It is always a very good idea to place a stunning example of an artist’s work at favourable estimates which should guarantee to start the sale on an upbeat note with strong bidding and hopefully set the trend for the evening.
Lot 1, the Arthur Boyd ticked all the boxes and Shoalhaven Riverbank (Lot 1 ), estimated at $25,000-$35,000, generated competitive bidding from the phones and the room and saw this pretty work sell for $38,000 hammer, $3,000 over the high estimate.
Another prominently placed work to raise considerable interest was also small and beautifully formed: Brett Whiteley’s Spanish Steps (Lot 6 ), was equally friendly estimated at $25,000-$35,000, but with competition even stiffer, sold for $10,000 over its upper mark.
Works on paper by John Olsen continue to be in high demand at auction: Lilypond, North Queensland, 1983 (Lot 11 ), on estimates of $30,000-$40,000, sold just over its high estimate at $41,000, while the (in our view) less appealing and much larger Rhino (Lot 21 ), sold for $32,000, $3,000 below the low estimate.
All five of the Albert Namatjira watercolours sold at hammer prices between $12,000 and $26,000, with Central Australian Landscape (Lot 15 ), being the most successful of the group, selling exactly at its high estimate.
However, two of the three fine quality Fred Williams gouaches failed to find buyers. Upwey Landscape (Lot 28 ) sold at $40,000, $2,000 below the low estimate, while Gold Coast Hinterland II (Lot 20 ) was passed on estimates of $35,000-$45,000, and the simply titled Landscape (Lot 56 ) on estimates of $45,000-$55,000 proved a little too pricey for all.
Garry Shead’s prices at auction have been somewhat jolty in recent years. No such wavering last night however, as all four paintings by the artist sold, with a mix of works represented in this sale: A D.H. Lawrence Untitled (Lawrence and Frieda) from 1991 (Lot 18 ) surpassed expectations to sell for a healthy $36,000 on its $26,000-$32,000 estimate.
The Great White Goddess, 1996 (Lot 30 ), from Shead’s “Royal Suite” and depicting Queen Elizabeth II, sold below its $30,000-$40,000 for $37,000. Even the early and very big Before the Start, 1989 (Lot 54 ) sold for $38,000, again below its $40,000-$50,000 estimate.
Always the most sought after and popular images perhaps appealing to a far broader base of collectors are Shead’s “artist and muse” paintings. This one, Dancers (The Kiss) from 2002 (Lot 82 ), estimated at $36,000-$44,000, unsurprisingly sold above at $45,000 after spirited bidding.
This year saw the largest number of Jeffrey Smart paintings ever to appear at auction, raising expectations even further for the artist’s work and prices. Study for Waiting for the Train, c. 1969-70 (Lot 35 ), an early and smallish work, has a lovely suggestion of his later paintings and sold well at $80,000, just shy of the top estimate of $85,000.
Ramp by Factory (Lot 38 ) from 2000 was estimated at $350,000-$450,000 but did not produce a result on the night. However according to Cameron Menzies negotiations are now ongoing for its sale.
The cover lot, Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly and Horse, c.1964-65 (lot 39) had every ingredient for a trophy picture by the artist: the instantly recognisable subject on a large canvas from an important period of his oeuvre. With collectors usually prepared to dig deep for iconic Ned Kellys, the painting sold for the low estimate of $450,000 on estimates of $450,000-$550,000.
John Brack’s Backs and Fronts (Lot 40 ) has been offered for sale a number of times in recent years. Last night it was purchased by an agent acting on behalf of a major collector according to Menzies, paying $1.5 million hammer price on estimates of $1.5 million to $2 million. In Australia, few paintings sell in excess of $ 1 million, and a sale of $1.5 million will always make a significant impact on any sale.
Likewise then Pierre Bonnard’s Bouquet de Cheminée (lot 42), another sizeable lot at estimates of $750,000-$950,000: it sold for the low estimate to an Australian collector, but only after very serious contention from Invaluable, the dominant online auction bidding platform, or rather an European bidder, who bid to $725,000 online, in what auctioneer Martin Farrah refers to as “selling to the world wide web”. In fact, Menzies biggest sale to the world wide web was Jeffrey Smart’s Jogger in Cathedral Street, sold for $220,000 in Menzies September 2014 auction.
The guys at Invaluable would have been keeping their fingers crossed for this sale, as they take a 5% cut on sales via their platform.
Norman Lindsay collectors seem to have had a low libido of late. Desire has been decidedly curtailed with prices failing to meet expectations on a regular basis. Perhaps the sheer volume of voluptuous bodies however was enough to secure the $150,000 required to buy The Pirates’ Return, 1940 (Lot 43 ), although $10,000 below its low estimate, yet still a mighty sum.
A new auction record was set for Ivor Hele’s The Charge of Beersheba (Lot 60 ). This late and very dramatic depiction of diggers on horseback from 1973 looked like it had Australian War Memorial written all over it. However, it sold for $80,000 (almost double the high estimate of $45,000) to a private collector according to Menzies. The gentleman seated in front of us seemed genuinely disappointed to have missed out as the underbidder and consoled himself with the magnificently framed untitled S.T. Gill (Lot 62 ) for a modest $8,000 hammer price, below the $9,000 low estimate.
12 works from the Fritz Schwab collection took us on an interesting little trip away from the usual array of Boyds, Blackmans and Nolans all the way to Germany and the German expressionists George Grosz, sketches by Heinrich Zille and five works by Käthe Kollwitz.
George Grosz’ faintly comical unsigned and untitled (Three Women in Berlin) (Lot 115 ), estimated at $5,000-$8,000 sold for $6,000, whilst Untitled (Girl with Little Brother) (Lot 123 ) was Zille’s highest priced selling work with a hammer price of $3,250 on its $5,000-$8,000 expectations.
Most of the interest was reserved for the serious and harsh realism portrayed by Käthe Kollwitz. The ink drawing Lord’s Blessing, Pregnant Woman (Lot 117 ), on estimates of $9,000-$12,000 was heavily sought and was bid to more than twice its high estimate and selling for $26,000. Likewise Mothers II (Lot 120 ), a lithograph from 1919, sold also above its high estimate for $8,500.
11 of the 12 works from this collection sold and the vendor would surely be happy with the tally of $53,250 hammer price just in time for Christmas.
