The extensive sale of just over 200 lots commenced with a selection of iconic Pop Art multiples by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein, garnering both Australian and international collectors’ attention.
Star lots achieved some solid results, with the widely-publicised Keith Haring screenprint, “Silence – Death” of 1989 enjoying some spirited bidding and selling for $48K. The other Haring works achieved either parity with their high estimates (Lot 20, “Pop Shop II” at $20K), or exceeded their high estimates – Haring’s “Montreux Jazz Festival” offset lithographs (Lots 13 and 14). The Warhol inventory saw mixed results, notwithstanding all but 3 out of the 23 lots sold, the unsold being more akin to ephemera than editioned prints.
Australian prints fared quite well; best sellers were surprisingly, a high-editioned giclee print by David Larwill (Lot 74), not a print traditionally coveted by collectors, selling above its high estimate; a Sidney Nolan AP of a market favoured subject, “Burning at Glenrowan (Ned Kelly series)”, selling above its high estimate; and a wonderful low-editioned Brent Harris etching (Lot 102) selling for nearly 3 times its high estimate.
Interest in the sale remained steadfast right until the final hammer, due in no small part to the efficiency at the rostrum and the breadth of inventory.