The November sales always tend to be the most modest in their offerings and this sale follows that trend. The low estimate of $2.8 million probably also reflects how difficult it is to convince vendors of top quality works to commit to the current market.
The comparable D&H sale in 2008 comprised 183 lots with a low estimate total of $3.56 million, and grossed $2.6 million at hammer price.
While the top lots may be thin on the ground, in their favour a good number of these works possess the 'freshness' factor and are actually being offered for the very first time; usually an irresistible pull for collectors.
It appears that D+H had this front of mind when they estimated Fred Williams’ significant painting, Evening Sky, Upwey 1965 (Lot 14 ) at $700,000 – 900,000. The auction house is clearly confident that the work can override soft market conditions, believing that it could and should match the top 5 auction results for the artist which have been between $1.05 – 1.86 million since 2006 (including Upwey Landscape 1965 at Christies’ in April 2006).
Considering also that this is one of the last remaining Upwey pictures in private hands, will this prove to be a winning combination in the battle for collector desire?
For the historically inclined, there is the opportunity to acquire the Angas Memorial Bronze Reliefs, c1915 (Lot 29 ), est $40,000-60,000. Sculptor, William Robert Colton was commissioned to make the six panel bronzes by the Angas family to commemorate the founding of South Australia in which the Angas ancestors played a pivotal role. This second edition was created for the family’s private collection in England and has never been offered at auction before.
Peter Booth’s magic touch as a major contemporary artist may now extend beyond the canvas as evidenced by the tale surrounding (Figure with Bandaged Head) 2004 (Lot 13, est $80,000-120,000). It appears the painting’s charms and powers have surpassed the merely decorative and contemplative aspects of art, to provide its owner with the inspiration for a screenplay!
The outcome is a film titled Possession(s) starring the vendor, the young actor Laurence Fuller, Additionally, the auctioning of Booth’s painting will act as a catalyst in launching the film – who said art doesn’t perform a function?!
An engaging curiosity in the sale that may well invoke sentimentality and excitement amongst Generation X and Y audiences is lot 50, Graham Base’s Crafty Crimson Cats 1984. This work is one of the illustrations from the much loved children’s book Animalia and it is a rare and unusual offering. We shall just have to see if familiarity and fondness towards this hugely successful book will provoke a bidding war to take it beyond its $8,000- 12,000 estimate and closer to Base’s rumoured US $25,000 asking prices.
Spicing up the sale are a scattering of contemporary works; Ex de Medici’s Terra… (Lot 1 ), est $18,000-24,000 and Phillip Wolfhagen’s Second Lucid Interval 2003, (Lot 8 ), est 28,000-35,000. Shaun Gladwell’s Apology to Roadkill 2007 (Lot 7 ) featured at this year’s Venice Biennale and will surely garner attention, as should Ben Quilty’s Skull , Rorschach #4, 2008 (Lot 6 ) considering the demand for his skull paintings. Both are estimated at $10,000 – 15,000.
Clearing the high volume of low end stock that constitutes much of D+H’s sale may prove to be somewhat of a challenge as the auction calendar winds up for the year…however maybe Christmas will come early!
