Other records were also broken. Anne Wallace’s triptych (Lot 86 ) brought a solid $20,000 on $12,000-$18,000 estimates, comfortably surpassing her previous $13,000 set as long ago as 2006. The three panels of ‘Sour the Boiling Honey’, 1991, reveal a full-on commitment to contemporary realist painting at a time when postmodernism was riding high. Also noticeable was the quiet work of Helen Ogilvie (1902-1993). She paints spartan architecture in tempera on board where the use of tempera creates the bleached effect of northern Mediterranean light. In this vein, ‘Cottage Ruins, Cape Bridgewater’, 1964 (Lot 68 ), set a new record for the artist at $10,000. Ogilvie is yet another mid-century female artist for us to record under the currency of the National Gallery of Australia banner ‘Know My Name’.
Overall, there were not as many artist records set as there were during the major Sydney/Melbourne sales held at the height of the pandemic, when buyers were in home detention and wanted to turn their accumulated savings into tangible assets.
Auctioneer Martin Farrah began the sale with a brief tribute to the late Rod Menzies, founder, chairman and owner of Menzies. As Farrah put it, Menzies’ flagship 1998 entry into Australia’s secondary art market ‘changed the auction scene forever’. For this writer, the auction patriarch always seemed to take up a formidable position centre aisle at the back, from where he could warmly welcome clients to the room and keep a watchful eye as the auction proceeded. He championed modernist Australian art, and brought many major works from the international market to the welcoming arms of collectors on our shores.
The format of the auction followed a familiar course, with tantalising entries, big ticket items in the central court and editions bringing up the rear. Margaret Preston’s ‘Cinerarias’, c1927 (Lot 1 ) was certainly a tantalising entry selling near the top of its estimated range at $19,000. However, the small Clarice Beckett ‘Beaumaris Foreshore’ (Lot 4 ) was let go at a touch under its low estimate at $22,000. Then the deeply-coloured Vida Lahey canvas ‘Brisbane from South Bank, c1930, (Lot 6 ) was passed in at $38,000.
In the central section a magnificent William Delafield Cook, graceful yet desperately arid and ironically titled ‘Waterfall’, 2004 (Lot 25 ) exceeded pre-sale expectations with a hammer of $190,000 on $120,000-$160,000 estimates. This still seems like a bargain when compared with the larger ‘French Cliff’ canvas from the National Australia Bank Collection, sold in February this year by Deutscher and Hackett for a hammer price of $420,000.
Hot on its heels a graphically ingenious Jeffrey Smart, full of illuminated billboards, barriers and stop signs fetched the highest price for the night. ‘Level Crossing’, 1997 (Lot 27 ) tipped the scales at $530,000 near the top of its conservatively estimated range.
The sale offered an increasing run of contemporary works. We have to remember that in London, Hong-Kong and New York, ‘Post-war and Contemporary’ has been the hottest auction category for more than 20 years and still remains so. Following this trend, a night sky Tim Storrier, ‘The Night Run (Star Trail)’, 2007 (Lot 28 ) set the pace, selling at $170,000 on $150,000-$180,000 estimates. His is a firmly established market. So too is the market for the inimitable work of Rosalie Gascoigne. She was represented by two works ‘City Block’, 1996 (Lot 34 ) and ‘Thermals’, 1998 (Lot 35 ), quite coincidentally apparently constructed from similar wooden cable reel segments, and selling comfortably for $110,000 and $90,000 respectively. ‘Warm Valley’, 1994, (Lot 36 ) by Clement Meadmore brought the second highest price for the artist, reaching $110,000 mid-range of its estimates. This is a great modernist sculpture, totally characteristic of his practice.
The buy of the night was Ben Quilty’s eulogy to the decline of a mate: ‘FTW (After Sam Bull Hall)’, 2006 (Lot 39 ), consisting of twenty-six gouaches of parrots framed to the shape of the individual letters of the moniker FTW. In this work, the decline of a species towards extinction parallels the current decline in men’s health and mental well-being. A lucky room bidder snapped this up at $32,000. Not much for a major Quilty.
The pieces that didn’t sell are probably a reflection of the times that are a changin. Auction stalwart Sidney Nolan was a no-go with bidders this time around. His folklore traditions ‘Kelly on Horse’, c1962 (Lot 14 ) and ‘Swamp (Burke and Wills Expedition)’, 1964 (Lot 29 ), amongst others failed to find bids on the night. So too the major Garry Shead works calling to a distinctly Australian muse – ‘Bush Bacchanal, Pokolbin’, 2011 (Lot 20 ) and ‘The Supper’, 1993 (Lot 19 ) –were left without bids, but referrals are anticipated post-sale.
The very popular editions in the final section of the sale highlighted two superb international works: Sean Scully’s five-piece ‘Munich Mirrors’, 2003 (Lot 119 ) and David Hockney’s ‘Celia in a Wicker Chair’, 1974 (Lot 120 ) sold for $15,000 and $26,000 respectively, with the Hockney in particular attracting fierce telephone bidding.
The final sale total was $4.646 million including buyer's premium, with 84% of the lots sold by value and 75% sold by number.
All prices quoted are hammer prices and do not include the buyer’s premium unless otherwise noted.
