The sale began with a bolt out of the blocks when the first lot, the Sydney Bird painter’s Hook Billed Shrike (Lot 1 ) smashed through its estimate and more than tripled starting expectations, selling for $180,000 hammer.
Gold medal ambitions were satisfied when Bride Running Away by Arthur Boyd, not seen for over four decades, achieved it’s target of $1.4 million hammer, a new auction record for the artist.
The contest lacked the excitement factor, but undeniably a record is a record and with this result, Boyd, the flag bearer for Team Modern, effectively blitzed all other squads in the field.
Judged slightly anti-climactic by stadium observers, due to a surprising lack of challengers, was Sidney Nolan’s Kelly and Lonigan (Lot 9 ). Nevertheless the painting set an impressive result of $400,000.
The winds of fortune blew for Tom Roberts’ The South Wind 1924 which encountered fierce and furious competition between numerous bidders on the floor and phone, obliterating its $20,000-30,000 estimate to fetch $60,000.
Roberts’ artistic peers and fellow ”teamsters”, Walter Withers and David Davies also outshone their estimates: On the Road to Eltham (Lot 58 ) doubled to $40,000 and Friendly Society’s Gardens (Lot 34 ) jumped the barrier at $32,000. Hans Heysen backed up the team with $32,000 for Gums and Cliffs, Murray River (Lot 53 ) elevating it well above its $18,000 low estimate.
Quality abounded in the sale and it was duly rewarded. Justin O’Brien’s Boy in a Turkish Cap (Lot 7 ), estimate $35,000-45,000) witnessed a battle royale, drawing out audible “ooooo’s “ from the crowd as it edged towards a terrific $92,000 hammer price. John Brack further bolstered Team Modern stocks when Journey (Lot 14 ) confidently marched past its estimate selling at $725,000 to one of three telephone bidders.
Alexander Schramm and William Ford upheld Team Colonial’s reputation with Australian Landscape (Lot 4 ) hitting its mark at $180,000 and Yarra Flat (Lot 35 ) doubling pre-sale predictions to $50,000. In fact this latter result reflected a positive trend whereby a quarter of the lots burst through and beyond the high estimate barrier - an indicator that the art industry fervently hopes points to a renewed pattern of growth.
The true believers were rewarded when four bidders propelled Asher Bilu’s painting Perhaps we should believe in magic (Lot 46 ) to the night’s third auction record of $31,000.
Fellow Team Contemporary members performed admirably; the gavel fell mid estimate at $17,000 for Andrew Browne’s Blue Green Landscape (Lot 49 ) and Brent Harris’s Apalling Moment (Lot 28 ) proved otherwise fetching $15,000 but Stephen Bush’s Lure of Paris (29) had no pull and remained unsold.
This time TC had modest auction representation and it’s fair to say that they will need to train hard over the next four years before they move beyond insipid nips and really start biting at the heels of high achievers Team Modern and Team Colonial. All in good time!
The strongest segment of the market was clearly in the under $50,000 bracket accounting for 44% of total lots by volume. In contrast, the softest ground was found in the $50,000-200,000 bracket.
Amongst the non-place getters were Lloyd Rees’ Abercrombie River (Lot 8 ), The Clay Panby Boyd (Lot 40 ), Brett Whiteley’s The Window, Lavender Bay (Lot 11 ) and placed in a higher league, Frederick McCubbin’s Spring Morning (Lot 57 ) was uncontested.
It was disappointing that admiration combined with a desire to acquire did not eventuate on Fred William’s fine paintingAcrobats (Lot 51 ). It proved unable to dislodge the single-minded pursuit for his landscapes which was amply demonstrated by the solid $360,000 result for Werribee Gorge (Lot 18 ).
Similarly, other early and less typical renditions by Brett Whiteley, John Olsen and Frank Hodgkinson also delivered underwhelming prices but provided opportunities for the canny and forward thinking. This was a minor dull spot in an otherwise largely dynamic auction that conveyed a strong upward trajectory.
On surer footing was Brett Whiteley’s popular bird imagery. The Dove in the Mango Tree (Lot 31 ) confidently flew above its quote reaching $660,000 in a sale where only 12% of lots sold beneath low estimate, a positive and telling reduction on past Australian auction house performances.
Last mention belongs to the bronze medallists who count amongst them Sybil Andrews. She hit her low estimate target with Grader at $12,000 and Skaters (Lot 65 ) which sold one bid above at $26,000. Likewise Joel Elenberg’s sculpture Anna (Lot 32 ) settled on a respectable $60,000 bid.
Sotheby’s success could be attributed to a number of factors, certainly the curator strategy which places a select group of quality artworks in sharp focus that often conjures the gallery “halo” effect and dismisses the white noise invoked by more voluminous sales.
Veteran art consultant, Jon Dwyer, remarked that “Sotheby’s Australia have brought New York and London into their rooms and have left their opposition in their wake in terms of presentation, marketing and selection of works. Importantly for a tough market, they also bring passion, and this sets them apart.”
The depth of bidding across a breadth of works and the heights reached, provided encouraging market signals. It is the first time in several years that many industry observers felt their spirits rising and cause for tentative celebration. Long Live the Games!
