Mossgreen launches new auction rooms in Armadale

Mossgreen kicks off the launch of its new state-of-the-art auction rooms at 926 High Street, Armadale with the single owner John and Marita McIntosh collection of art, antiques and collectibles from 6.30pm on Tuesday – one of the finest the auction house has ever handled.

The one-time Armadale Theatre and former home to Sotheby’s now offers a comprehensive range of auction services following the amalgamation of the Mossgreen and Leski Auctions businesses under one roof.

The venue for the new joint venture is particularly poignant given that the Armadale Theatre (with a 1200 seating capacity) opened in September 1912 and closed in 1942.

Regarded as an historical icon, it is fitting that the company that now occupies the building deals with a sense of history through its historical and antique items sales.

The McIntosh collection – with its almost 100 lots of fine art, decorative arts, furniture and books – is typical of the quality auction goers can expect from the new company.

An auction highlight is the small but beautiful Arthur Streeton painting Leafy June 1907, depicting a solitary woman in a red hat beneath a canopy of magnificent trees.

Described by the artist as “one of best small pictures I have ever painted”, it was designed to appeal to his expatriate European patrons Carl and Elise Pinschof, to whom it was gifted – and carries a pre-sale estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.

Other notable works include a Tom Roberts painting La Favorita (estimate $200,000 to $300,000) from the celebrated “9 by 5 Exhibition” of 1889 and Frederick McCubbin’s Shelling Peas c1913 ($350,000 to $450,000), along with a stunning Nicholas Chevalier landscape Mount Abrupt and the Grampians 1863 ($200,000 to $300,000).

Among the books on offer is John Gould’s Birds of New Guinea and the adjacent Papuan Islands, considered by many as his greatest work.

Only about 250 were made and the five volumes with 320 hand-coloured lithographic plates carry a pre-sale estimate of $80,000 to $120,000.

The inclusion of such important books is a fitting introduction for the newly established book department at Mossgreen

Viewing from 10am today until Tuesday. Contact 9508 8888.