What a magnificent piece: the respective images sizzle with graphic power—the weigh-in stare, with fist raised, with head raised, with head bowed—all set in grounds of vivid colour. In his 1970s execution of works from the so-called Athlete’s Series, Warhol painted a unique canvas to accompany each series of prints. Menzies’ catalogue entry records that Warhol’s metre by metre canvas of Ali sold at Christies New York in 2007 for US$9,225,000 including premium. Now it would bring somewhat more. But the price relativity to the prints is interesting. The raw power of the prints seems to shine a light on the later 1980s graphic renderings by British artist Julian Opie, currently on show at the National Gallery of Victoria.
Putting the heady mix of Ali and Warhol to one side, Menzies Spring auction was overall a quiet affair, with colder temperatures and the threat of rain hovering over the city, the audience numbers in the room were down, with few artist records. The respectable 77% sales by lot perhaps overshadowed the lingering doubts that the audience had for many of the works on offer. Many sold at or below the lower estimate in a delicate to and fro between quality and reserve price. High reserves do not a sale make.
This was a reality for the sale’s first 20 or so lots, where an uncharacteristically expressionist Rick Amor, On the Pier 1984 (Lot 11 ) sold for a mere $8500 hammer on a $14,000 to $16,000 estimate. True, it was a painting loaded with Amor’s implied human narratives in the landscape, but it did not tap into the mellowed memory flow of his major work. Inexplicably in this early part of the sale, a Cressida Campbell watercolour on plywood failed to find a buyer. Entwined Flannel Flowers 2013 (Lot 23 ) seemed to offer the winning texture of oil paint, but the white flowers on a black ground seemed defeated by their surroundings.
Only by lot 30 did the heart start to flutter as John Perceval’s very early Ti Tree and She Oaks 1959 (Lot 30 ) roused a fight between room bidders to reach a hammer of $70,000 well above its estimated range of $30,000 to $40,000. This lyrical painting with dense brushwork provides a fitting preface to his later famed Williamstown works that have a lighter touch and brighter palette. One such work, Boat at Night (Williamstown Series) (Lot 26 ) sold with a hammer price of $45,000, which fell within its estimated range when buyer’s premium is included. The two works provide an interesting direct comparison in tracking the oeuvre of a single artist- one piece early, one piece later.
A procession of bigger ticket items filled the central section of the catalogue after lot 30. Gary Shead’s Queen and Royal Procession II 1997 (Lot 33 ) set the stage with a delightful republican sentiment. It has retained its political and cultural relevance in the 20 years since it was painted. Brisk bidding sent the work to the top of its estimated range at just over $150,000 including premium.
Tim Maguire’s Untitled 20030101 2003 (Lot 35 ), a superb early example of the crossover between paint and pixels, announced its importance with a double page catalogue spread. However it sat quietly at a hammer of $100,000, even after auctioneer Cameron Menzies had spruiked its worth at double the opening commission bid of $80,000.
The run of museum quality paintings held their ground well. Fred Williams’ somewhat Spartan display of tree markings leaning into an ochre field, Hillside II 1968 (Lot 39 ) reached the $1,000,000 mark with buyer’s premium, just nudging the low end of its estimated range. It is such an iconic work that its future value is somewhat guaranteed. The modestly-scaled Jeffrey Smart Outside the Ministry 1970 (Lot 40 ) that graced the cover of the catalogue similarly achieved the bottom of its estimated range with a hammer of $400,000. The truncated image played strongly into the painting’s title.
The John Brack figure work, Adagio 1967-9 (Lot 42 ), squeezed all the sentimentality out of burlesque theatre with its spotlight illumination. But with a hammer and sale at $550,000 it was well below its low estimate of $650,000. Perhaps its presence was somewhat jaded after six previous appearances at auction—hardly the freshness of an opening night.
Multiple re-appearances of the famous Fernand Leger China Town 1943 (Lot 41 ) did not detract from an enthusiastic market reception this time around. It sold to the anonymity of the telephone with a hammer of $1,200,000 just above the top of its estimated range with buyer’s premium. It was refreshing to see Peter D. Cole’s three contemporary works, River I & II c1999 (Lot 57 ) (Lot 58 ) and Landscape-Energy 1995 (Lot 78 ) from the Collection of Powercor Australia all find homes with the same buyer.
