KEY POINTS:
Does size matter? Not every home can place some of the bigger offerings of contemporary art, but for sure-fire sellers like works by Goldie, generally the bigger the better.
Webb's experimental sale this month combining works of contemporary art and objects of modern design drew a big crowd, with the design pieces selling very well but the art at times struggling.
Two fascinating big works failed to sell on the night but are under negotiation.
Tony de Lautour's huge, majestic, black and white painting, more than 2m high and 3m wide, was estimated to sell at from $35,000 to $45,000.
The latest offer for this major work is $26,000.
Even bigger is David Trubridge's light/sculpture Bombay Sapphire, commissioned this year by the 42 Below group for a short-run bar design project.
Made of hand-finished polycarbonate, it is nearly 6m long and just over 2m wide.
It looks splendid hanging inside Webb's entrance - well worth a visit. And it could be yours for something between $20,000 and $30,000, if you can find a place for it and a ceiling strong enough to support it.
At the other end of the scale, a tiny Goldie, just 20cm by 14.5cm, broke the rule at the International Art Centre. Auctioneer Richard Thomson, who knows his Goldies, put an estimate of $180,000 to $240,000 on the portrait of 102-year-old Ahinata te Rangituatini, an Arawa chieftainess, also known as Kapi Kapi.
But the fact it had been in the same family's hands since it was bought in Auckland in 1910, and its splendid condition, saw the price soar to $291,000 ($330,285, with premium and GST).
The vendor and Thomson were obviously delighted, especially as it was the fourth Goldie he has sold this year to top the $200,000 mark.
The Parnell gallery and auction house is having a boom year, with three sales topping $1.5 million.
Recession or not, buyers are still willing to invest in top-quality New Zealand historic works.
At the same auction, a nude by Evelyn Page went for $145,000, while New Plymouth under Siege, painted around 1860 by Edwin Harris - an artist whose works are rarely seen on the market - went to its eponymous town for $65,000.
New Zealand's baptism by fire at Gallipoli continues to hold its fascination, with a water-colour by war artist Horace Moore-Jones selling for $45,000, against an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000.
Some big sales are on the way to wind up the year, starting with Webb's collectable art at 11 this morning. Christmas presents, anyone?
Coming up:
11am today: Webb's, A2 art.
November 3-4: Cordy's, fine and applied art.
November 17-19: Dunbar Sloane, New Zealand works, including art, artefacts, furniture and collectables.
November 18: Cordy's, antiques.
November 20: International Art Centre, art.
November 27: Art+Object, important paintings, sculpture.
November 30: Webb's, vintage clothing.
December 3: Webb's, jewellery and watches.
December 4: Webb's, antiques.
December 8: Webb's, important art.
December 9: Art+Object, new collectors art; Webb's, Giovanni Intra estate sale; Cordy's, antiques.
December 10: Art+Object, decorators sale
December 11: Art+Object, 20th-century design.
December 15: Art+Object, Plumblys sale (in Dunedin).
