International Art Centre offered Part 1 of the Silich Collection, 176 lots which had been purchased by New Zealander David Silich over the past 20 years after returning to New Zealand from living abroad for most of his life. Seeking to purchase works which seemed underrated as well as representational of New Zealand landscape and its surrounds he amassed hundreds of works which will be sold over two sales. The estimates were extremely reasonable and the catalogue varied, stretching from the 19th century historical works by Blomfield and Hoyte, through modernism and the Maori modernists and some contemporary painters such as Darryn George and Reuben Patterson. As the collection wasn’t available for in room viewing and IAC has large windows fronting Parnell Road, clients could request artworks to be displayed in the windows for viewing and when I drove past last week there were about 35 works visible so the service had obviously been well utilised by clients.
Much of the collection had been purchased at auction and thanks to the ‘View Sales History’ feature on AASD, it’s interesting to track the price trajectory of many of these works. Early lots in the sale included some sure-fire winners including Charles Tole’s Oil Tanks (Lot 8 ), an excellent example of the artist’s hard edged modernism. Tole’s prices have definitely increased over the last 20 years, although this work had been purchased from Hamish McKay Gallery in 2010 and had previously been in the Tim and Sheerah Francis Collection so the purchase price wasn’t online. The work made $45,000 against a low estimate of $25,000 which set a new record for the artist. Another work from the Francis collection and sold in their single vendor sale at Art + Object in 2016 was fellow modernist Adele Younghusband’s Still Life with Candle and Flowers (Lot 5 ). Purchased by Silich for $9,750 it realised $20,500 this time round.
Other well considered works included Buck Nin’s Return to the Marae (Lot 13 ) which had purchased in 2009 for $16,000. David Silich had paid well above the estimate at the time but given the interest in Nin’s work currently it was no surprise when it sold for $47,500 against a $30,000 estimate. The same went for Guy Ngan’s Tiki Hands Transformation (Lot 14 ) which had been purchased in 2012 for $9,000. This time round it made $30,000 against a low estimate of $10,000.
A very rare work by scarcely known but significant artist Buster Black burst through its low estimate of $3,000-$5,000 to realise $20,000. Only a handful of works by the artist are in existence as he destroyed much of his work but his black paintings from the 1950s and his relationship with Colin McCahon ensure he occupies an important place in New Zealand’s art history. City at Night (Lot 104 ) had been up for sale on two previous occasions, realising $5,000 in 2011 and $2,250 in 2008. The only other work by the artist listed on AASD was sold in 1997 and now resides in Auckland Art Gallery.
The Silich collection provides an excellent snapshot of the current market, which illustrates that as a general rule, artworks dating from the modernist period in New Zealand, roughly 1950-1970 are generally increasing in value. Not quite so popular are the pre-modernist works, paintings by D.K Richmond, Ida Eise and Cedric F Kelly amongst others which all sold a bid or two either side of their purchase price. The historical paintings section also fared in a similar way with most works selling around their original purchase price with a couple of exceptions for paintings of exceptional quality. A highly detailed watercolour with excellent dense colour Portrait of Te Kuha (Lot 146 ) by Horatio Gordon Robley realised $9,750, when comparable examples would usually make around $2,000-$4,000 in the current market. Likewise a charming scene of an art gallery interior dating from the 1930s by a little known artist Anna Robinson A Day in the Gallery (Lot 143 ) was hotly contested to realise $5,500 against an estimate of $500-$700. With only two previous examples by the artist sold in the low hundreds of dollars and nothing to be found about her biography online, clients must have responded to the unique and expertly executed watercolour which sat toward the end of the sale.
The auction posted an extremely successful result for IAC and the vendor with a 95% clearance rate on the night and 128% by value, a result which Richard Thompson from IAC thought would match an in-room sale. I hazard a guess that perhaps it might have even exceeded a live auction. The idea of clients sitting at home, with a glass of wine, bidding away is often mentioned in jest by auctioneers but in this case it’s clear that the internet bidders who comprised about 75% of the successful bids were absolutely enjoying the auction from the comfort of home. Online registrations numbered over 600 for this sale which was also a record.
The main downside to this type of sale is the slow pace and having to wait for the internet bidders, something that all auction houses will need to reassess going forward if the online auction format becomes more commonplace. Personally, I also missed the study of human nature in the auction room. I love watching people engage with a work and fight for it, the whispered conversations between couples deciding whether to go one more bid, the obvious joy when a work is purchased, the banter of the auctioneers and the camaraderie of the trade standing at the back of the auction room. This to me is the essence of the auction room and something that the online sales just can’t replicate and I hope the inevitable move to more online sales means that the in room sale won’t become a thing of the past.
The sale realised $1.097 million including buyer's premium, with 128% sold by value and 93% sold by number.
