Submitted by aarAdmin on Wed, 04/02/2014 - 00:00
The Mossgreen Charles Blackman Fundraising Auction, to help pay for ongoing medical care for the ageing iconic Australian artist, surpassed all expectations on April 1 when all the 395 lots sold – most well above their catalogue estimates.
In all, more than $1 million (more than three times the pre-sale low estimate) was raised to help pay for Charles Blackman’s carers as a packed auction room bid enthusiastically for each Blackman creation from the artist’s private collection.
Mossgreen managing director Paul Sumner said it was touching to see so many people turn out to support this great artist.
“There wasn’t a spare seat in the house and the number of phone and absentee bids received was unprecedented,” he said. “This fantastic result provides a great relief to the artist’s family, assisting with his medical expenses in the future.”
The scene was set from the word go when Lot 1, Heart, a 1990 watercolour and ink on paper sold for $3416 on a $100 upper estimate.
Much the same could have been said for the remaining lots – almost all selling well above catalogue estimates.
Typical was Lot 12, Walking Home, a 2002 ink pen and watercolour on paper, which sold for $4636 on a $600-$1000 estimate.
One charcoal on paper featuring two schoolgirls, for which Blackman has become a household name, sold for $10,980 ore than twice the catalogue upper estimate – showing that these works have lost none of their buyer appeal.
