Top price in the final International Art Centre’s Important and Rare sale for 2023 sale went to a work by Don Binney who has long been a favourite of collectors. Motukorea, Torea-Pango II 2000 (Lot 52 ) features an oyster catcher on the beach, with a local Auckland landmark, Brown’s Island, beautifully rendered in the background. It sold to a client in the room for $490,000 against a low estimate of $450,000.
Two of these paintings were by senior New Zealand artist Jacqueline Fahey, who is finally receiving much deserved commercial success in recent years. She has long been recognised as a doyenne of New Zealand art history, but her prices generally didn’t reflect her importance. Of the three works included in the sale, two dated from the late 50s and early 60s and were both self portraits. Artist as a Warrior (Lot 43 ) has a distinctly modernist vibe with lots of angles and edges. The later work Self Portrait 1962 (Lot 42 ) was hard to categorise – as it’s so different to works by her New Zealand contemporaries, but its striking look made it even more compelling. Both works had been curated into the artist’s survey show and illustrated in publications and with the lack of comparable results (no works by the artist from this period have appeared at auction previously) the estimate of $10,000-15,000 for Artist as warrior and $8,000 - $12,000 for Self Portrait were very reasonable. Multiple bidders turned out for both lots, including IAC’s longest attending client, who has been present at their sales for 50 years and has no doubt seen a lot of artworks find new homes! In the end, it was Artist as Warrior (Lot 43 ) which nabbed the higher price, realising $18,500 and Self Portrait (Lot 42 ) just a whisker below at $16,000.
Another painting to capture the attention of clients interested in modernism was a fabulous painting by Roy Dalgarno, which was executed during his short stint in France in the early 1950s. Dalgarno was a fixture in the New Zealand art scene from the 1970s onwards where he was a well-known teacher at the Auckland Society of Arts. His output has been prolific but sadly under appreciated, with some oil paintings from his later years barely making $1000 at auction. This portrait French Fisherman 1957 (Lot 23 ), was a striking painting, with the full frontal view of the fisherman with his maroon face and blue beret, contrasted against the charming rendition of the fisherman’s cart and his catch of fish in the background. Still housed in its original frame, with a lovely inscription verso, a very lucky phone bidder managed to secure the work for $11,500 against a low estimate of $8,000.
Heralding from the same collection as the Jacqueline Faheys were a suite of seven paintings by Michael Smither, all dating from the artist’s golden decade of the 1960s and all fresh to the market in original condition. The work carrying the highest estimate was Wave Breaking on Railway Wall 1967 (Lot 35 ) a popular rock pool painting in the artist’s signature blue/green tones. Auctioneer Richard Thompson, announced the work was there to be sold, and an online bidder managed to secure the work for $135,000, which was $15,000 under the low estimate. IAC have built a strong market for Smither, holding most of the top prices for his work in recent years, and this interest was cemented in three small horizontal works (an unusual size and format for the artist) which were extremely well contested by room and phone bidders. Of these works, Hawkduns, From the Pig Route (Lot 38 ) – had the most competition, selling for $46,000 against the low estimate of $22,000.
Don Binney has long been a favourite of collectors, but without a lot of the usual scholarship and academic acclaim that accompanies artists who sit in his price bracket. Thankfully this has changed with the publication of new book about the artist released just last month. Perhaps a major retrospective is also on the cards? Top price in the sale went to one of his late period paintings, Motukorea, Torea-Pango II 2000 (Lot 52 ) featuring an oyster catcher on the beach, with a local Auckland landmark, Brown’s Island, beautifully rendered in the background. A phone bidder went head to head with a client in the room, before the work sold to the room at $490,000 against a low estimate of $450,000.
Paintings by C.F Goldie are a mainstay of an IAC auction catalogue, usually a work by the artist will appear in each sale. Four works were offered in this sale, two paintings and two drawings and this time achieved mixed results. An absolutely exquisite pencil drawing, Sophie (Lot 55 ), had the most incredible detail and tone and thoroughly deserved its price of $127,000, setting a record for a work on paper by the artist. However another drawing from the same collection, but with less detail was passed without a bid. The two paintings suffered a similar fate. Interest in the portrait of Ina Te Papatahi, Orakei Pah 1913 (Lot 53 ) had a subject bid of $450,000, a long way below the estimate of $650,000-$850,000.
The recent sale of Rita Angus watercolour Portrait of Robert Erwin, c. 1953 (Lot 59 ), didn’t hinder interest in the work which had transacted at another auction house two years earlier for $32,500. The painting provides an interesting comparison to the Jacqueline Fahey work, Artist as Warrior which was painted just a few years after this work. Both works are by female artists, seeking to assert their place in a male dominated field. The portraits are full frontal with hard edges and strong delineation. Although Fahey worked mainly in oils, Angus was an undisputed master of the watercolour medium and this work shows her skill in that area. It sold for $40,000, well over its low estimate of $25,000, washing it’s face for the vendor who will have hopefully come out about even once commissions are deducted.
As at Art + Object the prior week, the buyers at IAC were again selective, with certain works defying estimates while others which seemed well priced and reasonable failing to engage buyers. Three very good examples of paintings from the estate of Teuane Tibbo sold with healthy competition, the highest price achieved was for The Garden (Lot 9 ) which doubled its low estimate to make $20,500.
By comparison, one of the four works by Fiona Pardington sold on the night, Toa Toa Canterbury Museum (Lot 18 ) slid in past it’s low estimate to realise $26,500 but other popular images such as the A60924 Tiki (Lot 17 ) – a signature Pardington image did not sell.
At the end of the night, the clearance rate was 45% although this has increased since then with some of the subject bids on the night going through quickly. After watching the auctions in Auckland over the last week, it’s clear now that the market has shifted and some vendors will need to adjust their expectations if they want a successful sale. With just one month to go before the end of the year and a handful of small auctions left to go, the sales to date are $33 million, a little over half of the 2021 and 2022 totals of $61 million but still more than any previous year before that. A small glimmer of hope at the end of a tough year.
Sale totals were $1.95 million hammer ($2.3 million IBP) with 54% sold by value and 67% by number.
All prices are quoted are hammer prices in $NZ and do not include the buyer’s premium of 17.5% plus GST.
