Sotheby’s Sydney June 21 Fine Asian, Australian & European Arts & Design auction reached an expected $1.5 million sale price (including buyers premium) with strong prices for contemporary works. The photography and art collection of leading Australian law firm Minter Ellison established four new artist auction records, including for Rosemary Laing’s 'Groundspeed (Red Piazzo) #2' (above) which sold for $31,720, breaking her previous record of $22,091.
Rosemary Laing’s 2014 record was broken twice in 30 seconds – Groundspeed (Red Piazzo) #2 selling for $31,720, while the cover lot, Makigawa’s Wisdom of Water realised $109,800 on a $60,000-$80,000 catalogue estimate.
Other contemporary artist auction records included Nell at $4880 and Anne Zahalka at $12,810.
Vietnamese artist Le Pho’s work Devant la Fenetre sold for $41,480 and a 17th/18th century Tibetan gilt bronze figure of Bhaisyajaguru (Medicine Buddha) realised $26,840 – more than four times its estimate.
An 1820 sterling silver soup tureen by London maker Paul Storr concluded the sale, selling to a telephone bidder for a well-deserved $31,720.
