The sale on 31 May 2018 titled All Possible Worlds, The Peter James Smith Collection, was full of connections and relationships – a number of works in the sale were purchased at New Zealand galleries and auction houses. I sold one of the works to Peter when I worked at Leonard Joel (Howard Arkley, Creation Study, lot 178), some of the artists collected have trans-Tasman gallery representation and a market in both countries. His collection has been put together with love, care and passion, comprising a well-balanced mix of New Zealand contemporary art and some standard Australian fare as well as lots of conceptual, and interesting international lots thrown in for good measure.
The sale started strongly on a cold Auckland night with well over 100 people in attendance. Early on three lots by Michael Parekowhai the current darling of the auction scene at the moment achieved well over estimates – including $19,000 for the ever popular Elmer Keith (Lot 21 ) c-type photograph and $2,050 for Mare Tranquillitatis: Sea of Tranquility (Lot 20 ) another c-type print in an edition of 100, easily eclipsing the previous top price of $450.
The subtle and tonally beautiful work on paper by Colin McCahon Light Falling through a Dark Landscape (Lot 29 ) was the highest estimated work in the sale at $20,000-30,000 and it was accompanied by an interesting anecdote in the catalogue noting that Peter bought the work from the display bins at the Barry Lett Gallery in the early 1970s. So many 'wish we were there moments' in time are never so keenly felt when Peter's initial investment of around $40 translated to $66,000 hammer. Four phone bidders weren't going to let the work sell cheaply and the potential bidders in the room didn't even get a look in as the phone bidders competed in $1,000 increments from $25,000 to the final figure, setting a new auction record for this series.
Heather Straka's star is on the ascent in the market with every work being offered almost topping the last sale price, and Dear John (St John the Baptist) (Lot 30 ) realized a staggering $26,000 against a $6,000 low estimate. Considering this is a small format work although beautifully executed, this price is in line with her recent sales of much larger paintings and is the third highest price at auction.
The only drawback with a good auction with many bidders is that it can be slow, and after 2 hours only half of the 198 lots had been offered. As the interest waned and the room cleared, strong bidding continued with lots of activity on the phone and internet.
Being a well-informed vendor, the realistic estimates allowed for strong bidding. An early photograph by Yvonne Todd from the Asthma and Eczema Series which won the inaugural Walters Prize in 2002 realized $7,500 (Lot 86 ) against a $4,000 estimate and a lithograph by American artist Ed Ruscha Lisp (Lot 137 ) was fiercely bid to $13,000 against a $4,000 reserve. Towards the end of the auction, the pace did slow and a higher percentage of the works were sold "subject to" including my old friend the Howard Arkley Untitled – Creation Study (Lot 178 ) and the Bill Henson Untitled 1996/1997 (Lot 162 )– an Australian artist A+O have previously had good success with.
As to be expected there was less traction for some of the Australian artists offered but great results for others such as Melinda Harper Untitled for $6,500 (Lot 17 ) and Tim Storrier Towards of Innuendo of Impertenance (Lot 114 ) for $2,600.
I'm sure that overall the vendor was pleased with the result, 68% by lot and over 100% by value, and the thought of the works in his collection going on to form their own connections and be enjoyed by others must bring immense pleasure to a man of the world such as Peter James Smith.
All prices quoted are hammer in $NZ unless otherwise noted.
