Submitted by aarAdmin on Thu, 08/29/2024 - 00:00
Two arts auctions on the same evening in Melbourne brought collectors out in droves.
Plenty turned up to the Menzies Prints & Multiples sale on August 28 and the auction house couldn’t have been happier with the result when more than 75 per cent of the 81 works sold at 111.7 per cent of their value.
Two photographs featured prominently – one an auction record for the artist.
This was Greg Weight’s picture (lot 65) of a languidly smoking Brett Whiteley (1939-1992), one of Australia’s most iconic artists, whose works also performed well in the sale.
The photograph sold for $34,364 including buyer’s premium on a $4000-$6000 catalogue estimate – while that perennial favourite, Max Dupain’s (1911-1992) The Sunbaker (lot 16), topped the listings at $44,182.
John Kelly’s Three Cows in a Pile (lot 15) almost brought the same result at $41,727, while Whiteley’s Lipstick (lot 8) was a strong $36,818 on an $18,000-$24,000 estimate.
John Olsen’s (1928-2023) Untitled (Leaping Frog) (lot 13) performed well bringing $34,364 and Melbourne sculptor Bruce Armstrong, who died last year aged 67, realised $27,000 for his work The Cricketer (lot 14).
Armstrong was well-known for his carved wooden animal sculptures throughout Melbourne’s landscape, the most famous and largest being Bunji 2002, a 25-metre high eagle that stands sentinel over the Docklands precinct.
Among the international artists in the auction, Andy Warhol featured prominently with both his works selling well above their catalogue estimates of $8000-$12,000.
Cow (Yellow Cow on Blue Background) (lot 1) fared the better of the two, selling for $19,636, while Cow (Brown Cow on Blue Background) (lot 2) reached $17,182.
