Submitted by aarAdmin on Thu, 06/27/2024 - 00:00
Except for iconic indigenous artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye (c1910-1996) art sales went more or less according to plan at Menzies important Australian and international art auction in Melbourne on June 26.
Her Wild Orange 1991 synthetic polymer paint on canvas effort (lot 28) pleasingly surpassed many expectations with its $245,455 (Including buyer’s premium) return on a $60,000-$80,000 catalogue estimate.
Like Rover Thomas, Kngwarreye is a mainstay of Aboriginal art in Australia and her paintings are keenly sought after every time they appear at auction, often resulting in better than anticipated results.
Meanwhile, the top two paintings – Sidney Nolan’s (1917-1992) Ned Kelly and Swamp 1960 (lot 32) and Lin Onus’s (1948-1996) The Joy of Fish – The Ripple 1994 (lot 33) – respectively achieved the top two prices comfortably within their estimates, $644,318 and $392,727.
No doubt, the fact that the Nolan painting had originally been owned by famous American actor Kirk Douglas had much to do with its successful sale price, while Onus continues to fare well on the secondary market.
For Menzies, it was a $4,205,005 sale with 78 of the 93 lots selling (83.9 per cent) at 133.2 per cent of their estimated value.
Tim Storrier (born 1949) featured prominently in the top 10 results with two paintings – Evening (Nostalgia and Embers) 2001 (lot 34), a $184,091 result, closely followed by The Evening Notes (on the Infinite) 2022 (lot 30) at $171,818 – both significantly above their estimates.
Likewise, Arthur Boyd (1920-1999) had three paintings among the best sellers, the most lucrative and above estimate being Wimmera Landscape with Jinker and Ram c1985 (lot 31) at $159,545, while the other two – Bride in the Shoalhaven c1982 (lot 38) and Bride in the Gully c1978 (lot 39) – were respectively a creditable $116,591 and $98,182.
Two other well-known Australian artists, Clarice Beckett (1887-1935) and Cressida Campbell (born 1960) fills the remaining top 10 spots with Moonrise (lot 25) at $116,591, on a $50,000-$70,000 estimate and Michael Hobbs’ View 1985 (lot 29) at $85,909.
