KEY POINTS:
Investors at an auction in Auckland this week showed no signs of being affected by economic recession.
A small 1909 oil by Charles Goldie, expected to sell for between $180,000 and $240,000, sold for $291,000, said Richard Thomson from the International Art Centre in Parnell.
"It is a record in New Zealand for a painting of that size, there is no question," Mr Thomson said.
The small oil, in an original wooden frame made by Goldie's father, was sold with an original label in Goldie's hand. It had been in a private family collection since 1910, the year after it was painted.
The other Goldie oil on offer, Tumai Tawhiti, a Maori chief painted in 1938, was tipped to sell for between $250,000 and $350,000 but brought only $235,000.
Nude in a Doorway, considered a rare New Zealand masterpiece by artist Evelyn Page, was expected to sell for up to $200,000 but fetched $150,000.
A rare watercolour of Gallipoli by Horace Moore-Jones, who also painted the renowned Simpson and his Donkey, sold for $45,000.
The price was well over the estimate of between $25,000 and $35,000 and showed New Zealand's continuing love affair with Gallipoli, said Mr Thomson.
Many of Moore-Jones' Gallipoli paintings were bought by the Australian Government and the few in private ownership were seldom offered for sale.
Sir Edmund Hillary's 2002 pen drawing of himself climbing Mt Everest in 1953, and a $5 note signed by Sir Ed over his image, sold for $3000.
Mr Thomson said art investors had not been affected by the downturn in the economy.
"They are out there in force and they are buying the good things.
"Often the art market defies recession and art is a tangible asset."
- NZPA
