Market Favourites @ Gibson’s Auctions

Ethel Carrick Fox (1872-1952), “The Garden Terrace”, oil on canvas board, 26.5 x 34.5cm
Courtesy: Gibson’s Auctions

Gibson’s 19th July sale of Graham Joel’s Collection saw a buoyant response from the market, and although not quite a white glove sale on the day, post-sale interest closed out almost the entire inventory, bar six lots.

The 234 lot sale, extensive for the current climate when most other houses are restricting their inventory to much less, of a collection of silverware, decorative and fine art, and furniture, was developed over a 40 year period, by its owner Graham Joel, former head of the Leonard Joel auction house.  Graham Joel bought a piece from every significant sale he conducted.  Joel was of the view that one should “buy what they like”, and indeed, clearly the market ‘liked’ the items in this sale.

From the decorative arts segment, highlights included a stunning Gallé 'Noisette' Table Lamp, circa 1910 (Lot 31) achieve its high estimate of $40K; a rare silver mounted cameo glass claret jug attributed to Thomas Webb & Sonsmaker's Mark Joseph Cook & Son, Birmingham of 1880 saw some spirited bidding not quite achieving its high estimate of $8000, selling at $7000; and a pair of Worcester Barr Flight & Barr plates, circa 1810, surprising the room with a hammer price of $4600 clearly exceeding its high estimate of $600.

Extraordinary bidding saw a small group of hidden gems by Ethel Carrick Fox considerably exceed their allotted high estimates.  Ethel Carrick Fox’s oil on panel “Venice” was finally hammered down at $30K against a high estimate of $8000; her “Hydrangeas in Spring” saw an equal voracity in bidding knocking the work down at $32K against a high estimate of $6000; and Lot 121 saw something of a bidding war for “The Garden Terrace” finally selling for an impressive $55K. 

Other highlights within the fine arts segment included Louis Buvelot’s precise pencil sketch of 1880, “The Farm” selling for $4600 against its high estimate of $500; Max Meldrum’s 1923 typically tonal “Eltham” at Lot 151 selling for 10 times its high estimate of $600; and Frederick McCubbin’s watercolour of 1905, “The Pool” (Lot 153) selling for $18K against a high estimate of $6000.

#ARTNews: Bonhams Australia / Menzies Recent Auction Results

Bonhams Australia were tasked with selling selected works from gallerist’s Bill Nuttall’s collection on the 7th July in Melbourne; clearly these were not ‘prized’ works and the hushed atmosphere of the room, apart from the clipped annunciation of the auctioneer, echoed this sentiment.  There was for the most part, scant movement in bidding, aside from some decent interest for the Ralph Balson (Lot 21) achieving $48K (incl BP) and the striking Peter Booth painting of 2007 (Lot 19) selling for $47,580 (incl. BP)

Ralph Balson (1890-1964), Matter Painting, c.1958, enamel on board, 106.5 x 137cm

Menzies’ “The Art of Discovery” auction on 9th July in Sydney produced mixed results.  The much anticipated and prized work for the evening was Lot 28, the Grace Cossington-Smith, which took some cajoling from Martin Farrah to start the bidding, eventually selling for $520K against an estimate of $300 to $400K.  The Sally Gabori work at Lot 14 enjoyed some spirited bidding selling at $15K against an estimate of $7K to $10K; and a Picasso ceramic at Lot 17 sold well for $22K against an estimate of $10K to $15K.  There were some choice iconic works which either witnessed no interest – the Jeffrey Smart at Lot 27 (Est: $400 to $600K), the Brett Whiteley at Lot 29 (Est: $700 to $900K) and a challenging  Russell Drysdale at Lot 30 (Est: $320 to $400K); - or were painfully slow, for example the bright Garry Shead at Lot 25, selling for $140K against an estimate of $120 to $160K, and the Charles Blackman at Lot 26, selling after Farrah suggested “still room for improvement ladies and gentlemen” for $180K against an estimate of $200 to $300K. 

Charles Blackman, (1928 - 2018), Boats at Williamstown, 1956, oil on composition board, 95 x 129.5 cm

#ARTNews: Australian Auctions - Smith & Singer, “Important Australian & International Art” 24th June 2020, Sydney

Lot 6, John Brack (1920-1999), Laughing Child, (detail), 1958, oil on canvas, signed and dated 'John Brack 58' upper right, 45.8 x 40.8 cm frame: original, John Brack, Melbourne

Smith & Singer’s return to the podium, albeit post-covid19 lifting of restrictions, presented an exemplary inventory of anticipated Australian iconic artists: Boyd, Brack, Blackman, Nolan, and Perceval.   A total of $6,620,940 was realised for this quality auction, with a sale rate by value of 111% and by quantity, 87%, which is impressive given the current conditions impacting our market.

The featured work for the auction, and indeed a highlight of the evening sale was John Brack’s “Laughing Child” (Lot 6), a work ‘very’ fresh to market selling to a telephone bidder for $915K against an estimate of $400 to $600K. 

Other notable sales which raced past their high estimates were Arthur Boyd’s 1976 softened palette rendition of a favoured subject, “Evening, Shoalhaven River” selling for $70,760 (incl. BP); Sidney Nolan’s oil on paper, “Kelly Head” enjoyed some spirited bidding, finally selling for $30,500 (incl. BP) against an estimate of $10 to $15K; and a wonderful ink & collage on paper by Brett Whiteley “The Owl” (1983) realised an impressive $73,200 (incl. BP) against an estimate of $30 to $49K.

Bidding for Arthur Streeton’s intimate “Bridge in New Norfolk, Tasmania” of 1938 wasn’t curtailed by its speckled provenance, with inclusions in previous auctions (Leonard Joel in 1972 and Sotheby’s in 2003) bouncing to almost double its high estimate of $150K with a winning bid of $292,800 (incl. BP).

A good, solid biographical provenance for Ethel Carrick’s 1903 oil on canvas “The Market, Caudebec” no doubt inspired confident bidding well above the high estimate of $180K to achieve $274,500 (incl. BP).

Notwithstanding the title of the sale as denoting International works, there were only 4 lots in this category, which nevertheless included a good, tabletop sculpture by Antony Gormley, Lot 57, and with a market ready estimate of $180 to $220K, still failed to sell.  Possibly Australian secondary market buyers are still seeking ‘reliable’ Australian works.

Charles Blackman’s 1961 oil on composition board “Double Image III” was clearly a challenging proposition on the night, failing to entice bidders, but with swift aplomb by S & S circulating a “Private Sale” newsletter a few days later, the work sold for an undisclosed sum. 

Although for the most part, contemporary practising artists do not ‘warm’ to their works going to auction, the Alexander McQueen of Lot 53, “Strong Tower” (2009) reached almost parity with the artist’s retail values, selling for $42,700 (incl. BP).

Was it a case of preference for nude bathing women over pasturing cows? Lot 23, “The Bathers” the later of the two McCubbins included in the sale, did sell, although it was knocked down for below its low estimate, for $360K on the hammer.  McCubbin’s 1886 “Winter at Nunawading” was for me, the more appealing, but clearly not for the room on the night.

Roy Lichtenstein’s “White Brushstroke I” set to hit the rostrum

A major highlight of Sotheby’s New York’s forthcoming Contemporary Art, Evening Auction is Roy Lichtenstein’s “White Brushstroke I” of 1965 carrying an estimate of $20/30 million.

One of the most striking examples from Lichtenstein’s iconic series of Brushstroke paintings, “White Brushstroke I” is from a series of 15 canvases executed in 1965-66 and which are regarded as pivotal masterworks of the Pop Art movement.

The painting is one of the few Brushstroke canvases remaining in private hands, with eight examples already held in or promised to such museum collections as the Art Institute of Chicago, Kunsthaus Zürich, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, among others.

White Brushstroke I was first exhibited in the historic debut of the series at Leo Castelli Gallery in New York in November-December 1965. The painting also has featured in numerous museum exhibitions covering Lichtenstein’s career, including: the artist’s early survey at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York in 1969; the major traveling retrospective organized by the Guggenheim from 1993–94; and at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and several other preeminent institutions.

#auctions #international #Lichtenstein #popart #prepurchasereport #artadvisor #artexpertise

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