The first lot in the auction, Burnt Forest Canterbury 1955 (Lot 1 ) was a rare photograph of a burnt-out pine forest plantation taken by John Johns. This powerful and strong moving image sold well for $3,600 and it was followed by the contrasting Orchid Habitat Hanmer Forest (Lot 2 ) depicting a forestry road disappearing into the distance through a mature plantation of exotic pines, also by John Johns, which sold for $3,800.
A superb mid 20th century painting by John Tole entitled Timber Mill near Rotorua (Lot 19 ) was right up there with Christopher Perkin's iconic art work Taranaki. Tole's work featured man made industrial style structures in the natural environment, and sold for $31,000, a record price for the artist, easily exceeding the previous record of $11,000.
A triptych of Peter Peryer photographs of sweet treats, Jam Rolls, Neenish Tarts, Doughnuts (Lot 27 ) sold well for $18,000, which was $2000 above the high estimate, while his Self Portrait with Rooster (Lot 28 ) made the not so paltry sum of $6,500.
A unique small scale Tony Fomison lithograph, Tangi for Mururoa Atoll (Lot 35 ) doubled its top estimate to sell for $4,000, an indicator of what was to come later in the sale
Gordon Walters was represented in the sale by four important works which all sold well. Untitled No. 3 (Lot 41 ) sold for the low estimate of $35,000 while Blue Center (Lot 44 ) made $1,000 more than the low estimate at $61,000.
There were several important works in the sale, and the atmosphere was electric when a major Philip Clairmont work from the early 1980's was presented for sale. Scarred Couch II (Lot 45 ) got away with an opening bid of $100,000 and steadily rose to $276,000, an artist's record, earning a solid round of applause, and eclipsing the top estimate of $240,000 by $36,000. The previous record for this artist was $55,000 paid for The Folding Chair, sold by Art + Object in November 2017.
Tony Fomison, along with Allan Maddox and Philip Clairmont have the reputation of being the three wild men of contemporary New Zealand painting. Now, sadly, all three are deceased but they have left us a wonderful rugged legacy that lives on. Fomison's Ah, South Island Your Music Remembers Me (Lot 50 ) was one of this trio's master works, carrying an estimate of $180,000-$250,000.
Bidding on the lot started at $120,000 and after rising sluggishly in $5,000 increments, took off with the regular auction room battle between phone, internet, and the room. There was at least 5 minutes of bidding before the hammer finally came down at $321,000, the prize going to a consultant in the room. As well as achieving the top price in the sale, the work also exceeded the previous auction record of $168,000 for a Fomison painting.
Excellent prices were also achieved for works by Margot Philips (Lot 6 ), Ralph Hotere (Lot 46 ), Colin McCahon (Lot 59 ) and Mark Adams (Lot 87 ). The sale concluded with a small selection of ceramics and about 50 lots of books and art journals.
The sale total on the night was about $2 million including buyer's premium, which is not bad eh, in fact bloody good for Part 2 of a legendary collection formed by a legendary couple that made a serious commitment to the marriage of art and life, and enrichment and enjoyment.
All prices displayed are hammer, and in $NZ unless otherwise noted.
