Submitted by aarAdmin on Mon, 04/03/2023 - 00:00
While Jeffrey Smart’s (1921-2013) painting Bus by the Tiber 1977-78 (lot 18) was the top selling artwork at Menzies March 29 Melbourne auction – finishing mid catalogue estimate range at $638,182 including buyer’s premium – it was another of his works that sent the sale into overdrive.
Renowned for paintings that reflect on changing social and environmental conditions, the artist’s Study for the Petrol Station 1975 (lot 15) saw three telephone bidders briskly bid the price to $170,000 (well above its $80,000-$120,000 estimate and $208,636 with BP) before the hammer fell.
More than a year since Menzies has auctioned in Melbourne given the restrictions of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic (2022 sales were held in Sydney), it was a good result with buyers paying $5,801,932 including premiums for the 147 paintings on offer.
With record prices often paid during the pandemic, post-COVID conditions appear not to have affected the secondary market – and not just in art, for the same strong demand also has been exhibited for other auction items.
Any work by Fred Williams (1927-1982) always seems to be well received at auction and Australian Landscape I 1969 (lot 16) was no exception – changing hands for $417,273 – and typical of his successful attempts to reinvent Australian landscape painting after he returned in 1956 from England.
William Robinson’s Farm II (lot 31) sold for only slightly less bringing $405,000. The painting is a product of his move in November 1970 from suburban Brisbane to a small farm at Birkdale on the city’s eastern outskirts.
Sidney Nolan (1917-1992) features in the top 10 with Landscape with Camel (Burke and Wills) 1966 (lot 30 that sold for $220,909) which marks the beginning of the end of the perilous Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills led 1860-61 inland expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria – in which seven members including the two leaders perished.
Another is John Coburn’s (1925-2006) enormous White Bird c1974 (lot 13), almost 4.3 metres long. Recognised as a highpoint of the artist’s career, the work brought $184,090 after being in a Sydney family collection since it was privately commissioned in the early 1970s and never before publicly exhibited.
Brett Whiteley’s (1939-1992) View from the Window, Lavender Bay 1977 (lot 14) reached its lower catalogue estimate, changing hands for $171,818, while Tim Storrier’s The Night (Chrome Tap) 2008 (lot 17) finished well at $135,000.
Tim Maguire and Charles Blackman (1928-2018) rounded out the top 10 paintings with Untitled 95.03 (lot 32) and The Flower Garden (lot 56) – each bringing $122,727.
