Submitted by aarAdmin on Fri, 08/30/2019 - 00:00
The late Ken and Joan Plomley collection of modernist art, comprising the first 36 lots of Deutscher and Hackett’s August 28 Sydney auction, surpassed all expectations – with only four left unsold and the remainder going under the hammer well above their catalogue estimates.
The collection was famous for containing one of the largest number of Roy de Maistre (1894-1968) paintings in private hands – and his works proved popular with bidders.
For example, lot 2, The Meeting in the Garden c1929, sold for $256,200 (including buyer’s premium) – more than $36,000 above the high estimate – while lot 3, Figure with Guitar c1932-35, changed hands for $170,800 ($20,800 above).
Perhaps the most remarkable of the de Maistres from an auction results viewpoint was lot 7, Interior (Sam Courtauld’s Villa, France 1948) which brought $146,400 – almost twice its catalogue estimate.
Margaret Preston’s (1875-1963) Indoor Still Life, 1913 was the best auction performer among the collection, selling for $268,400, more than $68,000 above the high catalogue estimate.
Also prominent was the collection of prints from London’s Grosvenor School including works by such notable artists as Claude Flight, Cyril Power, Ethel Spowers, Evelyn Syme and Dorrit Black.
Ken Plomley was related to Roy de Maistre (who as an adult changed his name to reflect his standing as a modern painter) through his great uncle, famed horse trainer Etienne de Mestre, Roy’s father, which may have contributed to Plomley’s passion for art.
The top auction lot (47) was Jeffrey Smart’s (1921-2013) The Tuscan Farmhouse 1980, which sold for $902,800 – more than $100,000 above estimate.
It was closely followed by Howard Arkley’s (1951-1999) Florieated Address 1995 (lot 48) that changed hands for $732,000.
Other lots to perform well included lot 45, Fred William’s (1927-1982) Silver Landscape 1968, Conrad Martens (1801-1878) View of Sydney Cove 1838 (lot 73) that brought $305,000, Cressida Campbell’s Eucalypt Forest 2000 (lot 53 - $231,800) and lot 72, a painting attributed to Frederic Hardwicke entitled Fanny Hardwicke: A Native with Ringtail Possum, Van Diemen’s Land c1822-24 that sold $91,500 – more than triple its high catalogue estimate.
