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Auction records are always nice to achieve – and five on one night was a great way for Menzies to round out their final 2023 Australian & International Art sale in Sydney on November 29 with a $5.5 million (including buyers’ premiums) result.
Two of these were for Brett Whiteley (1939-1992) prints – (The Orange) Fruit Dove in Clark Park, 1980 (lot 63), which sold for $24,545 including buyer’s premium, and the large diptych entitled The Divided Unity...
When he was alive, John Brack (1920-1999) certainly used his time while head of the Melbourne’s National Gallery School, now the site of the State Library Victoria, to great effect.
Lunchtimes were often spent walking around the city observing commercial shopfront displays of various businesses.
One of the results of these endeavours was the painting entitled Wig Shop Window, 1974 (lot 14) which sold on November 22 at Deutscher and Hackett’s Sydney...
A 19th century antique Narwhal tusk more than two metres long (lot 759) almost doubled its catalogue estimate to go under the hammer for $39,000 at Melbourne-based Leski Auctions Australian & Historical sale on November 18 and 19.
The Narwhal is a medium-sized toothed whale, characterised by a large tusk from a protruding canine tooth, that lives year-round in the Arctic waters off Greenland, Canada and Russia.
Although females also can grow...
The painting Maroubra Olympic, 1968 (lot 3) by Peter Powditch (1942-2022) was knocked down for $65,000 – more than double its high catalogue estimate – at Deutscher and Hackett’s Melbourne timed online auction of Modern, Contemporary, Indigenous and Traditional art on October 10.
Powditch, who died last year aged 80, was a typical Australian male artist of the second half of the 20th century to whom early success came easily in nude, landscape and...
Three cricket stumps from the 1932-33 Ashes Bodyline series (lot 110) quadrupled their catalogue estimate to be knocked down for $20,000 at Melbourne-based Leski Auctions sporting memorabilia sale on September 22 and 23.
Souvenired by team members, the stumps are attractively displayed in a timber and glass custom-built presentation case.
Signed by members of the English team, the central stump bears a gold plaque engraved “M.C.C Tour 1932-33 souvenir of Second...
Historic and rare Victorian Football League and Victorian Football Association premiership caps and medallions belonging to the late Australian broadcaster Gary Fenton (1946-2023) proved extremely popular with collectors at Melbourne-based Abacus Auctions four-day sale that finished on Friday September 22 – an 1888 South Melbourne cap (lot 3546), the first year they were awarded, leading the charge with an $8000 result.
Almost 80 per cent of the 3811 lots sold with a...
Art collectors love Australian artist Ray Crooke (1922-2015), particularly his paintings of Pacific islanders and the entry in Deutscher and Hackett’s timed online Melbourne Modern, Contemporary and Indigenous Art auction on September 5 only confirmed his popularity.
His painting entitled Village Islanders (lot 4) brought the top price when it went under the hammer for $42,000.
Australian art icon Brett Whiteley (1939-1992) is another who rarely goes...
Australian artist Tim Storrier’s sculpture Equine Impedimenta (Tully’s Baggage) 2019 (lot 38) scooped the pool at Menzies Sydney timed online auction on August 30, selling well within its catalogue estimate for $147,273 including buyer’s premium.
The sculpture shows Storrier’s enduring fascination with the symbolic power of objects – in this case an easel, hat, briefcase, palette and multiple bulging sacks among many other items on the horse’s back.
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Buyers fell over themselves when an important and rare Chinese early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.) huanghuali scholar’s table (lot 887) was offered for sale at Melbourne-based Leski Auctions two-day decorative arts and collectables sale on Saturday August 26 and Sunday August 27.
The table was knocked down for $36,000 and is reflective of a period in Chinese history when the northeast Asian Manchus conquered the existing residents and its territory expanded to a point...
Impressionist painter John Peter Russell (1859-1930) is the new high flyer in the Australian art world with an artist auction record of almost $4 million for his painting Souvenir de Belle-Ile, 1897 (Marianna Russell with Goats, Goulphar, Belle-Ile) (lot 23) at Deutscher and Hackett’s Melbourne auction on August 16.
The actual figure of $3,927,273 including buyer’s premium also eclipsed Australian auction records for an impressionist painting in a sale that...
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