KEY POINTS:
Where does the art market stand as the year closes? Rather sluggish at the top end, if major sales of "important" art at Webb's on Tuesday and Art+Object a fortnight ago are any indication. Doing quite well for less costly works, if recent sales at the International Art Centre, Cordy's and Dunbar Sloane are a guide.
Webb's well-attended sale saw 61 of the first 90 lots either passed in or sold "subject" as prices offered failed to reach the reserves set by vendors. At Art+Object, the picture was better, but not much - 19 lots passed in, and 24 sold subject, from the 90 on offer.
By contrast, International Art sold nearly all its 236-lot offering on the night, thanks to realistic estimates, often no reserves and a willingness of auctioneer Richard Thomson to discreetly consult vendors in the room - usually successfully - when bids came close to reserves.
True, many of the subject lots at Art+Object and Webb's have been sold after post-sale negotiations. But the easing of prices and demand at the top end suggests that next year might be a bit tepid for sellers of major works.
At Webb's, some went against the tide. Dick Frizzell's big Bordello in the Congo, from his Phantom series, sold for a record $65,000 ($74,139 with premium and GST), against estimates of $40,000 to $50,000. A small Goldie of the Arawa chieftainess Kapi Kapi reached $135,000 ($153,981), not far below the higher estimate of $150,000. Another wonderful small painting, McCahon's A Constant Flow of Light, went for $65,000, $5000 above the higher estimate.
But major works by Tony Fomison, Michael Smither, Ralph Hotere, Bill Hammond and Pat Hanly failed to reach the reserves, being sold subject.
Four Australian works by self-taught artist Kevin Charles Hart sold well, with one hitting $9250, nearly double the higher estimate of $5000.
Screenprints by Gordon Walters continue to command strong interest, selling for between $6000 and $7000, while similar works by Hanly are closing in on the same sort of prices.
Ann Robinson's classic cast-glass sculptures are in strong demand, with Cactus selling for $28,000 at Webb's and the breathtakingly beautiful Icebowl on Stand going for $34,000 at Art+Object. These are works that command international attention.
Other artists to do well at the Art+Object sale were Jenny Dolezel, whose Atlas of Emotion went for $31,000, $5000 above the higher estimate, and Guy Ngan, with Animated Colours No. 15 selling for $16,000.
But Billy Apple's Rainbow with Waterfall, shown at his second solo exhibition in New York in 1965, failed to attract an opening bid of $25,000.
At the under-$10,000 end of the market, work by veteran South Island landscape artist Austen Deans sold well at Cordy's and the International Art Centre, while the renewed interest in New Zealand's sacrifices in World War I saw Cordy's achieve $9000 for John Weeks' 1917 watercolour of a field ambulance in Flanders.
COMING UP
Next Tuesday: Art+Object, 20th century design (including the Michael Barrymore and Shaun Davis collection); Cordy's, antiques.
Next Thursday: Webb's Penrose, antiques and collectables from the Marton Courthouse.
