Submitted by aarAdmin on Fri, 02/17/2023 - 00:00
Fred Williams (1927-1982) You Yangs c1962 (lot 6) was the most expensive painting to go under the hammer and Deutscher and Hackett’s timed online modern and contemporary art auction in Melbourne on February 15 – realising its upper catalogue estimate of $45,000 ($56,250 including buyer’s premium) – as 27 of the 36 works listed sold on the day.
Surprisingly, famous street artist Banksy’s work Gangsta Rat 2004 (lot 25) did not achieve the $40,000-$60,000 estimate and was passed in but other works were keenly sought after, including John Olsen’s Mice and Trap (lot 20) which was knocked down for $30,000 – double its upper catalogue estimate.
James Gleeson’s (1915-2008) An Event in the Islands 1996 (lot 15) was another good performer at $24,0000, while perennial favourite Cressida Campbell’s Mixed Bunch 1984 (lot 19) realised $22,000.
Ray Crooke (1922-2015) has always been popular with Tahitian Children 1973 (lot 10) selling for $16,000 and Islanders Walking (lot 9) for $10,000.
Other worthwhile purchases were Garry Shead’s Nocturnal Dance 2009 (lot 21) at $17,000, Sali Herman’s (1898-1993) Paddington Street Scene (lot 13) at $16,000 and Robert Juniper’s (1929-2012) Kangaroos and Kimberley Ant Hills 1994-95 (lot 7) at $15,000.
A portrait of Frank Sinatra (lot 23) painted in 1974 by Ivan Durrant was another good sale at $5000.
