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MALAYSIA’S FIRST ART AUCTION
CREATIVE INDUSTRY
RECORDED SALES IN EXCESS OF RM1.7M l Jessica Ho
Ibrahim Hussein’s The Dream which was sold for RM500,500.
Telepnone and absentee bidders joined in the action.
PETALING
JAYA: A vintage 1969 acrylic painting by Datuk Ibrahim Hussein called The Dream is believed to have set a Malaysian auction record when it sold for RM500,500 at the first Henry Butcher Art Auction at Wisma Bentley Music here on Aug 8. The auction of Malaysian Modern and Contemporary Art Collection, officially opened by Minister of Tourism Malaysia, Yang Berhormat Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, and touted to be the first of its kind in Malaysian art history, recorded a total of RM1,737,910 in sales, with 52 out of 62 works sold, registering a success rate of 84%. Thirty-two of the works on offer were sold above the estimates. Another two Dato’s, pioneer artists Hoessein Enas and Chuah Thean Teng, snared the next top places with Hoessein’s 1954 Javanese Girl realising RM127,600 while Chuah, the world acknowledged batik-painting founder, took the 3rd spot with his Mother and Children raking in RM114,400 after some intense bidding. The auction, arguably one that is the largest and most professionally-run, was dedicated exclusively to Malaysian art and attracted a standing room crowd of more than 300 people, with bidders coming from as far as Penang, Sabah and Singapore.
Peasent Girl and Javanese Girl by Dato’ Mohd Hoessein Enas were sold for RM44,000 and RM127,600 respectively
over its original estimate, and drew a round of applause from the crowd. Another one of Enas’ work, an oil on canvas titled Javanese Girl, which was first sold at Christie’s Singapore in 1996, also attracted some very intense bidding before finally clinching RM127,600. Of the two top-draw works by Chuah (19122008), better known as Teng, the classic Mother with Children finally went to a London-based buyer at RM114,000 after attracting some 24 bids from several serious collectors who were eyeing the work, while a rare mixed media work from Teng, Two Cockerels and a Hen sold for RM90,000 post-auction.
Penang’s watercolour legend Tan Choon Ghee also made a strong presence, with all his watercolour works on offer selling beyond their original estimates, the highest being the RM14,850 paid for his KL Railway Station work, while Lim Kim Hai who is famous for his apple paintings, saw his rare 1985 watercolour of a French countryside fetching RM14,300.
Landscape and heritage artist Peter Liew’s 1997 oil on canvas, Golden Malacca, fetched RM72,600 while Lim Kim Hai’s Gentle Breeze went for RM120,000 in another post-auction sale.
Some of the country’s most revered veteran artists were also well represented with Dato’ Sharifah Fatimah Zubir’s commissioned piece, Awakening fetching RM48,400 and a 1982 Lilac Landscape from Jolly Koh going for RM24,200, while Awang Damit’s Alun Alun keMarista 6-97 was sold for RM9,900.
Chia Yu Chian was also popular among the bidders, with his lively depiction of KL Street Scene (Lebuh Pudu) in 1985 hitting RM37,400 while his early work, Paris Street Scene done in 1960 sold for RM24,200. Of the other pioneer artists, Yong Mun Sen (18961962) did well with his 1948 watercolour fetching RM24,200 and two 1953 works garnering RM27,500 and RM34,100 respectively. The 1953 works were part of the 148 works listed in the collection of his widow Yao Chew Mooi, which were appraised by the London-based firm Spink and Son. However, the highest priced watercolour was not Mun Sen’s but the RM42,900 paid for Chang Fee Ming’s Drying, a seminal work to the artist’s career as it brought him his first Malaysian Watercolour Society Awards in 1984. Another one of Fee Ming’s early works, his 1987 Kathmandu Market Scene also did reasonably well at RM14,850.
Also hitting five-digit for a watercolour was Khalil Ibrahim for his 1990 Beach Vista, which garnered RM11,000, and a 1993 classic work from his Fishermen series fetching RM12,100.
Among the younger artists represented, Jalaini Abu Hassan, more affectionately known as Jai, proved himself to be one of the nation’s most sought after contemporary artists when his early work from 1999, Lukisan Kertas Chap Reben was sold to a telephone bidder for RM26,400 against its original estimate of RM10,00012,000. Other contemporary artists with works selling at the upper end of their original estimates were Zulkifli Yusoff, Yee I-Lann, Kow Leong Kiang, Pheh It Hao and Marvin Chan. Smaller works priced below RM5,000 had its fair share of the market too, with names like Mansor Ghazalli, AB Ibrahim, Peter Harris and Lui Cheng Thak leading the way.
The highlight of the auction was none other than The Dream, which Ibrahim (1936-2009), or Ib as he was better known, had sold to a United Nations officer based in Kuala Lumpur in the early 1970s. The collector had since taken the work with him in his postings all over the world. After some intensive competition from determined bidders, this rare work has finally found its new home back in its home country after nearly 40 years of traveling around the world. Dato’ Mohd Hoessein Enas (1924-95) proved to be another star at the auction. His 1993 pastel on paper work, Peasant Girl, which was the first lot to go under the hammer, drew interests from no less than eight bidders in the room and two telephone bidders, who competed fiercely as soon as the auction went live at 3.30pm sharp. It was finally sold for RM44,000, well Dato’ Syed Ahmad Jamal & Wife, Director-General NAG Ambassador Dato’ Mohd Yusof Ahmad, Mr Lim Eng Chong, Pn Zanita & Mr Vincent Sim