At 83% by lot, Modern and Contemporary artists certainly dominate the 23 September auction which carries an estimate of $6.8–9 million.
Crowd pleaser, Garry Shead, emerges as the most frequently featured artist with 6 works, or 16% in volume terms, albeit across a range of price brackets.
Less frequently offered at auction is the work by early 20th Century artist, Bessie Davidson. Her demure Portrait of Mademoiselle Le Roy c1920 (Lot 47 ) was offered by Deutscher-Menzies in 2008 for $50,000-70,000, a provenance overlooked in the catalogue, so the lower current estimate of $38,000 - $50,000 may prove to be more enticing.
Opportunity knocks in a different guise with regard to an unusually large diptych by Fred Williams. Resurfacing after three decades in a private collection, the panoramic Bacchus Marsh Landscape 1978 (Lot 36 ) is a handsome example of the artist’s work and is modestly estimated at $700-900,000.
Black Girl with Friend c1961 by Charles Blackman (lot 45, est $60,000-80,000) is also fresh to the market after nearly 30 years in a Victorian collection.
Another notable inclusion is Sidney Nolan’s Kate Kelly pursued by Constable Fitzpatrick c1945 (Lot 34 ), with a $160-200,000 estimate carrying the impeccable provenance of Lady Nolan. Considered an ancillary work to the celebrated Ned Kelly Series, Richard Haese suggests that it was probably painted in the first year of Nolan’s engagement with Kelly[1] and although it may be less pictorially evolved, undoubtedly it is historically significant. Collector desire may yet overcome the slightly peculiar composition, if the powerful pull of great provenance, period, affordability and rarity prevails.
Flying in the face of recent adversity, Menzies have boldly and proudly placed a Brett Whiteley on its frontcover. Arkie Under the Shower 1986-87 (Lot 37 ) is estimated at $1.25-1.5 million, noticeably less than its 2007 estimate of $1.4-1.8 million and also sale price of $1.68 mllion IBP achieved by DM at the height of the boom.
Sharing the same trajectory is Russell Drysdale’s Landscape in the Kimberleys 1958 (Lot 39 ). The painting carries a pre-sale estimate of $800-1,000,000 which if bought at the low end means it could be bought below its 2008 purchase price of $1,020,000 ($850,000 hammer), representing good buying.
Are these two lots indicative of current market vulnerability and vendors who need to sell and are open to potentially taking a loss …or does it show DM responding to market conditions with a concerted effort to secure low estimates, thereby motivating bidders and encouraging competition in a sluggish market? It is an interesting question to ponder but regardless of whether we fully understand the machinations, a pattern of low or of lowering estimates is discernable at the high end of the sale.
Half the lots over $100,000 with prior auction history bear estimates that represent little, if no increase, on previous results achieved within the last 3 years, and in some cases, a decrease.
Clearly illustrating a decrease is Howard Arkley’s Urban Apartments 1999 (lot 30) which in 2007 was auctioned twice and managed within 6 months to rise extraordinarily by 40% selling for $198,000 IBP. Exactly 3 years later it is a different story with a pre-sale estimate of $120,000-140,000.
Similarly, lot 42, Tim Maguire’s Untitled 20050901 is pitched to tease interest at $110,000-140,000, well below its boom time 140,000-180,000 estimate and $144,000 IBP result.
John Brack’s Finale 1973 (Lot 38 ) occupies almost a neutral position, its low estimate of $450,000 aligning with its $456,000 IBP sale price, also set in 2008. One would think it difficult in a slow market when a painting is offered for the fifth time in just over a decade to increase the estimate much beyond its last sale price.
Bucking the trend of the majority of prime lots is Tim Storrier’s monumental Evening 1995 (Lot 33 ), last offered in 2008 at Joel Fine Art and now appears with an ambitious estimate of $200,000–300,000 matching the ambitious scale of the work.
Questions arise when estimates for top tier works appear to be significantly reduced or equal to their recently traded price. Is it symptomatic of broad market downgrade or does it indicate an acknowledgment of the continued exposure and extensive auction history of a number of key quality lots. Or does it reveal an overarching tactical response by the auction house to the state of the market to create conducive buying conditions …or a mélange? At the very least it shows that Menzies are in the business of selling art.
Auction goers will be eagerly watching to see if the adjustments pay off.
[1] Richard Haese in Sidney Nolan catalogue essay, Menzies’ Australian and International Fine Art, 23 September 2010, Melbourne, p.56
