Art market information for Australian and New Zealand forthcoming auctions, 5,800 past auction results from 1969 to the present, market statistics, news and opinion.

Webb's Works of Art sale in Auckland on 24 August 2026 delivered $1.27 million including buyer’s premium and two new artist records — Jeff Thomson's corrugated iron elephants and John Drawbridge's monumental Aurora (shown above). Fiona Pardington's bird photographs took flight with one determined phone bidder, while Philip Clairmont's Folding Chair tripled its 2017 auction price to reach $180,000.

A quietly elegant curation of Dorrit Black, paintings, watercolours and linocuts was presented by Deutscher and Hackett as the highlight of their winter offering. This group, including famed Grosvenor colour linocuts, came with impeccable family provenance and the enthusiasm that they generated helped prompt 87% total sales by lot. Despite tough economic times, the house had an extremely successful sale. They managed to bind vendor reserves to buyer expectations: never let a reserve get in the way of a potential buyer! (Reported prices do not include buyer’s premium.)

In the second major sale of the season, the Secondary Market pace has noticeably slowed in the mid-range as the Smith and Singer sale in Sydney records a 65% clearance rate on the night. Fresh -faced major works exceeded expectations, while more minor mid-century works will stay at home with their current owners and to see out another day in art history. (Reported prices do not include buyer’s premium.)

The winter secondary Art Market is off and racing as Bonhams test market strength with the first sale of the season in Sydney. This auction house continued their tradition of offering works at a range of price points that can be very enticing: this proved true for works by Blackman and Crooke; especially true for fine aboriginal works. In a highlight both in price and quality, the first of several major early Blackmans being offered in different sales across the week was felled by a single knockout bid. But overall, there was a discernible hesitancy from buyers when vendors had pressed for a high reserve, obstructing the start to a bidding flow. In this regard there was a clearance rate of 66% on the night. (Reported prices do not include buyer’s premium.)