A collection of contemporary works started the Important and Rare Art sale on 27 November, with the inclusion of some very recent photos by Lisa Reihana featuring still portraits of characters from the Pursuit of Venus (infected), her much lauded work from the Venice Biennale in 2017.
The subjects in question were Maori Chief (Lot 7 ) and Hodges (In Pursuit of Venus) (Lot 8 ). These photographs haven’t appeared at auction previously as they were only produced in 2016. Despite the success of the Pursuit of Venus (a must watch if you haven’t yet seen it) both were sold subject under their low estimates of $15,000 and $8,000 respectively.
The current auction darling, Karl Maughan, who seems to have knocked Michael Parekowhai off this spot, continued his upward trajectory with Mt Curl (Lot 6 ) realizing $30,000 against a $25,000 low estimate.
The first work to ignite a well deserved bidding war was Mahana (Lot 20 ), a very rare and visually pleasing 1930s landscape by Toss Woollaston. Held in the estate of Sheila Allen, daughter of the artist W H Allen, whose works featured later on in the catalogue, Allen was part of a British contingent of painters who were recruited to New Zealand in the 1920s to improve the quality of art teaching. Allen and Woollaston worked together in the late 1930s during the summers in Nelson and Mahana is a standout example of this new wave of Early Modernism in New Zealand painting.
With no previous comparable sales as a benchmark, the estimate of $15,000-$20,000 was no doubt attractive as was the scarcity of these types of paintings on the open market. A commission bid of $15,000 on the low estimate got the item moving, with multiple bidders on the phone and in the room engaged. When the bidding slowed down at $21,000 it looked like the buy of the night until a new bidder joined in at $22,000 and the work finally realized $27,000.
The first of the much anticipated Don Binney bird paintings, this one titled Puketotora Once Bittern (Lot 30 ) was strongly estimated at $120,000-$180,000. Recently traded at Dunbar Sloane in Wellington in 2015 for $62,500, the vendor must have been hoping to capitalize on the market appetite for these original bird paintings. The lot opened at $80,000 and referred to a bidder in the room, well below the low estimate but sold post auction for $100,000
The next work, Lower Kaiaraara Kotare, (Lot 31 ) was a more desirable work as it features a flying bird front and centre of the picture plane and measures a substantial 90 x 75 cm. An opening bid of $140,000 led to a bid of $150,000 in the room and the announcement that the work was on the market, and with no further bidding, the work was promptly sold against a low estimate of $180,000.
By comparison, the last Binney, (Lot 33 ) Egretta Intermedia, Piha III, a work on paper, was perhaps more enticing to bidders due to the lower estimate, a more affordable entry point perhaps to the bird market. The estimate of $35,000-$45,000 was easily surpassed by two room bidders who battled it out to $49,000.
The painting with the highest estimate in the catalogue, provided the most interesting result of the night. The C.F Goldie portrait of Kapi Kapi (Lot 34 ) (one of Goldie’s favourite sitters) had been purchased at IAC in 2014 for $220,000 hammer. The Goldie market is unique in New Zealand and recently has been delivering year on year gains. In some instances, prices have been achieved $100,000 over estimates especially for the smaller format works. With the premium, the vendor paid $253,000 in 2014, so an estimate of $280,000 - $350,000 seemed reasonable considering the price increases over four years. The opening bid of $240,000, started off a very long and slow bidding process with the two parties competing all the way in $1,000 rises. The purchasers were finally successful at $275,000, just under the low estimate and without delivering the anticipated gain for the vendor.
This lot seemed to spark a new trend that night, with two more lots being contested also in $1,000 rises, despite having substantial interest in the room and on the phones. Lots 48 and 49, both by Raymond McIntyre, had very enticing estimates and a strong continuous provenance, being held in the same family since being painted at the beginning of last century.
McIntyre’s works are rarely seen in on the market and these small format works on panel, show the best of the artist’s interpretation of British Impressionism. For collectors who wish to acquire works from this period, these two pieces were a must have. Both works In London (Lot 48 ) and Chelsea (Lot 49 ) opened at $15,000 on the low estimate and were well contested by multiple bidders on the phone and in the room to both realise $38,000. Fortuitously the same bidder bought both works and they will remain together for the foreseeable future.
The prize for the work with the best investment potential surely must go to Garth Tapper’s, Dawn Parade, Puhoi (Lot 36 ). Tapper was New Zealand’s foremost social realist painter and despite being painted in the mid 1980s, one could be mistaken for thinking it was a work from the 1950s.
The sight of returned soldiers, with gleaming medals on their jackets, standing solemnly in front of a quintessential country pub is a sobering sight, especially considering recent Remembrance Day celebrations. Estimated at $18,000-$24,000, there were two phone and one room bidder for the painting, which realized $21,000 hammer. Although the final price was over the low estimate, I am sure that it could be worth double that in the medium to long term.
Overall the auction topped off a very successful year for IAC, and 2018 has been their best year yet, helped along by the sale of the Goldie paintings belonging to Kiri Te Kanawa in April and regularly scheduled sales throughout the year which have achieved very solid and consistent results.
By the end of the evening, the sale had racked up a total of $1,372,000 hammer, being 70% by value and 57% by lot with post sales negotiations continuing.
All prices are in $NZ and are hammer, unless otherwise indicated.
