Highlights from the 73 lot sale include a very strong result for C.F Goldie, Memories, Tearara, A Chieftainess of the Arawa Tribe (Lot 26 ) which sold for $450,000 against a lower estimate of $300,000. This painting was one of three by Goldie exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1934 which received praise and attention.
At the time, this painting was purchased by an English lady, Miss Carnelly and had remained in her family collection until now. The price represented the third highest at auction in New Zealand for a work by Goldie and this sale comes follows another exceptionally strong result, the sale of Reverie, Ena Te Papatahi, a Ngapuhi Chieftainess (Ina Te Papatahi, Nga Puhi) 1916 at Christies in London in September 2015 for £320,000 against a low estimate of £200,000.
Portraits achieved almost all the top prices on the night including the popular painting by Gottfried Lindauer, Ana Rupene and Child (Lot 20 ) from the Wellesley Club which achieved $80,000 against a low estimate of $60,000. Although this is Lindauer’s most famous painting, it is also his most prolific with versions of it appearing at auction 19 times since the records began on AASD. It is estimated he produced approximately 30 copies of the work.
Another work to shine from the Wellesley Club was the Petrus van der Velden, Mt Rolleston and the Otira River (Lot 21 ). A very reasonable $10,000-$15,000 estimate for a pretty dark work (even by van der Velden standards) was swept away with strong bidding to realize $24,000 on the night.
An important work by Frances Hodgkins Methodist Chapel (Lot 27 ) was sold subject to confirmation at $120,000 against a $150,000 estimate. This painting is extremely significant as it was chosen as one of 40 paintings to represent British Art at the Biennial Exhibition in Venice in 1940. If it sells at $120,000 hammer, the painting will achieve the third highest auction price for a work on paper by Frances Hodgkins and is the highest price in this category since 2003.
While the remainder of the results in the evening Fine Art sale were solid, there were a few surprises in the Affordable Art section held the next day. A variety of works of all genres and sizes well exceeded their estimates, including an interesting oil painting of St Peters, Akaroa (lot 291) by modernist painter Frank Gross, which sold for $3,100 against a low estimate of $400.
A fairly typical work in felt tip and watercolour by John Bevan Ford Marienplatz (lot 291) achieved $4,000 against a low estimate of $750 and a possible 1940s self portrait by the artist Ted Bracey (lot 391) fetched $3,100 against an estimate of $500.
Overall day one of the sale achieved $917,250 and sold 72% by lot and 79% by volume.
