Auctioneer Roger McIlroy did a good job at applying his trade. Glimpses of his charisma from his early Christie’s days were evident and the torrential downpour did not dampen his spirit. McIlroy used pause with effect and punctuated bids with witticisms, despite the Wesfarmers sale not achieving the high prices many expected.
Deutscher and Hackett did well to negotiate generous discretion from the ASX listed company with 14 of the first 23 lots selling below low estimates. Highlights from the collection included John Olsen’s All Around The Harbour, 1963 (Lot 7 ) which was purchased by his son and commercial gallerist, Tim Olsen. Tim Olsen paid $190,000 hammer ($228,000 IBP) for this work, while his companion, Tim Goodman eyeballed the competition, a private underbidder seated several rows behind the couple.
Only three other works achieved figures above their conservative estimates: Tim Storrier’s Saddle with Bones, 1983 (Lot 13 ) $75,000 hammer ($90,000 IBP), Constance Stokes Green Gum Nuts, 1933 (Lot 4 ) $45,000 hammer ($54,000 IBP) and Charles Blackman’s Daffodils in a White Vase, c 1985 (Lot 20 ) $40,000 hammer ($48,000 IBP).
The auctioneer’s exclamation of ‘good buying Charles’ when he knocked down Roger Kemp’s Experience, c1964-1965 (Lot 10 ) to dealer Charles Nodrum for $16,000 hammer ($19,200 IBP) summed up the opportunity with Wesfarmer’s works. At this point, those who had not registered for bidding were encouraged to do so – it was clear that the Wesfarmers curator’s comments citing company policy not to store collection works was to be taken seriously. Deutscher and Hackett had instructions to sell.
Despite the Kemp’s flat result, abstract collectors have something to be buoyed about. Ralph Balson’s Non-Objective Painting (Lot 27 ) from 1958 set an auction record for a work from this period. Multiple bidders drove the hammer price to $110,000 ($132,000 IBP).
Such prices have historically been reserved for his constructive works from the 1940s. Similarly, Western Australian artist Guy Grey-Smith’s The Bay, 1973 (Lot 28 ) eclipsed its top estimate and achieved a hammer of $60,000 ($72,000 IBP).
Other good paintings were also keenly contested. Russell Drysdale’s Western Landscape, 1945 (Lot 25 ) was underbid by Charles Nodrum, possibly on behalf of major collector and art benefactor Bill Bowness, and sold to the phones for $180,000 ($216,000 IBP) .
This work had previously been offered by Sotheby’s on the 5th of May, 2009 and at that time carried an estimate of $280,000 - $350,000. On the 6th of May, 2009 Bonhams and Goodman offered a near identical work entitled Small Landscape, 1945, from the same Macquarie Galleries exhibition with an estimate of $80,000 – $120,000. This work achieved $135,000.
Unfortunately for Deutscher and Hackett, and their vendors, other high price items failed to find homes on the night. McIlroy opened the bidding for John Brack’s Never, 1989 – 1990 (Lot 25 ) at $500,000 and ran it $650,000. When he ran out of numbers all that could be heard was the rain on the tin roof. Similarly, Philips Fox’s la belle époque painting of Edith Andersen On The Balcony, c1912 (Lot 42 ) did not extract a bid, but was sold after.
Credit needs to be given to the Deutscher and Hackett commitment to growing the secondary market for contemporary Australian art. Strategically positioned in the middle of sale, the auction had an injection of life and there was spirited bidding on works by Peter Graham, Noel McKenna and Danie Mellor.
As the sale entered into its 3rd hour, the auctioneer changed and the crowd thinned with only committed buyers remaining. Martin Sharp’s screenprints attracted multiple bids while remaining works typically achieved a result below low estimates, the exception being the last lot, Norman Lindsay’s The Invitation (Lot 185 ) which skyrocketed above it’s $4,000-6,000 estimate to $12,000 hammer ($13,200 IBP).
