra in 1922, Ruth’s career ran from her early days as a commercial artist to more than 30 solo exhibitions across Australia, New Zealand, London and Japan.
By the late 1960s her prints had been acquired by both the Art Gallery of NSW and the National Gallery of Victoria, and in 1967 she won a scholarship to study at the Pratt Center in New York.
She is best known for expanding the boundaries of Australian printmaking. After a papermaking workshop in Tasmania in 1980, she began treating handmade paper as a sculptural medium, casting and moulding three-dimensional prints that resemble weathered archaeological fragments.
She also worked as an art critic for The Australian Jewish Times, where she was known for championing emerging artists, women and printmakers.
Her working life was as inventive as her art. Her north shore studio was built into the base of a cliff and reached by a ladder through a broom cupboard, and she used everyday household appliances as printmaking tools.
Number 4 in “The Waterford” is a 378sqm, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom residence in a boutique collection of just six apartments, less than 50 metres from the sand at Balmoral.
It has elevated water views across The Esplanade from inside and out, a north-easterly aspect, and three outdoor areas including a partially covered harbourside terrace. Herringbone parquetry runs through the living areas and hallway, and the white Corian-island kitchen is fitted with Gaggenau appliances.
The master suite has a dressing area or study and a marble ensuite with double vanity and spa bath, while bedrooms two and three open to a private courtyard. Other features include ducted air-conditioning, a video intercom, a walk-in laundry, and lift access from a 40sqm double lock-up garage, with residents sharing a gym and sauna.
Ray White Lower North Shore’s Colin Craig, who has the listing alongside Geoff Smith and Leonard Van der Velde, said front-row Balmoral positions were scarce.
“This apartment will appeal to buyers looking for an elevated private position on one of Sydney’s most exclusive beaches,” Colin said.
View the listing here.