Art Market Report: International Art Centre - Important & Rare Art, November 2025
Heading into the busy ‘silly season’, it was heartening to see a strong crowd of at the final sale of the year for the International Art Centre with over 50 in attendance. Good quality artist prints often take the first lots in these auctions as they are always popular with buyers and are usually a guaranteed nice easy hammer, providing a strong start to the auction. One lucky client got a bargain early on, Don Binney’s Swoop of the Kotare (Lot 2 ) sold for $12,000 when recent examples have easily been making over $20,000 each.
At the IAC sale in Auckland on 25 November 2025, there were multiple bidders for Peter Stichbury’s Savannah(Lot 46 ) with the work selling to a room buyer for $210,000, far in excess of the previous top price of $94,000, that record also held by IAC.
There was no such luck for the next lot. A very attractive silkscreen print of Harbour Cone by Robin White (Lot 3 ) sold well over expectations for $9,000. The low estimate was $3,000. Coincidently, Art + Object have another copy in their sale this week, however the last time another version was offered was back in 2017. The way the auction market has a habit of turning up scarce items in duplicate will never fail to surprise.
A fascinating story accompanied the consignment of a painting by Francis McCracken and potentially a once in a lifetime find for the team at IAC. The first work, Anemones (Lot 11 ) came in for sale from a private collection. The frame needed some repair so the work was removed and at this point, two further canvases were discovered behind the original one, depicting the same subject just more traditional in form, showing a fascinating evolution of the artists’ practice in reverse. The most naturalistic version Still Life with Anemones (Lot 9 ) achieved the best result hitting the low estimate of $8,000. The other two versions (Lot 10 ) and (Lot 11 ) sold for $5,500 and $6,500 respectively, an unexpected windfall for the consigner.
Another windfall came the way of the vendor of Jenny Dolezel’s The Art of Living (Lot 16 ). There has been a sudden and unexplained jump in value for the artist’s work since 2022, which is intriguing as she doesn’t have current representation and is not exhibiting in the primary market, so the factors driving the interest in her work are unknown. The Art of Living was purchased in 2019 for the small sum of $1,600. This week it achieved $30,000 and all the bidding came from previously left absentee bids, auction room competition can’t even explain the stellar price. The was the second highest price paid for a work on paper for the artist at auction.
Heading into the higher value lots of the auction, it was the cover lot, Peter Stichbury’s Savannah (Lot 46 ) which garnered significant attention from the buyers. Measuring a substantial 140 x 110 cm (approx), by size alone, it was on track to push through the $100,0000 price bracket, a sum not yet achieved for the artist on the secondary market. In the end, any concerns the work may go unsold were completely unfounded when multiple bidders in the room, on the phone and internet ended up in a true auction room tussle. The work sold to a room buyer for $210,000, far in excess of the previous top price of $94,000, that record also held by IAC.
Interest was more muted for an iconic 1960s rock pool painting by Michael Smither. It should have ticked a lot of boxes for collectors, as it was the right period, subject and size but it was just a bid at $220,000 from the phone that secured the painting.
After a low start at $185,000 a small but highly recognizable painting by Don Binney Pipiwharauroa – Shining Cuckoo (Lot 48 ) provided excellent returns for its consigner when it realized $300,000. This work was an early example of the artist’s seminal bird paintings of the 1960s and had previously sold for just $90,000 in 2015 providing a tangible example of how much the market for Binney’s work has shifted since then.
The Rotorua Museum of Art & History would have had their fingers crossed for the successful sale of C.F Goldie’s Rahapa Hinetapu (Lot 50 ). The extremely generous owners had pledged to donate the full sale proceeds to the Museum. With a low estimate of $400,000, this would have represented a significant sum for any museum let alone a regional entity like Rotorua, which has been closed since 2016 while the significant historical building undergoes earthquake strengthening. Unfortunately the work went unsold on the night, as did the second Goldie, A Noble Northern Chief, Atama Paparangi (Lot 49 ) which received an optimistic online bid of $650,000 and was referred subject. The low estimate was $800,000.
Interesting international works turn up from time to time in New Zealand and if they aren’t too obscure, they can usually achieve results similar to what they might realise on the international market. A pair of modern Batik paintings by Chuah Thean Teng of Malaysia absolutely rocketed through their estimates, thanks to the activity of overseas online bidders. Such is the popularity of his work, there are a number of examples that have been sold in Australia, there are over 30 listed on AASD, although these are the only paintings to be offered in NZ. Durian Harvest (Lot 76 ) realized $19,000 and the sensitively and sweetly rendered Fruit Seller (Lot 77 ) set an Australasian record at $27,500.
Philanthropy was again in full force towards the end of the sale, with a selection of seven historical paintings owned by a Parnell local on sale with partial proceeds set to benefit two local heritage organizations. Of these works, a John Gully depicting Tasman Coast (Lot 100 ) sold well to reach $9,500 against its low estimate of $4,000. Of the three paintings by J.B.C Hoyte, which were of the highest quality, one sold, Otago Harbour (Lot 103 ) at $7,500. A very pretty Maud Burge of Fishing Village, Brittany (107) was a highlight at $6,000, the highest price a watercolour by the artist has achieved in a very long time.
The clearance rate in the days following the sale is an extremely impressive 76% and with auction total of $1,745,600 (hammer), the IAC team can head into the summer break with some great results behind them for the 2025 year.
Article originally published on Australian Art Sales Digest, www.aasd.com.au November 2025