The sale started well with most of the initial lots selling and the momentum carried on to the fantastic collection of modernist pictures, especially Charles Tole's Port Moles (Lot 6 ). This gem of a painting was one of the most affordable in the sale and with its hard edges, restrained colour palette and modest scale this work is an outstanding example of New Zealand modernism. Works of this quality rarely appear on the secondary market and many bidders realised its significance. After auctioneer Sophie Copeland announced she possessed a ‘swag of commission bids’ the painting finally realised $18,000 (hammer) against a low estimate of $6,000.
Following quickly on was the rare and important sculpture by Russell Clark, Seated Figure, (Lot 10 ) which was hotly contested. With an unbroken chain of provenance since it’s original sale in 1957 and a subject matter of seminal importance for both the artist and New Zealand art history the sculpture finally realised $40,000 (hammer) against a low estimate of $25,000 and deservedly achieved a new auction record for a Russell Clark sculpture.
Two very different paintings by Colin McCahon provided some of the most exciting bidding of the evening, when multiple phone and room bidders battled it out to take, Landscape with a Road (Lot 19 ) to $100,000 (hammer) against a low estimate of $60,000 and, Portrait (Lot 37 ) to $74,000 (hammer) against a low estimate of $45,000. Unfortunately less interest was shown in Jump E16 (Lot 44 ), a truly sublime McCahon that stood out in the viewing for its elegance and simplicity. With impeccable provenance and presenting much better in person than in the catalogue, this work was passed in on a referred bid to a phone bidder at $200,000.
No doubt the vendor of Liz Maw's, Aura (Lot 38 ) will be celebrating after it achieved $48,000 hammer against a low estimate of $22,000. Only 7 works by this contemporary artist have appeared at auction and this work had already been sold for $14,000 in 2007 at Art + Object. Much was made of the fact that this was a rare and early work and this seemed to entice the multiple phone and room bidders to create a new auction record for the artist.
Lots 39-48 included some of the most expensive works in the sale and this section proved a little challenging. The C.F Goldie portrait of Wiripene Ninia (Lot 42 ) provided a bright spot selling for $240,000 (hammer), however the other heavyweights in this section failed to sell on the night including the important Michael Smither (Lot 43 ), the aforementioned McCahon (Lot 44 ) and the major Ralph Hotere (Lot 48 ).
From then on the sale sped quickly to its conclusion with a few works selling and many more bids taken to be referred to the vendors under reserve. A jolt of excitement came with an enormous Ralph Hotere work on corrugated iron (Lot 76 ). The bidding had stalled at $80,000 in the room when suddenly an excited call came ringing out from the online bidding operator – there was a bid at $90,000 from a client in cyberspace. Unfortunately this wasn’t enough to secure the work on the night and the bid was referred.
Overall the general feeling of the sale seemed to mimic what has been happening in other auction houses all over the world. Good attendance on the night, great prices for works of quality and rarity, but for the average works, an average response from the buying public. The sale had some good individual results but overall, there is a lot of work to be done behind the scenes to improve the overall lot clearance rate.
Sophie Copeland did her best on the night to really talk about each work and emphasise their positive attributes and this made for a welcome atmosphere in the auction room. Lets hope this enthusiasm carries on through the post auction selling period and more paintings find new homes.
