One of the most understated sales promotions of the year is for the collection put together by one of Australia's most flamboyant collectors.

The private collection of antiques and decorative arts being sold by Mossgreen Auctions in its rooms in Melbourne on Monday 20^th May belonged to the late Mr Emmanuel Margolin, writes our corrospondent, Terry Ingram

A Brett Whiteley painting that has been held in a private US collection for more than 40 years has fetched just under $1 million – more than $600,000 above the reserve – at auction. In its first major auction in its new Collins Street premises on Tuesday night, Sotheby's Melbourne sold Woman in a Bath 1, 1963, to a telephone bidder for $976,000, well above the pre-sale estimate of between $200,000 and $300,000

Deutscher + Hackett’s first auction for 2013 was a sale that demonstrated the burgeoning confidence in the market place accompanied by rising expectations which, lamentably at this early stage of recovery, were not always quite in accord. Even so, the auction was certainly successful with a tally of $4.5 million IBP and 77% clearance rate by volume.

Quality art attracted competitive bidding at Deutscher and Hackett's first fine art auction for the year in Melbourne last night, but it was cold comfort for the rest that was on offer. Of the 138 artworks offered for an estimated $4.8million to $6.5m, 75 per cent found buyers. The auction house recorded total sales of $4.5m, including the buyers premium.