Full Room, Full Steam Ahead: Art + Object ‘s Important Paintings and Contemporary Art sale Defies the Winter Chill

Despite economic gloom and pre-election uncertainty, Art + Object's mid-year auction delivered its strongest mixed-vendor total in years hammering $5,500,000 incl. premium. Anchored by a Wellington collection which kick-started the sale, other exceptional results were achieved by Colin McCahon, Don Binney and Michael Illingworth.

After the last round of auctions which coincided with the start of the war in Iran, tough economic conditions have hung over New Zealand throughout the winter and with an election scheduled for later this year, a buoyant art market is anything but guaranteed.

In my opinion, this was one of the most interesting catalogues Art + Object has offered of late.  Anchored by a small single vendor collection, generously displayed on a striking maroon feature wall, the Wellington collection highlighted works collected with a discerning eye.  Although not blockbuster pieces, this interesting collection performed admirably, providing the first section of the sale with just three unsolds.  All the works had been bought directly from dealer galleries and often from the original exhibitions, and the works on offer showed how collecting, when pursued with a passion and interest can veer seamlessly from paintings to objects to photography to sculpture. 

Highlights from this section included a very beautiful image by Star Gossage (Lot 1 ), strategically placed at lot 1 guaranteeing a strong start to the sale.  It was bid to $17,500 from a low start of $9,500 landing just under top estimate. 

A small carved slate by Denis O’Connor (Lot 12 ) had really caught the attention of clients, with pre-bidding online sitting above the reserve before the start of the auction.  O’Connor’s work which often references New Zealand and Irish history has had mixed results at auction, but this sculpture performed well selling for $2,600. 

The top price from the collection went to a small, late Bill Hammond work (Untitled) (Lot 10 ) with a single bird figure, well exceeding its reserve of $60,000 to sell for $74,000.  An honorable mention must go to a delicately handled painting by Jason Greig Earth and Sky (Lot 23 ) which set a new artist record to sell for $11,000.

An hour into the sale, just 25 lots had been sold, testament to the amount of bidding and sale room activity.  A fuller than usual buyer turnout, meant more room competition for the online bidders and phone bidders, and a bit more excitement for those of us sitting in the room. 

A collection of four highly recognisable dog sculptures by Barry Lett had been consigned by the artist’s estate. Ranging in size, two (Lot 27 ) and (Lot 28 ) were acquired by the same room bidder over their low estimates and the largest Carter Dog (Lot 29 ) more than doubled its reserve to sell for $13,000.

This auction season has been a great litmus test for the Don Binney market, with eight artworks on offer between Art + Object and IAC in two nights of sales.  The Binney market has seen huge highs and extraordinary prices in previous years but with such a large variety of works produced in the decades spanning his career the market can be mixed.  Binney was an incredible draftsman, and his charcoal drawings of West Coast landscapes are among his finest works on paper. Tui over Te Henga (Lot 30 ) was an unusually large-scale work and estimated accordingly at $65,000-$85,000.  Auctioneer Ben Plumbly held a very strong absentee bid at $100,000 which kept the internet and room bidders at bay, until superseded by online bidders who kept going until the hammer came down at $120,000.   By comparison, Rosella, Te Henga (Lot 51 ), had little interest and was subject at $200,000 way under the estimate.

Three clay vessels by important Maori ceramicist Baye Riddell heralded the first works seen on the secondary market by the artist.  Well recognized in New Zealand’s public institutions (he was also just awarded a ONZM in the King’s Birthday honours), there are collectors out there for his works, with all three selling well.  Manaia (Lot 42 ) was a standout result, realised $14,000 from a $4,000 reserve. 

Another Maori artist currently in demand is Buck Nin Untitled (Lot 45 ) (and the painting consigned to this sale was very good example, exhibiting a lovely harmony and balance between the painterly landscape and Maori motifs based on carving and weaving.  Room bidders and the internet fought this one out, the painting realizing $42,000 well over its top estimate of $35,000.

A suite of paintings by Colin McCahon added a handy $1,200,000 (hammer) to the sale total, with revived interest in the artist, evident on the night.  Since 2022, recent auctions have seen paintings selling around or under the low estimate.  By contrast, this sale had robust bidding on all the works on offer, lifting all the results well above their reserves. 

There is no other way (Lot 52 ) has an esteemed provenance, held in the collection of the artist and then notable collector Dame Jenny Gibbs, prior to its sale this week.  Two controlled and methodical online bidders battled from the opening bid of $400,000 steadily in $10,000 rises up to the final hammer price of $630,000. 

Landscape Multiple No.7 (Lot 53 ), sold for $100,000, another almost identical painting from the same series sold for $65,000 in 2023.  And a 32-year gap in sales gave pause to consider the McCahon market once again. Northland (Lot 54 ) last seen at Webb’s in 1994 when it went unsold at $45,000, this week sold for $460,000 in a flurry of internet bidding well exceeding its low estimate of $350,000.

It was ironic that the one digital artwork in the auction, ran into technical difficulties with the online bidding platform, right at the opening bid.  teamLab’s impressive Waves of Light(Lot 36 ) could be more at home in an international gallery but the auction room benefitted from the soothing golden light and wave movement run on a continuous loop.  Technical difficulties weren’t the only issue affecting the work.  Introducing the lot, auctioneer Ben Plumbly started with a host of extra information and disclaimers, including that the work should be exhibited on a 12 panel format (rather than the four in the viewing) and that the work was under warranty until 2030 but at that point the new owner needed to pay a fee to extend the warranty for another 10 years.  On the plus side, the hardware component of the work was valued at $40,000 and USD retail on the work is $250,000 - $300,000.  The work had been purchased from the artist’s Australasian dealer Martin Browne, and teamLab was involved in the cataloging process but the extra information provided in the auction room gives a glimpse into the market of high level international artworks which are rarely seen in New Zealand.

 Despite internet connection problems and disclaimers, the lot connected thankfully as the bidding was all online, just edging past low estimate to sell for $110,000.

There were other significant sales on the night, including a Michael Illingworth’s uniquely coloured  Painting with Rainbow (Lot 50 )  in appealing cool blue tones which sold for $150,000 and a Rita Angus oil painting Barn Construction, Northern Hawkes Bay (Lot 58 ) which dated from the later part of her career and is a more loosely painted landscape, not as desirable as the earlier landscapes, but it still sold easily at $100,000.

Three hours in, the sale was still going, with 20 lots to go, a result of sustained and competitive bidding throughout the night. With 80% sold under the hammer, there were few post sales to transact but the total published in the day after the sale was $ 5,114,470 (including buyer’s premium), the highest mixed vendor total in recent years at Art + Object and an outstanding result for the team.

All prices are in NZD and are hammer price unless noted otherwise.

Article originally published for Australian Art Sales Digest (AASD) and reproduced here with thanks.