A room only two-thirds full may have indicated what lay ahead, although bidding participation was drawn from the floor as well as the phones.
Ironically the two-thirds figure featured again as the pattern for solds vs unsolds rate. Until the mid point of the auction some healthy, even impressive results were achieved and two-thirds of the lots exchanged hands. Then the storm clouds rolled in and reversed the situation whereby the same proportion of lots were passed in.
Rupert Bunny’s Woman with Rose (Lot 9 ) featured amongst the unsold works as did John Olsens’ Wetlands (Lot 39 ) instantly and effectively cruelling Sotheby’s $4 million high hopes. At night’s end Sotheby’s lodged a $2.717 hammer result representing 68% by value and 53% by volume.
It was clear that many collectors were holding their purse strings tight, shying away from works perceived to be fulsome such as Roy de Maistre’s Macquarie Street (Lot 8 ), Roland Wakelin’s The Bridge from Lavender Bay (Lot 13 ) and John Brack’s Three Horses (Lot 63 ); or simply deemed to be bland, no longer in vogue or less attractive; take a bow Sidney Nolan’s Central Australia (Lot 35 ), Garry Shead’s Antipodeans (Lot 36 ) Charles Blackman’s Child with a Pram (Lot 33 ) and John Perceval’s Boy Crying in a Carlton Street (Lot 57 ).
Less predictably Robert Klippel’s sculptures were not on collectors’ Christmas lists and only No.692 (Lot 34 ) sold at its low estimate of $10,000, managed to make its way under the tree.
On the upside there were several lots that defied the predominant lackadaisical mood: indeed no death knell chimed for Ellis Rowan’s Chrysanthemums (Lot 11 ), instead at least 3 bidders (patently not subscribers to Italian tradition) chased it to set a $90,000 (IBP) auction record for the artist.
The Yellow Room, (Lot 5 ) Margaret Olley’s charming and bright interior also brought sunshine achieving a $100,000 record hammer price and 10% above upper estimate. Likewise Kitchen Cupboard: Still Life (Lot 27 ) enjoyed success at $65,000, a top 10 result for the artist.
Serious interest greeted the interesting La Folie by Roy de Maistre (Lot 12 ) and it was snapped up at $75,000.
Everybody loves their ‘Gran’ and Russell Drysdale’s portrait (Lot 14 ) proved no exception. It sold within a whisper of its top estimate for $980,000 to the telephone following a rapid exchange of bids. It was an impressive result and places the work well within Drysdale’s top 10 results at position no.7.
Henri Bastin’s Landscape (Lot 19 ) repeated the same pattern, selling one bid shy of its top estimate for $29,000 making it the artist’s third most valuable painting sold at auction. Waterfall also set a good price above low estimate fetching $32,000 and now ironically occupies both first and second position on Bastin’s table of auction results, showing a $10,000 disparity between boom-time results and conservative conditions.
Jeffrey Smart ‘came good’ in the face of softening prices and take up for his work. Second Study for Containers and Silos at Livorno (Lot 20 ) soared well beyond its upper range to sell for $135,000.
Filling the respectable results ranks were The Matriarch by William Dobell which sold mid estimate for $44,000, Joel Elenberg’s Mask 5 (Lot 21 ) was bid to $60,000, John Brack’s Pot Plant (Lot 64 ) fetched $82,000 and a sound $320,000 secured Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly in the Bush (Lot 26 ).
Overall, in keeping with the weather theme, it was a very patchy and cloudy sale for Sotheby’s marked by some good glimmers of sunshine. They will be looking forward to a better forecast ahead.
