Submitted by aarAdmin on Thu, 07/04/2019 - 00:00
A new artist auction record of just over $1.5 million awaited Australian artist the late Howard Arkley when Menzies winter sale got underway on June 27 in Melbourne.
The result eclipsed his previous record of $646,000 set in 2016 for a similar work to Deluxe Setting, 1992 (lot 32) which was the subject of intense bidding on the night.
Dying tragically early in 1999 after representing Australia at that year’s Venice Biennale, Arkley became famous for his airbrushed fluorescent colours and patterns of suburban interiors and exteriors, which critiqued suburban architecture and domestic design.
This was an auction where Menzies Art Brands owner Rod Menzies decided to sell several of the internationally famous sculptures adorning his holiday residence Noorilim near Nagambe in northern Victoria.
It is a substantial and interesting grouping and the results did not disappoint with Tim Storrier’s life-size bronze The Grand Impedimenta, 2015 (lot 36) bringing more than $171,000 on a $160,000 lower estimate.
The image and sculptural presence of a faceless man apparently began as a garden scarecrow outside the artist’s studio. In 2012, a painted version of the wayfarer, still with no face, won the Archibald Prize – a little ironic given the competition is all about portraiture.
Inge King’s modernist piece Rings of the Sun III, 2004 (lot 37) sold for $184,000, an equal hammer price record for the artist.
Bronwyn Oliver also set a new artist auction record with her sculpture entitled Shell, 2003 (lot 38) which was knocked down for $440,000 – almost $40,000 more than her previous effort.
Rick Amor also fared well with his Figure in a Landscape, 2007 (lot 39) selling for $294,000 – a record for one of his sculptures and $60,000 more than when it last changed hands in 2016.
Indigenous artist Lin Onus was another to attract strong buyer attention with his Fish and Ripple – Dingo Springs I and II (lots 28 and 29) comfortably selling for over $208,000.
