IAC had kept themselves busy during lockdown, initiating two online sales through online auction site Invaluable.com of their generally more affordable stock and achieved solid results. Perhaps more people at home with time on their hands and shops being closed provided more focused attention on the online offering .
The staff at IAC had been pleased with the response to their Important and Rare catalogue before lockdown but how this would translate in our post lockdown environment was anyone’s guess. Their first challenge was capping the auction numbers to a maximum of 100 and being able to socially distance everyone due to rules set by the government. IAC usually has well in excess of 100 clients attending their sales, so everyone was required to pre-register before attending and chairs were laid out as singles or small groups with the appropriate space between them. At the beginning of the sale, there were about 70 clients in attendance.
The first three lots set high hopes for the sale, with works from the collection of notable architect and art collector Ron Sang, selling well above the estimates. Don Binney’s screenprint Kaiaraka Kaku, Great Barrier 1982 (Lot 1 ) realised $15,000 against a low estimate of $10,000 and two Len Castle ceramics Large Inverted Volcano (Lot 2 ) and Crater Lake Bowl (Lot 3 ) almost doubled their low estimates to make $14,250 and $15,000 respectively. After the strong start the sale slowed down with a number of works including some major pieces passing in with no offers to refer to the vendor. A large and significant painting by Peter Stichbury Swoon (Stendahl Syndrome) (lot 26) was one of these which had received a lot of presale publicity but carried a very strong estimate of $80,000-$120,000 which was well in excess of the top Stichbury price of $56,000 set by IAC in last year.
After a record setting 2019 for Michael Smither, IAC had consigned six paintings for the sale including two lots from the same vendor, Wellington filmmaker Tony Hiles. His first work Chris Cricket Meets Buzzy Bee (Lot 33 ) hails from the artist’s important domestic paintings series from the 1960s which featured images of his children and family life. Until last year, images from this series claimed all the top prices at auction, so the estimate of $100,000-$150,000 on Chris Cricket seemed realistic and achievable. Initially it looked as this this painting was heading in the same direction as some of the other unsold lots, but when the opening bid was dropped to an enticing $70,000, the room and the phone bidders kicked in with multiple parties needing little encouragement to bid up to the sale price of $100,000. The following Smither Summer Evening in Taranaki 1974 (Lot 34 ), also belonging to Tony Hiles, presented beautifully in the room but had limited attention on the night. Against an estimate of $180,000-$240,000, bids were not forthcoming until an online bidder offered $140,000 which must be the highest price bid online in an art sale in New Zealand (that I am aware of) and the work was knocked down subject.
Happily three paintings strongly exceeded expectations and showed no signs of any impending financial crisis. Grahame Sydney regularly appears at auction however major oil paintings are hard to come by, especially when the artist runs a waiting list for new works, and he has no regular dealer gallery managing his primary market sales of oils and watercolours. Unlike many recent Sydney paintings offered at auction, Rock of Ages, Rough Ride (Lot 39 ) is a relatively new work, painted in 2009 and its subject matter is synonymous with the artist, the Central Otago landscape. No less than five telephone bidders all competed slowly and cautiously for the work, and it finally landed at $140,000, just under top estimate and taking out the third highest price for at auction Sydney’s work.
Also moving slowly was the other standout lot of the night, Pink and White Terraces – Rotomahana (Lot 46 ) a pair of oil paintings by Charles Blomfield. Two phone bidders and an internet bidder battled it out in $1,000 rises almost all the way from the starting bid and low estimate of $40,000 to an incredible $112,000. The audience sat patiently for well over 5 minutes while the lot played out, online bidding really slowing down the process, despite three keen bidders who needed little encouragement. By comparison, an assertive art consultant in the room bid quickly and assuredly against the phone to secure Philip Clairmont’s Still Life (Lot 42 ) at the top estimate of $150,000 on behalf of a client and to take out the highest price of the night.
The rest of the sale produced mixed results with traditional International Art Centre favourites finding favour with the buyers. Paintings by Peter McIntyre and Margaret Olrog all sold strongly with good competition, but some of the more contemporary offerings didn’t gain traction with works by Max Gimblett, Jude Rae, Rohan Wheallans and Stephen Bambury being either passed in or sold subject a fair way under the estimate.
With limited numbers in the room due to Covid-19 restrictions, it did feel that the crowd who attended were there for intended and considered purchases. Usually the results of the auction are posted online the day after the sale but 36 hours after the sale the results aren’t yet up, suggesting that the IAC team are working hard behind the scenes to get their subject sales over the line and transact other unsold items. IAC Director, Richard Thompson said he was pleasantly surprised with how well the sale went, considering how different the economic climate looked 7 weeks ago and felt encouraged about the future of the market once this round of sales is over.
POST-SCRIPT: IAC Director Richard Thompson confirmed that 48 hours after the sale, a number of works had been sold including Felix Kelly (African Capriccio, Post Office, Sierra Leone) (Lot 43 ) at $45,000 (a new record for the artist) and Ralph Hotere’s (A Black Union Jack) (Lot 44 ) for $67,500 and Ambriel (Lot 28 ) by Peter Stichbury for $30,000. Additional lots were still under negotiation including Michael Smither’s Summer Evening in Taranaki which was expected to be finalised before the weekend.
All sales are hammer price and do not include the buyer’s premium of 17.5% plus GST.
