Despite the low attendance, Georgina Pemberton as auctioneer, was superb throughout and the atmosphere in th eroom shifted from “empty” to “intimate” as soon as the auction commenced.
For contemporary collectors in the room, the night represented opportunity. It was genuinely dynamic and there was a real sense of energy that was missing from Monday evening. The buyers present were active and committed, and the telephone was kept busy through the evening.
Sotheby’s demonstrated a change in strategy in Session II. Bidding was opened significantly below the low end and it was immediately clear to the room that the collection was to be sold and reserves were not restrictive.
It appears that the dull atmosphere on Monday evening was largely attributed to a feeling of vendor driven estimates, whereas Tuesday night allowed buyers to demonstrate their interest and participate in the market process. This in turn created buyers confidence which translated to excellent overall results.
This strategy paid dividends, not fully reflected in the sale statistics. Not reflected in the prices shown below, which include buyers premium, is the additional 10% GST payable by purchasers on the Austcorp lots.
Lot 177, the cloisonné Human, Human (Bust 5) by Ah Xian enjoyed rapid bidding on two telephones when the auctioneer opened the bidding at $50,000 against an estimate of $80,000 - 100,000. A new telephone bidder entered at $100,000 and underbid the work to its hammer of $150,000.
Works that sold below or at their low end, were still exciting sales. The Dale Frank lengthy titled painting (Lot 179 ), View Up To Black's Camp Creek Road and Snake Hill From the Highway near Tiaro Around 7.00pm, opened in the mid $20,000 range against a $40,000 - 60,000 estimate and saw bids from the books, the phone and in the room before it was knocked down at $38,000. Not the most exciting figure against the printed estimate, but an exciting sale, a strong result in the current market and a record for the artist at auction.
John Kelly’s Camouflaged Cow (Lot 183 ) sold in the room for the bargain price of $22,000 hammer against an estimate of $35,000 - $45,000.
With 5 bidders in the room and one on the telephone, Lot 185 Chimpanzee’s Finger by Lisa Roet achieved a record price of $44,000 against an estimate of $18,000 - 25,000; certainly a balancing of the books for Austcorp and Sotheby’s.
Records were also set for James Angus, Hany Armanious, Bill Culbert, Cherine Fahd, Anne Zahalka and Mikala Dwyer
The success of Session II lifted the overall clearance of the top 20 lots to 75% by value against the low end estimate and 68% by lot.
The buyer driven strategy employed by Sotheby’s and the vendors created a winning environment for all.
