It was certainly encouraging for the auctioneer when a call for an opening bid of $300,000 for the most expensive portrait was met with two hands in the air. Three bidders fought strongly for this work, Wharekauri Tahuna - A Chieftain of the Awara Tribe, (Lot 35 ) and it finally realised $355,000 hammer.
The disappointed under bidder of this lot went on to purchase the final C. F. Goldie, The Weariness of the Aged, Kapi Kapi an Arawa Chieftainess Aged 102 years (Lot 46 ) for the high estimate of $220,000 against a reserve of $180,000. At one point in the sale, he jokingly offered his Rolex watch as a bid - will the International Art Centre start taking luxury watches as legal tender? Watch this space...
The final Goldie, No Koora te Cigaretti, Portrait of Kapi Kapi (Lot 41 ) was passed in at the time for $175,000 against an estimate of $190,000 but the offer was accepted during the sale and the work sold.
As usual, the catalogue had an interesting mix of works with some real points of interest created by the inclusion of another Raymond McIntyre (the fourth one this year at IAC), a Felix Kelly repatriated from the UK and a very good painting by Peter McIntyre.
However overall the bidding seemed subdued despite a full room and a healthy number of phone bidders.
Highlights of the auction included Karl Maughan, Ravensbourne (Lot 22 ) which achieved $30,000 against a low estimate of $24,000 and a strong price for the Philip Clairmont, Country Carnivore Carnival (Lot 23 ) which sold for $44,000 against a low estimate of $35,000.
The Felix Kelly, The Kiln (Lot 39 ) sold for $12,000 against a low estimate of $8,000 and will now be on show in the collection of Te Papa. This is the first Felix Kelly purchased by a public collection in New Zealand and hopefully will start to redress the lack of his work in institutions for this important expatriate artist.
It was a shame that the lovely Raymond McIntyre titled Entrance to the Park, London (Lot 40 ) didn't get a warmer reception. Slightly Lowry-esque with diminutive proportions this gem of a painting didn't raise a bid in the room. Perhaps the estimate of $60,000-$80,000 was a touch ambitious for the auction crowd, given that previously most estimates for his major works have sat within the $20,000-$40,000 bracket.
The same went for the Peter McInytre, King Country Farmer (Lot 45 ). Paintings by Peter McInytre are usually bread and butter for IAC who have an extremely strong market for his work. However the bidders had their attentions elsewhere when the work was passed in at $25,000. The estimate seemed reasonable and the subject matter one of the artist's most popular, so it was a surprising result. However an offer on the table at $26,000 should see the work sold post-sale.
Overall the feeling was that the sale lacked the buoyancy of previous auctions at IAC and the clearance rate of 64% by lot confirms this, as previous sales have usually hovered around 70% on the night. At any rate, IAC will be pleased to have sold all three Goldies to boost the final total and potentially bring more examples to market - they certainly seem to have the buyers.
At the conclusion of the sale, the hammer total achieved was $1,181,950 representing a clearance rate of 82% by value and 64% by lot.
