Painting with sox appeal steals the limelight at Cordy's

By John Perry in Auckland, on 20-Apr-2016

Cordy's April sale in Auckland featured a number of significant private collections coming onto the market at the same time. In all 889 lots went under the hammer, although the pre-auction sale highlight, Augustus Earle's wonderful small sketchbook study of an Albatross (Lot 822 ) failed to reach the lower end of the pre sale estimate of $50,000, selling for $35,000 with a ''maiden bid''.

Cordy's April sale in Auckland featured rare painting by a very important but neglected woman artist who was active around the middle years of the 20th century. Bessie Christie (1908-1983) is hardly a household name, even in art circles, but her fabulous slice of social realism Knitting for Soldiers (Second World War) 1949 certainly struck a chord with the punters present who stayed until the end of the sale.

The real auction action happened on the very last lot of the sale The staff at Cordy's certainly knew to save the best until last with an extremely rare painting by a very important but neglected woman artist who was active around the middle years of the 20th century.

Bessie Christie (1908-1983) is hardly a household name, even in art circles, but her fabulous slice of social realism Knitting for Soldiers (Second World War) (Lot 890 ) 1949 certainly struck a chord with the punters present who stayed until the end of the sale.

Against a pre sale estimate of $5,000-$8,000 the bidding started at $4,000, and rose firstly in $500 lots until the top end of the estimate was reached, then rising in $1,000 increments to $15,000, a record price for the artist's work at auction, easily bettering the previous high of $2,600.

 

 

Sale Referenced:

About The Author

John Perry is known locally as a collector / consultant / curator/ educator and artist and is a former director of the Rotorua Museum of Art and History. For the last 20 years has worked as an antique dealer specializing in ''man made and natural curiosities'' from an old art deco cinema on the outskirts of Auckland. Over the last 16 years he has developed a multi million dollar collection of 19th and 20th century artworks for the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust. He recently donated 120 artworks from his collection in various media to the East Southland Art Gallery in Gore. A committed ''art o holic'' he continues to develop collections of New Zealand and International fine art / folk art / ceramics and photography for future usage in a private/public ARTMUSEEUM of NEWSEELAND, not to be confused with Te Papa Museum of New Zealand.

.