Important Paintings & Contemporary Art

Catalogue 373 27 March 2014

Catalogue 373 27 March 2014

Important paintings and contemporary art

Important paintings and contemporary art

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

2

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Catalogue 373 Foreword 6 - 7

The New Zealand Scene

8 - 9

The World of Art

10 - 11

Fine Jewellery & Watches – Forthcoming Sale

12 - 13

Warbirds & Wheels – Forthcoming Sale

14 - 15

Modern Design – Forthcoming Sale

16 - 17

Medals & Decorations – Forthcoming Sale

18 - 24

Colin McCahon: Light through a Familiar Landscape

26 - 27

Tony Fomison: The Market For Major Paintings

28 - 31

Important Paintings & Contemporary Art – This Sale in Review

The Catalogue 33 - 120

Important Paintings & Contemporary Art

Upcoming Auctions & Market Commentary 121 - 134

Upcoming Auctions & Market Commentary

Who to Talk to at Webb’s 135

Regional Services

134 - 135 Valuation Services 136 - 137 143

Webb’s Departments & People The Last Word - Simon Ward - Profile

Terms & Conditions & Index of Artists 144

Webb’s Terms & Conditions for Buying

145

Index of Artists Webb’s Auction House. 18 Manukau Road, Newmarket, Auckland 1149, New Zealand Ph: 09 524 6804 E:auctions@webbs.co.nz www.webbs.co.nz CATALOGUE 373

3

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Your chance to own an Eggceptional artwork.

You just have to find it first.

For 33 days throughout Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, 100 giant eggs created by artists such as Frizzell, Trubridge and Gimblett, will be on display for all to see. There’s only one catch; we’re not telling anyone where they are.

The Whittaker’s Big Egg Hunt takes place between 21 March - 22 April, with hunters using clues, maps, an app and social media to find the eggs, and compete for the grand prize of a one-of-a-kind Whittaker’s Gold Slab.

All 100 egg masterpieces by leading and emerging New Zealand artists will be sold during The Big Egg Hunt, with proceeds going to the Starship Foundation.

Presents

You can bid on 80 of these eggs online or you may want to check out the 20 eggs being auctioned

by Webb’s at a gala event in Auckland on April 16.

For more information on the artists and how to purchase their eggs, visit thebigegghunt.co.nz New Zealand 4

Photograph: Jason O’Hara

CATALOGUE 373

in support of

WEBB’S

IMPORTANT PAINTINGS & CONTEMPORARY ART Sale 373

Thursday 27 March 2014, 6:30pm

Evening Preview Wed 19 Mar

5:30pm - 7:30pm

Viewing Wed 19 Mar

5:30pm - 7:30pm

Thur 20 Mar

9:00am - 5:30pm

Fri 21 Mar

9:00pm - 5:30pm

Sat 22 Mar

11:00am - 3:00pm

Sun 23 Mar

11:00am - 3:00pm

Mon 24 Mar

9:00am - 5:30pm

Tue 25 Mar

9:00am - 5:30pm

Wed 26 Mar

9:00am - 5:30pm

Thur 27 Mar

9:00am - 12 noon

We will be offering live online bidding services for this auction. Buyers can follow the auction and place bids over the internet in real time. Intending bidders will need to register in advance of the auction at www.the-saleroom.com.

Terms and conditions apply, all bids are binding.

Buyer’s Premium A buyer's premium of 15% will be charged on all items in this sale.

GST (15%) is payable on the buyer's premium only.

CATALOGUE 373

5

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

the new zealand SCENE.

Cinema and Painting The current exhibition at Adam Art Gallery in Wellington, Cinema and Painting, examines the intersection of these two screen-based arts at a time when both are being challenged by the rapid rise in digital technology and the burgeoning development of a digital culture. Curated

by Michelle Menzies and Daniel Morgan, the exhibition extends and breaks preconceived ideas about the spaces involved in painting and film; the traditional flat surface gives way to volumetric projections and paintings that tumble from the walls. A welcome diversity of practitioners is involved in the exhibition including Jim Davis, Len Lye, Judy Millar, Oskar Fischinger, Colin McCahon, Ken Jacobs and Heinrich Hauser.

Where: Adam Art Gallery, Wellington When: until 11 May 2014

Steve Carr ‘Transpiration 2014’. Image courtesy of the artist and Michael Lett

stretching Time: installation

by Steve Carr in dunedin Towards the end of 2013, the Auckland-based contemporary artist Steve Carr created a significant new series of work during his time as a resident in Dunedin Art Gallery’s Visiting Artist Programme.

Due to open on 8 March, Carr’s captivating and magical piece is an immersive “surround” video installation entitled Stretching Time which literally and metaphorically slows the act of spectacle down. As the title for this exhibition signals, the work makes viewers aware of both the passage of time and expands the sense of the moment as a singular form is repeated and blown up. Targeting the sensory experiences, Carr’s work is nothing short of an enticing, alluring and positively spectacular experience.

When: 8 March until 15 June 2014 Where: Dunedin Public Art Gallery

Top: Diana Thater, Pink Daisies, Amber Room, 2003. Image: Fredrik Nilsen. Courtesy the artist and 1301PE, Los Angeles. Bottom left: Judy Millar, working model of new work, 2013. Courtesy the artist.

Bottom right: Jim Davis ‘Sea Rhythms’, Courtesy the artist.

Turner Prizewinner at City Gallery Wellington

Above: Simon Starling, ‘Le Jardin Suspendu 1998’. Photo: J Braseille. Installation View, Villa Arson, Nice, 2003. Right: Simon Starling at Fondazione Mario Merz, Turin, 2011.Photo: Andrea Guermani.

6

CATALOGUE 373

In conjunction with Australian partners Monash University Museum of Art in Melbourne and the Institute of Modern Art (IMA) in Brisbane, City Gallery Wellington is bringing the work of Simon Starling to New Zealand with the exhibition In Speculum. Winner of the coveted Turner Prize in 2005, Starling is a British conceptual artist who retains a strong focus on the construction process of art, while looking to investigate the relationships between history and modernity, art and technology.

The exhibition evidences the boundless nature of Starling’s work and, while on view at the IMA, his works were characterised as “always having something unexpected, excessive, witty, perverse, serendipitous, convoluted or crafty about them”.

Where: City Gallery Wellington When: until 18 May 2014

WEBB’S

Things Beyond Our Control

Mark Adams ‘10.8.1998 Indian Island after William Hodges’ View in Dusky Bay’ 1998. Image courtesy of the artist & Two Rooms Gallery Auckland.

Mark adams: cook’s sites photographic exibition Currently on show at Christchurch Art Gallery is a haunting suite of works by renowned photographer Mark Adams.

Entitled Cook’s Sites, the exhibition continues Adams’ exploration of New Zealand’s complex colonial history.

The photographs record areas of Dusky Sound in Fiordland and Queen Charlotte Sound in the Marlborough Sounds, which are potent physical landmarks of the country’s formative biculturalism. Visited by Captain James Cook and his crew in the early 1770s, these two sites hosted some of the earliest interactions between the local Maori and the British Empire. Adams’ images are neither prescriptive nor dogmatic but look to raise questions about the residual nature and

significance of these first encounters and how we should approach them.

The images are presented alongside texts written by the historical anthropologist Nicholas Thomas, who has collaborated with Adams in the past. Seen together, image and word serve to confront and illuminate the complexities of New Zealand’s colonial heritage. As is expected of Adams, the exhibition comprises dramatic and compelling images that demonstrate why he is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated and iconic practising photographers.

When: until 23 March 2014 Where: Christchurch Art Gallery, 209 Taum Street

Curated by Charlotte Huddleston at St Paul St Gallery and running till 21 March, Things Beyond Our Control features the work of Suji Park, Cornelia Parker and Jun Yang.

The exhibition looks to highlight the regular use of material objects as comforting devices that forge, and then help navigate, a relationship between anxiety and comfort. As such, the exhibition offers an insightful and welcoming change from the tendency to view materiality as the negative byproduct of capitalist consumerism.

When until 21 March 2014 Where St Paul St Gallery, AUT, Auckland

Suji Park (Installation detail) Image courtesy of the artist and Chelsea Rothbart for St Paul Street Gallery.

In Residence: Reuben Paterson: The Golden Bearing The verdant and highly prized landscape of Boatshed Lawn in Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, is currently home to a new glittering addition: Reuben Paterson’s magical golden tree, The Golden Bearing. Completed during his recent residency at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Paterson’s latest outdoor offering sees him move away from his renowned glitter paintings and conquer new creative territory in the three-dimensional world of sculpture. Executed on a life-size scale, The Golden Bearing offers a mesmeric experience, encapsulating the viewer in a glistening, golden and fantastical realm. The piece is not just a pretty and alluring surface, however; it seeks to question notions of reality, artificiality and so-called natural environments. Like Paterson’s paintings, the sculpture explores the philosophical and empirical concepts of light. Open to the public and free to view until the end of July, Paterson’s chimerical fantasy land is not to be missed.

‘Sparkling in the night sky’ Reuben Paterson’s ‘The Golden Bearing’ takes root and flourishes on Pukerua Park’s Boatshed Lawn, New Plymouth. Image courtesy of the artist, Bryan James and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.

When: until 27 July 2014 Where: Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth CATALOGUE 373

7

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

The World OF ART.

New Exhibition

by Jude Rae at Jensen Gallery, Sydney When: until 22 March 2014 Where: Jensen Gallery, Paddington, Sydney

Jude Rae, Gallery installation, 2014. Image courtesy of the artist and Jensen Gallery Sydney

A Retrospective: James Turrell and the Art of Light

Egle Budvytyte ‘Choreography for running male performance’ 2012.

Mircea Cantor ‘Transit Gloria Mundi’, 2012, video still.

Sasha Huber ‘Louis who? What you should know about Louis Agassiz, 2010, video still.

The 19th Sydney Biennale: You Imagine What You Desire

Set to close in April 2014, James Turrell: A Retrospective at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has been open for almost a year, and has been greeted with critical acclaim. The exhibition traces the 50-year career of the California-born artist Turrell, who is best known for his involvement in the Southern California Light and Space movement of the 1960s and ’70s. The current exhibition highlights Turrell’s continued exploration of the possibilities of perceptual phenomena. In addition, it pays tribute to Turrell’s ongoing site-specific intervention into the landscape, Roden Crater. Documented by way of drawings, plans, projections, models, photographs and video, the exhibition celebrates and elucidates what perhaps has become Turrell’s most famous and most controversial work: a volcano in the Arizona desert that Turrell has been shaping into an intricate and otherworldly observatory for more than 40 years.

Where: Los Angeles County Museum of Art When: until 6 April 2014

Directed by Juliana Engberg, the 2014 Sydney Biennale presents a diverse array of works by 94 international artists. Offering a broad array of artistic practice that encompasses installation, video, performance, audio sculpture and photography, among others, the 19th Biennale is set, once again, to satisfy large and discerning crowds.

Where: Sydney, various locations When: 21 March to 9 June 2014

James Turrell ‘ Breathing Light’ 2013, LED light into space. Photo: Florian Holzerr

London Auction Prices Hit New High

Gerhard Richter ‘Wall,’ 1994. Achieved US$28.6 million.

8

CATALOGUE 373

The February auction at Sotheby’s in London proved to the art world once again that, despite what market analysts might be saying, collectors are still willing to pay top dollars for superior Modern artworks, following a sale rate of 94% at their Contemporary Art Sale that drew bidders from 40 countries.

Gerhard Richter made headlines with a telephone bidding war that resulted in his 1994 work Wall (Wand in German) selling for US$28.6 million, well above its estimate of US$25.0 million.

A smaller piece by Richter, from 1997, also rose well above its high estimate of US$4.9 million, reaching US$6.5 million on the night. Modern American masters demonstrated the robust nature of the market with works by Twombly, Warhol and Basquiat selling for sums far beyond their estimates. Alexander Rotter, cohead of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Department summarised the sale as “a triumph of painting” noting that “buyers really went for big names but, more than that, they went for painterly paintings”.

WEBB’S

Richard Hamilton at the tate modern, london

Richard Hamilton, Just what is it that make today’s homes so different, so appealing? Collage, 1956.

The latest exhibition to open at the Tate Modern is a retrospective of one of Britain’s most influential and important 20thcentury artists: one of the founding figures of Pop Art, Richard Hamilton (1922–2011). Organised in association with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Sofia (Madrid), the exhibition features the revolutionary installation Fun House (1956) and a print of Hamilton’s seminal collage Just what is it that makes today’s home so different, so appealing?

(1956). The exhibition is a

retrospective in the true sense of the term and, as well as pioneering pieces of Pop, it includes etchings that Hamilton completed during his student days, the suite of paintings that he completed shortly before his death and a slice of the complexities in between.

Testifying to Hamilton’s technical dexterity, his artistic inventiveness and his firmness of purpose, the retrospective confirms the central place that Richard Hamilton holds in the art world of the last century.

Where: Tate Modern, London When: until 26 May 2014

The 2014 Whitney Biennial, New york This year’s Whitney Biennial in New York has been organised by three curators from outside of the Whitney Museum and features the work of 103 participants. The decision to enlist the trio is reflected in the physical layout of the exhibition, which comprises three floors; each floor is the domain of one of the curators. As a result, spaces, curatorial methodologies and artist selection are distinct yet connected across the three areas. It will be the last Biennial to be hosted in the Marcel Breuer building on Madison Avenue, for the Museum moves downtown in spring 2015.

New LVMH Museum in Paris finally opens The long-anticipated LVHM (Louis Vuitton – Moët Hennessy) museum in Paris is finally set to open in spring this year. Located in the Bois de Boulogne district, the museum and art centre is the brainchild of Bernard Arnault, Chairman of the French luxury brand LMVH, and is expressly intended to accommodate the Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation. Headed by the French curator Suzanne Pagé, the

Where: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York When: 7 March to 25 May 2014

museum is set to showcase works by both established artists and young emerging talent; it has been designed

by Frank Gehry and specialist digital software from the aviation industry has been used to realise his vision.

At a cost of €100 million, the museum comprises a stunning array of glass sails and architecture awards have been secured already in France and the United States.

CATALOGUE 373

9

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Fine Jewellery & Watches Antique and Contemporary Jewellery under the hammer. Saturday 29 March.

Catalogue now online 10

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

The Webb’s jewellery team presents our first Fine Jewellery and Watches auction for 2014, to be held on Saturday 29 March at 11:00am. This sale features a raft of beautiful antique jewellery, watches of top brands, statement pearls and stunning contemporary jewellery: an eclectic mix curated with luxury in mind.

In the antique section, we have a rare Victorian malachite cameo necklace with matching earrings, comprising 14 oval connected cameos of graduated size, all finely carved with scenes of cherubs at play with animals and birds. Also included is a very attractive late-Victorian necklace with natural red spinels and diamonds with a detachable starburst that can be worn as a separate brooch, circa 1895.

Diamonds again are well represented with a white-gold ‘En Tremblant’ diamond-set butterfly brooch: a finely articulated swallowtail butterfly with folded wings. It is set with a staggering total of 774 brilliant diamonds. An important, large, solitaire diamond and platinum ring features a round, modern, brilliant-cut diamond of 4.81ct, colour G/H, clarity VS2, cut Very Good, which is set in a fourclawed, double-collet mount. We have a magnificent solitaire princess-cut diamond of 5.14ct; described in G.I.A. report 17237000 as GSI1 Excellent, it is set in a ring of 18ct white gold and the wide shoulders are pave set with a further 64 round, modern, brilliant-cut diamonds. Also, everyone’s needs are met by the large selection of diamond bracelets that is on offer, from total diamond weights of 2.50ct all the way to 23.32ct.

Lot 77. An attractive Tiffany style gold basket mesh bracelet. Estimate $2,500 - $3,500

Both Cartier and Tiffany & Co. are well represented in this offering with varied and plentiful pieces from these heavyweight brands.

There is a strong selection of watches, including a spectacular man’s diamond-and-sapphire-set Piaget white-gold dress watch, circa 1972.

Included alongside is a wide and varied collection of Rolexes such as the Daytona cosmograph, a Rose gold and steel Datejust Oyster perpetual, an Air King Oyster movement in stainless steel and a Gold President perpetual. Many other houses such as Omega, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Patek Philippe and Franck Muller are represented also.

In contemporary jewellery, we are excited to have a collection of the talented jeweller Peter Minturn’s designs; Peter first set up his workshop in Auckland in 1964 after emigrating from England. Peter has made commissioned pieces for the Queen, Princesses Anne and Alexandra, Lord Robens, Michael Caine, Elton John and Frankie Valli.

Recently he was commissioned to make a commemorative piece in honour of the late Maori Queen Te Atairangikaahu, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her succession to the throne. Peter is currently designing, making and teaching from his studio in Kingsland.

The ever-popular Jewels: Buy/ Sell/Collect auction will make up a second sale to be held at 3:30pm on Saturday 29 March. Included is an extensive range of vintage, retro and contemporary jewellery. This sale will be a great place for anyone with an interest in good design and jewellery to get their hands on semi-precious loose stones and for those interested in remaking, replacing or reusing diamonds, stones and pieces from items in need of repair.

We are delighted to offer private treaty sales at Webb’s; this service is discreet and all aspects of a private sale are held in the strictest confidence.

Enquires from those looking to buy privately are welcomed. Webb’s jewellery and watch specialists will reach out across our extensive network in order to source the loose diamond you are seeking.

Lot 4. A rare Victorian malachite cameo necklace with matching earrings. Estimate $4,000 - $5,000

Lot 19 A near new Rolex Steel and gold Daytona Cosmograph wristwatch. Estimate $15,000 - $16,000

Lot 63 A white gold “En Tremblant” diamond set butterfly brooch. Estimate $14,000 - $16,000

Fine Jewellery & Watches When Saturday 29 March 11am Where Webb’s Auction House

jewels buy - sell - collect When Saturday 29 March 3.30pm Where Webb’s Auction House CATALOGUE 373

11

warbirds & Wheels

In association with the warbirds & Wheels museum - Wanaka

30 March 2014, 12 noon On View from 26 March

Catalogue now online

Contact: Neil Campbell, 021 875 966

11 Lloyd Dunn Ave Wanaka Airport

Webb’s is pleased to announce the inaugural Warbirds and Wheels auction to be held on the 30th of March to be held at the Warbirds & Wheel Museum in Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand.

Working in partnership, Webb’s and Warbirds and Wheels Museum will be offering the finest selection of classic cars, vintage motorcycles and selected air crafts currently available in New Zealand.

The catalogue includes: 1949 Ford F1 Bonus Pick Up 1986 Ferrari 328 Quattro Value 1937 OK Supreme 1902 Norton De-Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth 1941 180 Packard YAK-3 1937 OK Supreme 1934 Alvis Speed 20 SB 1941 180 Packard 1941 Harvard 1953 Chevrolet Coupe

$28,000 - $38,000 $110,000 - $120,000 $60,000 - $70,000 $80,000 - $110,000 $90,000 - $120,000 $175,000 - $225,000 $120,000 - $170,000 $60,000 - $70,000 $220,000 - $270,000 $175,000 - $225,000 $170,000 -$190,000 $40,000 - $60,000

1950 Indian Roadmaster $55,000 - $60,000 1938 Harley Davidso $55,000 - $65,000 1936 Indian Chief $60,000 - $80,000 1931 Packard Standard 8 $40,000 - $50,000 1953 Ariel Square Four MKII 1000cc $18,000 - $22,000 1942 Harley Davidson $18,000 - $22,000 1942 Indian $15,000 - $20,000 1942 Willys Jeep $18,000 - $22,000 1918 Harley Davidson $22,000 - $28,000 1947 Triumph 499cc Tiger T100 $14,000 - $18,000 1954 MG TF1250 Roadster $35,000 - $38,000

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Modern Design Inside Out in association with Mr. Bigglesworthy

Thursday 8 May 6.30pm CONSIGN NOW 14

CATALOGUE 373

WP01 Kingston Sofa by William Plunkett $3000–$4000 Two important early modernist chairs for Jon Jansen $3000–$4000

WEBB’S

There’s an honesty in all good modern design – a devotion to the essence of form, function and materials. Webb’s is proud to present ‘Inside Out’, a collection of coveted mid-century modern design classics in partnership with Mr. Bigglesworthy.

Contact Josh Williams jwilliams@webbs.co.nz / 09 524 6804

The upcoming collection celebrates the beauty of objects stripped of superfluous decoration. It is a suite of inspired work from leading architects and designers who

embraced new forms, creating honest designs that have remained timeless and relevant.

Among some of the coveted, original pieces are designs by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller, Eero Saarinen for Knoll, Adrian Pearsall for Craft Associates, Jens Risom for Risom Design, William Plunkett for Plunkett Furniture, Curtis Jere for Artisan House and Bob Roukema for Jon Jansen.

CATALOGUE 373

15

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

The Gibson Collection of

Orders Decorations and Medals Wednesday 9 April, 6.30pm Catalogue now online

16

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Bethunes is pleased to present a distinguished collection of orders, decorations and medals formed by John A L Gibson, QC (1936–2009). This will be one of the finest collections ever offered on the New Zealand market and presents a unique opportunity for museums and enthusiasts.

Over four decades, John formed one of the finest collections of British orders, decorations and medals found in New Zealand; it focused on special interests in New Zealand, naval history, the fall of Singapore, the Black Watch and allied regiments, the Royal Household, and bravery and lifesaving awards. In the early 2000s, he sold a large portion of this collection at Dix Noonan Webb in London but retained the items relating to New Zealand. For over 40 years, he was a member of The Orders and Medals Research Society (UK) and established friendships with leading dealers, collectors and researchers in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In addition, he formed outstanding collections of commemorative medallions, military badges, helmet plates and plaid brooches, as well as model soldiers and ships, which were sold by Webb’s in September 2010. His collecting was influenced by his early years. John was born in what was then Malaya where his father worked as a surveyor for the British Colonial Office. John and his parents returned to New Zealand before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941.

However, his father, an officer in the Johore Volunteer Engineers of the Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces, returned to Singapore and, after the fall of Singapore in February 1942, became a prisoner of war in Changi and later was taken to Siam to work on the infamous Burma Railway.

John’s passion for collecting is represented by the range and unsurpassed quality of the items.

Highlights include: a Gallipoli DSO in an important group of 10 awards presented to Colonel Bertram Sibbald Finn, CBE, DSO, ED, New Zealand Medical Corps and New Zealand Dental Corps; an outstanding ‘Battle of the River Plate’ group of five awarded to Gunner Eric J Watts, DSC, RN; and a rare group of eight awards conferred upon Rear-Admiral William Arthur, CB, RN, after whom Port Arthur, China, was named. Also, this auction will feature an exceptional selection of orders, decorations and medals relating to military campaigns and long service, New Zealand Wars, First and Second World Wars, New Zealand Police and Order of St John, as well as a large number of books and related materials.

Contact ben ashley bashley@webbs.co.nz / 09 524 6804

Gallipoli DSO in an important group of 10 to Colonel Bertram Sibbald Finn, CBE, DSO, ED, NZ Medical Corps & NZ Dental Corps. Estimate $15,000-$25,000.

CATALOGUE 373

17

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Interior of Colin McCahon’s studio at Muriwai, Auckland. Photograph by Ian Macdonald. Reproduced courtesy of the artist.

18

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Colin McCAHON Light through a familiar landscape

CATALOGUE 373

19

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Anne and Colin McCahon, Titirangi, c. 1957. Behind them is Kauri Trees, Titirangi

Presented in this catalogue is a suite of major works

by Colin McCahon that encapsulate many of his key concerns and reflect a number of vital turning points in his career. In both scope and depth, the offering is more comprehensive than any other that has been presented to the auction market in recent history.

With a career spanning more than 45 years, Colin McCahon (1919–1987) is one of the most significant and influential artists of Australasian modernism. His oeuvre spans a number of diverse and definitive periods and ranges from works that engaged with the tenets of early New Zealand modernism, to those 20

CATALOGUE 373

which explored abstract and textbased imagery often with esoteric themes and concepts. To this end, within New Zealand’s art-historical landscape, McCahon is somewhat of a unique figure. Rather than resonate with the ideals of one particular moment in time, McCahon’s practice played a central role in the development of modernist painting in New Zealand as a whole.

This sale includes five major works

by McCahon and, because of its scope and quality, the offering is an extremely significant, landmark event. Each painting was made during a period in the artist’s career that is now considered to be vital to the trajectory of his practice and their presentation as a comprehensive survey of McCahon’s

WEBB’S

work from the late 1950s and early 1970s emphasises the artist’s significance to New Zealand’s arthistorical narrative. With regard to the 1950s, two of the works in this sale, Kauri Trees, Titirangi and Red Titirangi, were made when the artist was based in the suburb of Titirangi in Auckland’s Waitakere Ranges and was using a figurative methodology inspired by cubist abstraction. A further three works, entitled Moby Dick is Sighted off Muriwai Beach, Kaipara Flat – Written and Rosegarden VI, were made in the early 1970s after the artist had built a dedicated studio at Muriwai, on the west coast, where he would spend some of the most richly productive years of his life.

Given the significance of offering such a strong representation of the artist’s practice in a single catalogue, it seems apt, firstly, to look back and assess why the periods when these works were made were so pivotal to the artist’s career and, secondly, to examine the

New Zealand market’s relationship with his practice. Amongst those who follow the secondary art market, the scarcity of exceptional paintings

by McCahon is often discussed.

Accordingly, as this suite of paintings will no doubt capture the market’s focus, it is interesting to quantify its importance against the previous performance of the market place.

New Imagery from Different Vistas The McCahon family moved into a modest home in Titirangi in 1953 after the artist relocated from Canterbury to the Auckland region for a job at the Auckland Art Gallery.

Upon arriving in Titirangi, McCahon turned his attention to the local environment almost immediately.

The native kauri trees of the heavily wooded area surrounding McCahon’s home provided the impetus for a new series of works where the interplay between strong vertical and horizontal forms and subtle shifts of colour

was the basis for a revised imagemaking strategy. In a cubist-inspired fashion, McCahon amplified the formal subtleties of his environment to create angular compositions, each of which had an intricate, formal complexity unlike anything the artist had ever made before.

While McCahon had been experimenting with cubist principles over the previous decade, such as in his religious paintings and South Island landscapes of the late 1940s, the paintings that the artist made in Titirangi saw him reappraise his technique, his construction of imagery and the way in which he used paint.

A work such as Kauri Trees, Titirangi, painted over three years from 1955 to 1957, sees the artist describe his scenery with many layers of light-butknowing strokes which developed further the laden markings that defined his paintings of the previous decade (see Takaka: Night and Day, 1948,

McCahon’s Titirangi cottage c. 1954

Lot 20. Colin McCahon, Kauri Trees, Titirangi

CATALOGUE 373

21

Lot 22. Colin McCahon, Moby Dick is sighted off Muriwai Beach

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki).

Like the artist’s previous work, the Titirangi paintings appraised mankind’s relationship with the New Zealand landscape and portrayed landscapes that held spiritual reverence; however, they did so in a less-explicit fashion.

Further, while the artist’s earlier practice had a relationship to the works of contemporaries such Doris Lusk and Toss Woollaston, McCahon’s new Cubist paintings saw him shift to new territories all on his own, in the isolated surroundings of a native kauri forest.

To this end, the other included work from this period, Red Titirangi, is a fascinating example in that it sees the artist begin to experiment with the right-angled diamond forms that would be the focus of his Gate series four years later.

22

CATALOGUE 373

Shifting Horizons and a Changing World View Between the mid-1950s and early 1970s, a number of very significant events occurred in McCahon’s life that would greatly contribute to the nature of his artistic output of the 1970s. Firstly, in 1958, the artist and his wife Anne undertook a research trip to the USA, allowing for firsthand experience of 20thcentury American art. Secondly, in 1968, the artist began working from a new, custom-built studio at Muriwai.

Also of importance was the birth of the artist’s grandson, Tui Carr, in 1972, as the works made after this event pay greater consideration to the impact of the human footprint on the natural environment.

Moby Dick is sighted off Muriwai Beach traverses many of the artist’s key concerns of the 1970s. Belonging to a small series which includes only five fully realised paintings (three of which are held in national institutions), the work references the fictional namesake of Herman Melville’s 1851 novel. By imposing a depiction of Moby Dick onto the New Zealand coastline, McCahon’s aim was to suggest that one of the novel’s central themes, i.e. humankind’s exploitation of nature, had local relevance. The work’s visceral, poetic paintwork owes much to McCahon’s American experience and the imprint of painters such as Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell. The work’s reference to ecological awareness is significant as it sees the artist expand his frame of reference to include belief

WEBB’S

systems and governing structures other than those of Christianity. In addition to his spiritual concerns, references to didactic, man-made structures would become central to McCahon’s practice from the mid-1970s onward (i.e. Teaching Aids, 1975, and Rocks in the Sky, 1976).

The two other works from this period that are included in the sale were made at pivotal moments before and after Moby Dick is sighted off Muriwai Beach.

Kaipara Flat – Written, painted in 1971, belongs to a major series that was commenced shortly after McCahon first started working in Muriwai.

Focusing solely on the uninterrupted horizon of the Kaipara region, the series approached the metaphysical relevance of landscape. Rosegarden VI, painted in 1974, builds upon these concerns and uses a similarly horizontally linear depiction of the landscape. By draping rosary beads, traditionally used by Roman Catholics during prayer, across the upper third of the composition, McCahon’s intention was to reflect on the relevance and function of organised religious structures in the ‘modern-day’ world. In the final years of his Muriwai period, McCahon consistently questioned his own faith.

Accordingly, a number of the series made from the early 1970s onward (such as the Jump!, Comets and Rosegarden series) see such sentiment begin to emerge in his practice.

Colin McCahon at his French Bay house, October 1957, photograph by Barry Miller

Constant Demand in an Ever-changing Market Place As McCahon’s career effectively stretched from the late 1930s through to the early 1980s, his practice serves as a central reference point in the history of the New Zealand art market’s development. Throughout the establishment and rise of the professional dealer gallery system in New Zealand, McCahon was an everpresent figure. To this end, the artist’s practice has a special relevance to the history of the Webb’s brand, as he held his first Auckland-based exhibition of Titirangi paintings at Peter Webb’s first gallery, located in Argus House, in 1957. Additionally, as the New Zealand auction market began to gain momentum, the artist’s practice became highly valued by collectors seeking works which were relevant to the formation of New Zealand’s cultural identity.

Lot 25, Colin McCahon, Red Titirangi

CATALOGUE 373

23

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Colin McCahon at home, 10 Partridge Street, grey Lynn, September 1968. Photograph by Gordon H Brown.

Lot 13. Colin McCahon, Kaipara Flats – Written

Since the 1970s, more artworks

by McCahon than by any other New Zealand artist have been sold on the New Zealand secondary market: more than 300 recorded auction-based sales of paintings and works on paper by the artist, totalling in excess of $19 million. McCahon’s practice also holds the record highest price ever achieved on the New Zealand market for a work from our nation’s modern period, with the first auction-based sale of Let Be Let Be (1959) for $704,000 (Webb’s, March 1995). Additionally, the more-recent sale of No. 2 (1965) for $671,000 (Webb’s, April 2003) serves as the second-highest price ever achieved on the New Zealand auction market for a modern painting.

Lot 21. Colin McCahon, Rosegarden VI

24

CATALOGUE 373

If there is any condition or mechanism that defines the nature of the secondary market for McCahon’s practice, it is certainly the scarcity of truly exceptional examples of his work that resonate strongly with key periods in his career.

When such examples are made available, the market is decisive in its response.

Webb’s last offering, in August 2013, of a painting by McCahon, Landscape with Road, a modestly scaled but seductively minimal landscape from the mid-1960s, was met with overwhelming demand and exceeded its reserve by 82% to achieve a figure of $117,250.

Also, despite the scarce availability of landmark, high-value offerings during 2013, the artist’s practice was supported very well overall. Of the major paintings and works on paper (holding values of $50,000 or more) by McCahon

offered throughout Australasia over 2013, a very strong 79% sell-through rate was achieved by volume.

When comparing the auction-based sales performance for McCahon’s practice between the years of 2000 and 2005 – traditionally considered to be a strong period in the New Zealand market’s history – against recent results, i.e. those achieved between 2008 and 2013, it is interesting to note that the current market has produced a slightly higher turnover for McCahon’s practice than did the so-called ‘golden years’ with a turnover of $6.15 million against $5.80 million. From 2000 to 2005, hammer prices in excess of $100,000 accounted for a greater proportion of the overall results than they did from 2008 to 2013: 54% by value as opposed 43% by value in the current market. Accordingly, whilst the availability and release of landmark, high-value works has slowed since the early 2000s, results demonstrate that the reception for McCahon’s practice has matured and strengthened across the board. Alongside the New Zealand art market’s record turnover of $20.3 million in 2013, the fervent reception for McCahon’s work over the last five years demonstrates that there exists an enthusiastic, active public with a growing willingness to support exceptional works by the artist. Since the early days of the auction market, the public’s recognition of McCahon’s importance has resulted in a highly valuable market place that continues to develop and grow to this day. charles ninow

WEBB’S

CATALOGUE 373

25

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Lot 17 Tony Fomison, Mental Defective

26

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

INFOCUS:

tony Fomison The Market For Major Paintings

While cited in Tony Fomison’s catalogue raisonné, Mental Defective has not been seen by the public since it was originally exhibited at Peter McLeavey Gallery in 1969. The presentation of a painting from this key early period is significant given the scarce availability of major works by the artist.

Tony Fomison stands as a somewhat unique figure within the scope of modern practice in New Zealand and among the work of other figurative painters who practised in the 1970s and ’80s and whose work has now become highly sought after. Certain strands of his practice can be said to relate to the tradition of reductive social realism that was championed first by the likes of Rita Angus and then later by artists such as Don Binney and Robin White; others can

be traced to the countercultural sentiment of looser, gestural painters like Pat Hanly and Philip Clairmont.

However, Fomison’s technical approach and choice of subject matter results in works that approach age-old concerns from an altogether different vantage.

Encompassing concepts such as human mortality, politics, folklore and the social function of religion and culture, the artist’s often dark and heavily contrasted imagery has a tendency to polarise audiences.

Accordingly, it is interesting to note that Fomison’s paintings which include the most uncompromising imagery tend to perform better than do his works that have the potential to achieve comparatively universal appeal. Historically, paintings that have heavy chiaroscuro, large scale and, ideally, a deeply sinister sensibility, have had a strong reception from the market place.

Looking at the market for Fomison’s practice retrospectively, the sellthrough rate for the works that are of above-average scale is perceptibly higher than it is for those that fall below this level. However, as size alone is not a measure of value, it also makes sense to measure the performance of major, good-quality works in the current market. Of the ten major works (i.e. those holding values of $50,000 or more) that were offered

in the last five years, only one failed to sell. Further, while the constant supply of smaller-format works by Fomison to the auction market may create a different impression, the fact that only 10 works fall within this value spectrum indicates that exceptional instances of the artist’s practice are highly rare. To put this into perspective, during the same period of time, works by other notable New Zealand artists that surpass this value threshold have been numerous; there were 44 works by McCahon, 15

by Binney and 49 by Hotere offered to the auction market.

Most of the major works by Fomison to have been made available to the market were created in the mid1970s and, because of this, it is a rare pleasure to have the opportunity to present a work from the artist’s crucially important late-1960s’ period. Fomison spent time in Europe between 1964 and 1967 and it was during that time that he was able to study the work of Caravaggio and Guercino. Accordingly, the works that Fomison made upon his return to Christchurch in the late 1960s bear strong and immediate witness to the Baroque sensibilities that would forever have an influence on the artist’s practice.

CHARLES NINOW

CATALOGUE 373

27

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Important Paintings & Contemporary Art This sale in review

28

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Webb’s first sale of Important Paintings & Contemporary Art for the 2014 auction calendar presents a focused offering of works that span the breadth of artistic practice in New Zealand.

Continuing on from our record-breaking year of art sales in 2013, the catalogue surveys New Zealand’s modern and contemporary periods and presents works that, in many cases, are amongst the finest of each respective artist ever to be offered at auction.

Lot 18 Robin White, Bare Hills Paremata

The 1970s was a particularly rich and progressive period within the overall narrative of modern New Zealand painting and, accordingly, many of our nation’s most treasured and revered works of art were made during this time. Our March catalogue includes an impressive body of consignments: paintings that speak directly to the aesthetic ideals of their respective moments in our cultural history.

Additionally, the sale includes a suite of five exemplary paintings by Colin McCahon from diverse periods in his career, as detailed in the special feature on pages 18 to 24, and the significant portrait, Mental Defective, by Tony Fomison, which is the focus of a feature editorial on pages 26 and 27.

Lot 19 Pat Hanly, Torso C

During this key period, a reductive,

flattened approach to depicting reality became central to the practice of many artists and, leading into the decade, a number of new artists had emerged as champions of a more pragmatic take on figurative painting.

This sale includes two works by Robin White from 1969, which are typical of her most celebrated practice. Executed in oils, Bare Hill, Paremata is an arresting, fully realised painting comprising a distilled and segmented landscape that is set beneath a polished ribbon of sky.

Bare Hill, Paremata is accompanied by a watercolour painting, which was made in the same year and is derived from the same series.

Pat Hanly’s practice is well represented with two seminal works.

Hanly’s 1978 Torso C is a superbly CATALOGUE 373

29

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Lot 3 Francis Upritchard, Untitled

Lot 15 Dale Frank, It was a sort of dismal day…

realised example from this iconic series, featuring the lyrical freedom of expression, the boundless dynamism and the deliberately graphic style for which the artist is best known. Also, two panels from Hanly’s eminent 34-piece mural Prelude to a Journey, which was commissioned originally by Auckland International Airport in 1977, are presented for the first time on the secondary market. The majority of the mural has been distributed amongst institutional collections throughout New Zealand and the presence of these two panels in the sale offers a rare prospect for private collectors.

The prominence of the New Zealand landscape continues in Black Gold, a monumental work by Garth Tapper from 1987, which is one of two major pieces by the artist presented in this catalogue. Formally dynamic and conceptually sophisticated, the work details road workers against rolling hills and a brooding sky while reflecting on wider political, social and art-historical concerns. Additionally, The Law and its People, dated 1980, belongs to a highly celebrated body of paintings by the artist, which critiqued the legal profession. Further works from the modern period include a powerful triptych by Jeffrey Harris, which is evocatively titled Imogen’s Grave, and a fine sculptural figure by Russell Clark.

Lot 16 Lillian Budd, Modern World

30

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Lot 14 Bill Hammond, Cave Painting 5

It is a pleasure to be able to present, at the forefront of the contemporary offerings and for the first time to the market, Lillian Budd’s (et al.) postmodern masterpiece Modern World. A superlative and highly influential example of New Zealand installation art, Modern World was a central highlight of the ground breaking 1992 exhibition Headlands – Thinking through New Zealand Art, which was curated for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. It continued to challenge and impress audiences throughout its subsequent exhibition tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Executed on a more intimate scale but by no means any less thoughtprovoking, are Ronnie van Hout’s ‘December 1948’ Explaining Painting to Theo Schoon and an untitled work of taxidermy by Francis Upritchard.

A significant and compelling piece from Australian artist Dale Frank, It was a sort of dismal day…, extends the substantial group of contemporary works on offer in the upcoming sale.

The work features Frank’s classic pools, rivulets and puddles of lacquer,

which draw attention to the physicality of painting and speak to Frank’s individual movements during the creation process. This large-scale work is an exemplary piece by an artist who is continuing to rise in popularity and demand. Complementing this work is another fine example of contemporary abstraction, an untitled painting by critically acclaimed New Zealand artist Judy Millar.

Finally, another important contemporary artwork that is set to captivate audiences is the domestically scaled Cave Painting 5

by Bill Hammond from his renowned Cave Painting series. In Cave Painting 5, a masterful handling of paint, combined with a fully realised landscape that is expansively populated by Hammond’s idiosyncratic avian figures, produces a work that is potently lyrical. The fact that yet another Webb’s sale includes an acclaimed work by Hammond reaffirms our position at the top of the market for Hammond’s practice and follows on from the series of stellar sales that Webb’s achieved in 2013.

IMPORTANT PAINTINGS & CONTEMPORARY ART

Lot 12 Judy Millar, Untitled

When Thursday 27 March 6:30pm Where Webb’s Auction House CATALOGUE 373

31

Thursday 27 March 2014, 6.30pm

Important Paintings & Contemporary Art

Viewing from Thurs 20 March Evening preview Wed 19 March, 5.30pm-7.30pm

Please join us to view this sale.

CATALOGUE 373

33

1 Pat Hanly

2 Peter Stichbury

Torso C

Glister (from the Vivian Girls series)

enamel on paper signed Hanly, dated 77 and inscribed Torso C in ink lower right; dated 77 and inscribed Torso C in graphite verso 350mm x 385mm

graphite on paper signed Stichbury and dated 02 in graphite lower left; signed Peter Stichbury, dated 02 and inscribed ‘The Vivian Girls’ in graphite on label affixed verso 290mm x 210mm

Estimate $12,000 - $18,000

Estimate $4,500 - $5,500

34

CATALOGUE 373

CATALOGUE 373

35

3 Francis Upritchard Untitled taxidermied rabbit 100mm x 70mm x 180mm PROVENANCE Gifted to the present owner in 2001 Estimate $6,000 - $8,000

Francis Upritchard’s works involving taxidermy and animal forms are important aspects of the artist’s early practice. Most notably, in her seminal 2005 exhibition at Auckland’s Artspace, Doomed Doomed All Doomed, for which she won the prestigious Walters Prize, the central focus of the installation was a large sloth figure, made with recycled fur, which lay in the middle of an otherwise empty room. The artist’s use of taxidermied forms can be traced back to her time at art school in Christchurch, New Zealand, before her move to London in 1999. During this time, the artist practised taxidermy on her family cat after it died at her brother’s hands.

In this work, Upritchard has made another unsettling foray into her eccentric taxidermy, skilfully undermining the crafting of the work and making art out of artifice. As she stated in an interview

36

CATALOGUE 373

with Elisabeth Mahoney of The Guardian in 2004: “Taxidermy aims to make things look as lifelike as possible, whereas I am interested in a critique of taxidermy, making things look as dead and pathetic as possible”. The rabbit evokes an eerie yet endearing quality. This duality has been attributed to the artist’s restlessly imaginative childhood; she says she has long been drawn to things that are both “horrible and cute”. This work makes use of what could be described as waste to which Upritchard attributes new meaning; she then re-presents it as a latter-day relic.

Raising the question as to why humans ascribe meaning to matter, she has literally breathed new life into a previously dead and valueless object.

MARY-LOUISE BROWNE Pye, Harry. ‘Interview with Francis Upritchard’, Log Illustrated (Physics Room, Christchurch), Issue 14.

4 Allen Maddox Untitled oil on canvas Gow Langsford gallery label affixed verso 1215mm x 1215mm Estimate $30,000 - $40,000

CATALOGUE 373

37

38

CATALOGUE 373

5 Imants Tillers VU 4 acrylic on nine canvasboards inscribed VU 4 in brushpoint lower right 380mm x 250mm each; 1145mm x 755mm overall Estimate $10,000 - $15,000 6 Benjamin Buchanan Untitled vinyl adhesive on paper signed Benjamin Buchanan and dated 07 in graphite verso 450mm x 400mm Estimate $1,000 - $2,000 7 Benjamin Buchanan Untitled vinyl adhesive on paper signed Benjamin Buchanan and dated 07 in graphite verso 450mm x 400mm Estimate $1,000 - $2,000

CATALOGUE 373

39

8 Frances Hodgkins Floral Still Life gouache on paper signed Frances Hodgkins in brushpoint lower left 330mm x 320mm Estimate $25,000 - $35,000

40

CATALOGUE 373

9 Charles Frederick Goldie The Old Tohunga, Ohinemutu graphite on paper signed C. F. Goldie, dated Oct - 02 and inscribed Ohinemutu in graphite lower right 145mm x 108mm Estimate $12,000 - $15,000

In 1901, Charles Frederick Goldie spent a significant amount of time in Rotorua where he completed a body of drawings of the local Maori people. It was reported at the time that Rotorua was “a district which he [Goldie] knows so well and which he has often chosen as the scene of his artistic labours”.1 Goldie brought many of the sketches back to Auckland where they were described as being “of great value, as representing the old Maori type which is becoming every year more scarce, and will rapidly pass away altogether from our sight and memory”.2 1 Triad [Dunedin], 1 December 1903, pp.10–12 2 Otago Witness, 24 December 1902, p.6

CATALOGUE 373

41

10 Russell Clark Seated Figure moulded and carved cement fondu on a timber plinth 240mm x 240mm x 140mm, sculpture 50mm x 300mm x 135mm, plinth Provenance Formerly in the collection of the artist’s sister, Vera Grubb.

Acquired by the present owner from Webb’s in 2001.

Estimate $18,000 - $25,000

42

CATALOGUE 373

11 Paul Dibble Soft Geometric 15 (Series 2) lost wax cast bronze signed Paul Dibble and dated 2004 with incision on base 640mm x 220mm x 270mm Estimate $15,000 - $20,00

CATALOGUE 373

43

12 Judy Millar Untitled oil on canvas signed Millar and dated 2013 in brushpoint verso 1800mm x 1500mm Estimate $20,000 - $30,000

One of New Zealand’s most daring and cerebral artists, Judy Millar is considered by many to be a formalist in that her work addresses itself to painting, the perceived problems of painting and issues surrounding the history of painting. At the same time as she talks about the vitality and ‘eye-searing magic’ of painting, she brings to her work a theoretical and practical interest as to where she fits in the male dominated tradition of painting as a woman artist in the 21st century. As one of New Zealand’s most internationally recognised artists, she makes explicit the engagement of her painting with the rest of the world. Her work looks outwards rather than in, participating in a global conversation about the relationship that painting has with the real world it both seeks to represent and be a part of.

She works from within a conceptual painting framework, freely referencing painting’s modern developments and relishing in appropriating the expressiveness of gestural painting.

Continuing to explore possibilities in the action-painting tradition, she uses gesture 44

CATALOGUE 373

not as personal expression but as a basis of social exchange. A sense of performative drama and delight in the act of markmaking is evident in this painting. The physicality of the gesture in Millar’s work is reminiscent of that of Jackson Pollock and she regards the direct relationship of the body to the canvas as extremely important.

Also, painting for Millar is fundamentally a process of unpainting; perversely, her artworks are unworked rather than worked up – she takes away as much as she adds. Utilising processes of erasure, wiping or scraping paint off the surface of the work, Millar assumes established sociological and cultural positions only to question and deconstruct their meanings. She challenges the viewer’s expectation of the ‘expressive gesture’ and of the effectiveness of painting as a contemporary means of communication.

She has said of her practice: “It’s ‘embodied painting’. Without our body we don’t exist, so that seems to me to be our experience of the world. And that is what painting can directly address”. 1

Millar’s painting may be perceived as abstract but she has long been interested in the depiction of three-dimensional space and the sense of scale. She is willing to take the abstract out of abstraction and to infuse her paintings with a sense of three-dimensionality. Her distinctive brush strokes are overlaid with sweeps of paint that flow and halt and turn in all directions to create richly suggestive forms. The large, painted surface of this work has a rich luminosity; it catches the light and gleams.

Untitled playfully presents itself with the grandeur of her vision: a bold exploration of the colours blue and purple suggesting monumentality and materiality. Millar is acutely aware of this dramatic effect, noting that: “The joy and charm of painting for me is the illusion and virtual space it sets up… a completely dismantled kind of shimmering, hovering one” 2 MARY-LOUISE BROWNE Millar is quoted by Virginia Were, Art News, Autumn 2009, prior to her participation in the 2009 Venice Biennale.

2 Millar is quoted by curator Justin Paton in I is she as you to me, 2003.

1

CATALOGUE 373

45

13 Colin McCahon Kaipara Flats - Written watercolour signed McCahon, dated 71 and inscribed Kaipara Flat ‑ Written in brushpoint lower left 765mm x 570mm EXHIBITED McCahon: Days and nights; Helensville; Poems of Kaipara Flat; Kaipara Flat: Written; Necessary protection, Dawson’s Gallery Dunedin, 30 July-13 August 1971 Reference Colin McCahon reference database number: cm001428 Estimate $60,000 - $80,000

Kaipara Flat – Written belongs to a series of exuberant ‘Turneresque’ paintings on paper, collectively known by the same name, painted by McCahon soon after he had resigned from his teaching position at Elam in 1971. This is a body of work considered to be one of the most lively and luminous that McCahon ever produced.

He felt a new sense of freedom being a full-time painter, writing to his friend Maureen Hitchings in May of that year, that “all this colour and fun is a direct result of leaving the school”.1 The Kaipara series and related works were painted at his Muriwai studio, where he had access to the cliffs above Muriwai Beach and to the Kaipara Harbour beyond. Here he was able to both acknowledge his surroundings, which he described as “shockingly beautiful”, and express his concerns over the environmental issues he felt threatened them. It was here that McCahon became transfixed by the unique qualities of the light and colour that bathed the area; he strove to evocatively transcribe these qualities in this series. Whilst they all share an identical format, built on the familiar scaffold of a single horizontal line weighted to the bottom half of the 46

CATALOGUE 373

picture, and medium, vertically inclined and painted on large sheets of Steinbach paper, they are anything but uniform in their composition and resolution.

Together, they read like a diarist’s vast and exquisite portrait of the Muriwai and Kaipara regions. Kaipara Flat – Written does much to highlight the broadness of McCahon’s skills as a colourist, his personal experience of the landscape and the tumultuous nature of the region’s weather patterns.

Kaipara Flat – Written offers a rich and luxuriant chromatic landscape that appears as though viewed through a prism. It is evident that McCahon had been experimenting with the formal and symbolic potential of the horizon which is a faint reminder of the landscape. In this painting, McCahon’s approach to mark-making has loosened and the use of colour has become less prescribed by the physical properties of the scene before him; a stretch of blue across a soft yellow sky is infused with green, red and black, and an expanse of ochre earth is intersected by a long stroke of grey, depicting naturally occurring phenomena.

The traditional idea of composition is

largely negated in this light-filled space which is limitless and organised only by way of gestural marks and washes of pigment. The colouration renders Kaipara Flat – Written as other-worldly, and the swirling brushwork above and below the horizon reveals a divine light both bearing down from the heavens and surging up through the terrain beneath. McCahon wrote of the almost-featureless nature of the Kaipara that: “I do not recommend any of this landscape as a tourist resort.

It is wild and beautiful: empty and utterly beautiful. This is after all, the coast the Maori souls pass over on their way from life to death – to Spirit Bay.”2 Kaipara Flat – Written is a fine example from the series where the light, the colour and the process of painting fuse into a compelling and memorable image of metaphysical significance.

MARY-LOUISE BROWNE Gordon H Brown, Colin McCahon: Artist, Auckland, 1993, p.109 Ibid.

1

2

CATALOGUE 373

47

14 Bill Hammond Cave Painting 5 acrylic on board in original artist selected frame signed W.D. Hammond, dated 2008 and inscribed Cave Painting 5 in brushpoint upper edge 345mm x 480mm EXHIBITED Ivan Anthony, 2008 Estimate $60,000 - $80,000

Bill Hammond’s Cave Painting 5 is a masterfully executed work belonging to a broader body of paintings, made between 2007 and 2012, in which the artist uses human life and custom from the Paleolithic era as allegories for the political and social structures of the modern world.

The work is a particularly rare example in that, unlike most smaller, domestic-scale examples from the series – each of which often features a single, dominant figure – it pictures an expansive landscape and a vast array of figures, and conjures the same deep intensity as do Hammond’s largest works from this period.

There is something intensely dark and compelling about this foreboding environment with its cavernous interiors, sparsely distributed vegetation and smouldering, active volcanoes. Hammond’s signature stains and drips move across the painting’s surface, blanketing the scene in a mythological cloak. The foreground of the work is home to a pack of Hammond’s unique hybrids who stand sentinel, watching, waiting and peering out into the vista beyond.

The painting is rendered in an inky, velveteen blue and thick luminescent gold that emanates across the canvas from a small golden sun. Sitting pristinely in the middle of the work, it sheds a milky light on the world beyond the cave. The subdued nature of the light bathes Cave Painting 5 in a timeless glow, and it is unclear whether day is dawning or drawing to a close. This

48

CATALOGUE 373

mellow air of mystery is continued through Hammond’s painterly technique and his material choices, which impart the work with a highly ceremonial aspect. The potency of the gold is such that, in places, it pushes out from beneath the layers of blue, yielding a mesmeric translucency.

The manner in which the washes of gold lap against one another in the background recalls the slub of silk, while the cascading drips of pooling blue pigment bring to mind the sharp, strongly vertical structure of gothic architecture.

The form of the winged, avian figures that populate the foreground of Cave Painting 5 is based on that of the native Haast’s eagle, which was hunted to extinction by humans.

Prior to this, the species was the natural predator of the giant moa and, by posing the central figure with a curled bicep and placing a stack of large bones in the lower-right corner of the image, Hammond alludes to the species’ dominant role in ancient New Zealand. The work addresses the Darwinian principle of ‘survival of the fittest’ and, appearing almost as a religious tapestry, it prompts the viewer to consider the influence of this principle on the organisational structures of advanced civilisations.

CHARLES NINOW

CATALOGUE 373

49

15 Dale Frank It was a sort of dismal day, that’s how it started out. But after she left, and the conversation turned to her and we all seemed to pick up. She had that effect on people, so did her art.

Best not to talk about it when it is not in front of you. acrylic and varnish on canvas signed Dale Frank and dated 2006 verso 2000mm x 2600mm Estimate $50,000 - $70,000

With the full title of his work reading, It was a sort of dismal day, that’s how it started out. But after she left, and the conversation turned to her and we all seemed to pick up. She had that effect on people, so did her art. Best not to talk about it when it is not in front of you, Dale Frank offers an enticing start to a story and leaves the viewer with an enigmatic field of colour in which to seek the conclusion. Painted in 2006, It was a sort of dismal day… is characteristically composed of bleeding pools of acrylic paint, which are preserved under thick layers of clear varnish.

Offering a kaleidoscopic world, the present painting, like the majority of Frank’s oeuvre, is notable for the chromatic harmonies, the undulating surfaces and the dynamic dialogue that Frank manages to delicately transcribe between varying levels of translucency and opacity.

While Frank’s paintings may appear to be random or haphazard collections of colours, they are in fact cleverly and tightly controlled, and Frank has refined and perfected his technical execution over a period of several decades. As is evident in It was a sort of dismal day…, Frank routinely allows and encourages pigments to dribble, swim, drip, puddle and merge under broad blankets of vanish. Canvases are tilted and shifted throughout the drying process in order to achieve Frank’s compositional aims, with works often emerging after periods of several months.

In this respect, Frank represents a new

50

CATALOGUE 373

generation of action painters for whom the physical act of creation is a crucial facet of the final visual product. The tracks and pools of paint that spill across the canvas each bear witness to a specific moment in time and a specific movement by the artist; each arc and sweep of paint is an indelible mark of Frank’s physical, emotional and spiritual existence.

In It was a sort of dismal day…, Frank manages to weave a delicate tension by casting a hint of figurative illusion within what is really a purely abstract piece.

Shadowy, dreamlike forms appear to lurk just below the surface, managing to elide identification or definition and causing the viewer to ponder the nebulous space between abstraction and representation.

This element of figurative abstraction is heightened through the material tactility and large scale of the piece. Frank’s use of highly viscous pigments that he settles amongst folds and sheets of varnish results in an almost sculptural sense of space. Physically impressive, It was a sort of dismal day… encapsulates the viewer in a luminous and glowing environment that is at once comforting and captivating.

It is the unique combination of material corporeality, sizeable scale and a highly technical process, which has undoubtedly secured Frank as one of Australia’s leading contemporary painters.

JEMMA FIELD

CATALOGUE 373

51

16 Lillian Budd Modern World 1990 screenprint and acrylic on paper, two found lamps with assorted bulbs, found extension cord and resin-coated copy of Damned Shall be Desire by Stephen Coulter affixed to found stand National Art Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand Museum Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia: Touring Exhibition label attached to base of found lamp 2400mm x 2000mm x 3000mm (overall) Provenance Acquired by the present owner from Gregory Flint Gallery, 1992 Formerly in the collection of Budd Holdings (NZ) Ltd, Auckland Exhibited Headlands: Thinking through New Zealand Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia, 1992 illustrated Barr, Mary (ed.), Headlands: Thinking Through New Zealand Art, Museum of Contemporary Art: Sydney, 1992, p. 78 Estimate $50,000 - $60,000

52

CATALOGUE 373

Modern World, made in 1990, prior to the artist Lillian Budd’s involvement with the et al. collective, examines the physical and organisational structures that are synonymous with so-called ‘modern day’ living. A key work in the ground-breaking exhibition Headlands – Thinking through New Zealand Art, curated for the MCA Sydney in 1992, it is one of the most influential examples of installation art produced during this formative period in New Zealand art history. This is the first time it has been presented to the market since its exhibition in Sydney and subsequent tour of major New Zealand art galleries. It is an indication of Modern World’s strength and relevance that it continues to challenge the public’s perception of artistic production with its difficult-to-navigate content and thus stands as a highly important exemplar of postmodern New Zealand art practice.

Modern World is notable because, rather than focusing on didactic constructs, it uses forms that are, both conceptually and practically, typically associated with the notion of ‘enlightenment’. Several of the objects were originally intended to brighten up the home. In addition to the words ‘Modern World’, the four wall-hanging sheets of paper display a passage of text about bookkeeping and the leveraging of debt (the activities of an advanced society) while the three-dimensional features of the work incorporate light fittings and a copy of the book Damned Shall be Desire by Stephen Coulter.1 Budd has brought these elements together in a manner that seems both closely calculated and arbitrary.

Assembled, they beg to be read as either instructions or a narrative. Accordingly, this engagement by the viewer with text and signs brings a new understanding of the psychological and sociological knowledge required to interpret them.

At its heart, Modern World examines the ideals and schools of thought associated with the notion of modernity and the way in which those constructs influenced contemporary society at the time of its making. While the term modern is used often to describe things that are ‘new’, it was used firstly to collectively describe intellectual advancements such as capitalisation, industrialisation and rationalisation. In using found, antiquated objects, which have been embellished with imprecise mediums such as resin and white, commercial acrylic, Budd imbues her subject matter with a nostalgic sensibility. The work sheds light on the true vintage of modern economic and political principles often cited as pillars of societal advancement. With its title serving as a central focus, Modern World challenges the viewer to consider the implications of the phrase and, by contrasting it with objects that were produced for a specific purpose and in a considered manner but are now ultimately valueless, Budd considers the merits, failings and legacy of modernity’s influence and contemporary society.

MARY-LOUISE BROWNE Damned by Desire is a novel about Guy de Maupassant, the writer who is considered to be the inventor of the modern short story.

1

CATALOGUE 373

53

17 Tony Fomison Mental Defective acrylic on jute canvas signed Fomison, dated Winter 1969 in brushpoint lower left; inscribed Mental Defective in brushpoint lower right; inscribed Photo of a Model from “Ugly” agency in “Sunday Times”, 2.8.69 in brushpoint upper edge 1140mm x 925mm EXHIBITED Peter McLeavey Gallery, 1969 Estimate $80,000 - $120,000

Highly schematised, the figure in Tony Fomison’s Mental Defective, from 1969, is marked out by way of thin, pursed lips, a sharp beaky nose, a slick expanse of black hair and a delicate ear that hugs the left-hand side of the face. However, rather than a portrait in the traditional sense of the word – a figurative representation of a specific person – Fomison offers up a pictorialisation of an imagined, yet generic, type. In conjunction with the title, ‘Mental Defective’, the painting pays homage to Fomison’s persistent fascination with difference, outcasts, minority groups, medical pathology and ‘the other’. The title, which first appears as something of a searing and rather brutish indictment is, in fact, rather ambiguous. It casts aspersions on the painted figure but it also levels an accusation on the judgmental nature of the audience, and of society.

Between 1969 and 1971, Fomison completed a number of unforgettable paintings that documented the hidden, the cursed, the diseased and the disfigured.

He scoured magazines, newspapers and medical journals for appropriate imagery and Mental Defective is one of the poignant results of this exploration.

54

CATALOGUE 373

In carnation-coloured paint, Fomison has scrawled across the top of the work “Photo of a Model from “Ugly” agency in Sunday Times, 2.8.69”, thereby aligning the painting with his tireless fascination with allegory, ethnography and, perhaps most significantly, lycanthropy. Indeed, the following year (1970), Fomison completed the well-known portrait of the explicitly lycanthropic figure in “I was a Teenage Werewolf” film 1957 (#26A). The inference in Mental Defective is infinitely more subtle but it is undoubtedly present.

Attired in what is apparently a crisp, white shirt and black suit jacket, Fomison presents the werewolf-model as a whitecollar professional: as the middle-class capitalist. Rather than casting the folkloric lycanthropic figure as an outcast or reject, however, Fomison offers an acerbic comment on the dissembling nature of middle-class bureaucracy. He draws attention to the layers of myth, secrecy and disguise that people routinely use to blanket the inherent fragility of the human condition. This is not unique to Mental Defective; it is a concept that runs through much of Fomison’s work and that coloured much of his life.

As is the case with the majority of Fomison’s canvases, the figure in Mental Defective has been abruptly cropped, so that the face seems to drift and float on a roughly hewn hessian tide. This heightens the dynamism and immediacy of the image while leaving the viewer to imagine the body expanding and widening beyond the confines of the canvas: an ethereal, charcoal miasma. The painting showcases sooty shadows that dance across the figure’s face; they hug the cavernous hollows under the brow, they stretch along the nasal crease, and they steal across the forehead and left cheek in curvilinear patterns. These dusky segments are seen to rise and fall; they ebb and flow into one another, extending over the expanse of the facial plane and bequeathing the figure a romantic yet deathly decadence. This poetic filigree of light and shade shows Fomison at his best: a chromatic master who consistently produced works that were hauntingly beautiful while being possessed of a resoundingly elegiac nature.

JEMMA FIELD

CATALOGUE 373

55

18 Robin White Bare Hill, Paremata oil on canvas signed R White, dated 69 in brushpoint lower right; signed Robin White, dated ‘69 and inscribed 54, Bare Hill, Paremata in ink verso 765mm x 610mm PROVENANCE Formerly in the collection of Helen Mason, Tokomaru Bay. Gifted to the present owner.

EXHIBITED Moller’s Annual Group Show, Auckland, 1970 REFERENCE Taylor, Alister and Deborah Coddington (eds.), Robin White: New Zealand Painter, Alister Taylor: Waiura, 1981, p. 77 Estimate $60,000 - $80,000

Robin White’s paintings have had a powerful influence on a whole generation of New Zealanders. To many people, her images have come to represent an iconic and unadulterated environment. Bare Hill, Paremata by Robin White is an excellent example from a series of landscapes painted in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

This was soon after White was offered a teaching job at Mana College, Porirua, and she began to live nearby in Bottle Creek on Paremata Harbour, north of Wellington.

This was a formative period in her career, which saw her focus on the way in which her images were assembled. White was exploring the details of both the Paremata landscape and painting itself or, in her words, “the feeling for the structure of the painting, the idea of contrast, how a painting’s put together”.1 White’s aesthetic was always based more on principle than on imitation: dictums such as light set against dark or rounded forms contrasted with flat planes. Although White would always acknowledge the influence of Rita Angus, and her affinity to Don Binney, she now abandoned their formal treatment of images, and set about developing her own schematic pictorialism. Simplified, this schematic treatment composes the images on a series of planes set parallel to the picture frame but with the spatial illusion of being placed one behind the other.

Despite the realistic subject of this landscape painting, it is highly abstract in construction. White plays with the flat

56

CATALOGUE 373

nature of the picture plane and presents the viewer with both a natural and a reclaimed landscape with no evidence of human habitation. It appears as a double-format image as if two separate compositions are stacked one on top of the other with a flat expanse of paleblue, almost white, sky occupying the top third of the painting. Although Bare Hill, Paremata falls within the tradition of landscape painting, this work typically still contains considerable social content.

Primarily concerned with the local landscape in which she lives and the people whom she knows and loves, White responded to her environment by painting the hills across the harbour soon after settling in Paremata. As she said at the time, “It seemed natural to start with the things around me. I wasn’t consciously being a realist or a landscape painter… these were just the things outside my window and around me.”2 Initially, the hills were bush clad and then parts of them were bulldozed into geometric shapes, anticipating development, and White was motivated to paint them using precise delineations so that the forms have unusually sharp contours. As she reflected on this in 1981 in an interview with Alister Taylor, it was, “just a plain hill, a very lovely kind of solid shape”.

MARY-LOUISE BROWNE Alister Taylor, Robin White – New Zealand Painter, Martinborough, 1981, p.11 Ibid p.13

1

2

CATALOGUE 373

57

19 Pat Hanly Torso C enamel on hardboard signed Hanly, dated 78 and inscribed Torso C in brushpoint lower right 580mm x 650mm Estimate $75,000 - $95,000

This vibrant work is one of a suite of remarkable Torso paintings produced

by Pat Hanly between 1977 and 1978; it typifies his spontaneous painterly techniques and his unbridled fascination with the female form. The series is considered to be a natural development of both the Jinger Girl Suite of 1976 and the Pure Paintings and Condition works of 1977 and an ongoing ode to sexual energy and the notion of the untamed female muse. The works were intended to be fluid impressions which evoked the physical qualities of ‘remembered’ women in the artist’s life. As the artist himself stated at the opening of his exhibition of Torsos in July 1978, “These figurative works are emotional and painterly responses to some memorable torsos. They are mainly reflex gesture paintings concurrent with my intention to make works with the freest of techniques resulting in a direct and passionate visual statement.”1 The series marks a resolution to Hanly’s previous tension between abstraction and figuration. The abstraction of the past is 58

CATALOGUE 373

replaced with a synthesis of the freedom of ‘pure painting’ and the figurative. He moves towards a more organic form of abstraction. Torso C utilises the confident brushwork associated with his earlier abstracts and reintroduces the poured and dripped paint techniques of the Condition series. The use of brilliant enamels to depict an erotically posed female figure over a vivid blue background dappled with green and black spots creates a dynamic visual effect. By incorporating passages of trailed paint, these works rely on chance as much as they do on intuition and discipline.

Hanly gives a subjective and heightened rendering of his subject, which he freely distorts in scale, colour and shape with sharp angles and arabesques. As with others in this Torso series, the initial C is included in the title on the painted surface, registering the name of the ‘remembered’ woman who was the subject: a woman Hanly had “known but not necessarily biblically”. The intention was to paint her as an embodiment of womanhood rather than as a portrait; however, as the focus is on the torso rather than on the face,

the figure’s sexuality is paramount as the voluptuous body is thrust directly into the viewer’s gaze.

Hanly has been described as a humanist painter. His expressionistic style of painting can be seen as being somewhat at odds with the angst-ridden darkness and pessimism of some of his contemporaries, more than hinting at the artist’s exuberant approach to art and life. The Torso series has been described by Gregory O’Brien as amongst Hanly’s most libidinous works and also amongst his “most sparking and fizzing painterly performances”, thus observing that Hanly’s “unabashedly personal, autobiographical works never played to the prescriptive detachment of the postmodern era”.2 MARY-LOUISE BROWNE 1R ussell Haley, Hanly, A New Zealand Artist, (Auckland, 1989) p.20 2G regory O’Brien, Pat Hanly, (Auckland, 2012) p.10

CATALOGUE 373

59

20 Colin McCahon Kauri Trees, Titirangi oil on canvas signed McCahon and dated ‘55 ‘56 ‘57 in brushpoint lower left 880mm x 775mm Reference Colin McCahon reference database number: cm000407 PROVENANCE Gifted to Molly Macalister, an artist whose work McCahon admired and had included in Auckland Art Gallery exhibitions - and received one of her sculptures, Bird Watcher in return. In the collection of Molly Macalister and her husband George Hayden, passed by descent to her son John Hayden.

Sold to the present owner, Webb’s 2007 ILLUSTRATED Simpson, Peter, The Titirangi Years, 1953-1959, Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2007, p.102.

Estimate $270,000 - $320,000

The Cubist-inspired treatment of Kauri Trees, Titirangi, with its abandonment of conventional perspective resonating with the reduced colours and density of the pristine New Zealand bush, can be seen as an attempt by McCahon to ‘nationalise’ the Cubist movement.

Further, in relation to New Zealand’s art history, the Kauri series, executed while McCahon was residing at French Bay, Titirangi, from 1953 to 1959, is regarded widely to be pivotal to the formation of a nationally specific cultural identity. Those years were enormously productive for McCahon and arguably formed one of the most crucial periods of his artistic oeuvre.

The Kauri series is regarded as the most recognised embodiment of McCahon’s early practice and a watershed of his career, and this kauri-scape is one of the finest, most well-resolved examples from the series.

Continuity with his earlier life in the South Island was maintained in Auckland through landscape painting; however, it was a very different physical environment.

McCahon was stimulated by the novelty of living surrounded by dense native bush, with its distinctive quality of light and terrain, and created work that engaged with the ‘domestic landscape’. These works depict scenes framed by the windows of McCahon’s house, through which landscape was glimpsed, or viewed during walks around his neighbourhood. Typical of many of these works is the extreme fragmentation of the picture plane into a mass of diamond shapes extending over the entire surface of the work.

With its tension between representation and abstraction, Kauri Trees, Titirangi, is an example of McCahon’s resolve to work through technical issues arising from his study of Cubism and to find new ways of organising space within a painting. In Kauri Trees, Titirangi, there is no clear horizon, rather a sense of enclosure and subdued light falling on foliage with soaring kauri trunks stretching dynamically from top to bottom of the picture plane and occupying a shallow, non-perspectival space. It utilises a predominant, diagonal grid which

60

CATALOGUE 373

extends over the work, integrating the land and sky. This faceting, omnipresent in the Titirangi period, is a device by which McCahon avoids an overly ‘descriptive’ interpretation of landscape. As McCahon himself commented on this turn towards abstraction: “In 1957 too, a great change in attitude to the Titirangi landscape… I came to grips with the kauri and turned him in all his splendour into a symbol”.

The three years over which he worked on this painting appear beside his signature1955,56,57- an indication of how relentlessly determined he was to keep working at a subject until he was satisfied.

Looking back at the Titirangi series McCahon asserted both his fondness for these works and their importance in the continuing development of his practice.

In 1962 McCahon gave this painting to Molly Macalister, an artist whose work he admired and had included in Auckland Art Gallery exhibitions- and received one of her sculptures in return. In 1962 the gallery’s Contemporary New Zealand Art exhibition included Macalister’s Bird Watcher, an almost life size figure in cement which was described by the Listener reviewer as ‘the most discerning piece of the exhibition’. The exchange of sculpture for the painting was made soon afterward. Bird Watcher went to the garden of the Grey Lynn villa where the McCahon family had been residing since 1960 and Kauri trees, Titirangi became the much loved focus of the living room in the Takapuna house of Molly Macalister and her family. When Macalister died in 1979 McCahon’s tribute to her was published in Art New Zealand. “Molly gave us our Bird Watcher who sits in the garden and watches birds on our grapefruit tree and a privet. She never looks down. She is a calm and detached figure who watches beyond the birds to something even more rewarding. It could be the sunset or rainbows lacing a passing storm or the world of clouds that hang heavily in the Auckland sky at most times- a feeling of peace.” Although they were never shown together, the two works seemed to suit each other perfectly.

MARY-LOUISE BROWNE

CATALOGUE 373

61

21 Colin McCahon Rosegarden VI synthetic polymer paint on unstretched jute signed C. McC, dated 74 and inscribed ROSEGARDEN VI in brushpoint lower edge 930mm x 376 mm Reference Colin McCahon reference database number: cm001427 Estimate $120,000 - $150,000

Rosegarden VI is the final work in a series of six paintings, all vertical in format and executed on raw jute. This series belongs to that seminal period within Colin McCahon’s oeuvre during which, while he was living in Muriwai, his subject matter underwent a metaphysical evolution synthesising the artist’s own spirituality and connection to the land. Originally conceived at the time of his Muriwai-inspired and open ended Necessary Protection series, McCahon found a refuge from loss in the Rosegarden series. At the same time he was working on the Blind series and The Shining Cuckoo and preoccupied with a succession of recent bereavements of close colleagues and family, namely the poets R.A.K. Mason in 1971 and, James K. Baxter in 1972, his loyal supporter, Landfall editor and poet, Charles Brasch and most significantly his mother in 1973. While the Blind series and The Shining Cuckoo each possess a stylistic conciseness, this is not as evident in the Rosegarden series which displays as much difference as it does harmony in the manner in which imagery is used. More interestingly, the Rosegarden paintings can be considered amongst his most optimistic works even though they were produced at a time of sorrow. Set on the West Coast, the Rosegarden series saw McCahon connect again with the beach and its strong association to the traditional Maori spirit path Te Rerenga Wairua – the jumping-off point for departing souls. This, together with his Christian approach, enabled him to revisit “bits of a place I love and painted in memory of a friend who now- in spirit62

CATALOGUE 373

has walked this same beach. The intention is not realistic but an abstraction of the final walk up the beach. The Christian ‘walk’ and the Maori ‘walk’ have a lot in common” 1 Rosegarden VI is essentially a landscape that is to be read in a perpendicular manner from top to bottom, registering sky, sea and foreshore; it carries a motif of a downward loop or semi-circular line of dots which McCahon introduced specifically to this series. According to Gordon H. Brown, its meaning is related to the title on a superficial level. The rose garden is, in a religious sense, synonymous with rosary beads used by the devout when reciting prayers. It also references a string of Polynesian beads or flowers.

Brown recollects walking through the streets of Grey Lynn with the artist one evening and gazing into a house occupied by a Pacific Island family, witnessed a scene that made a strong impression on the pair. They encountered a small family shrine surrounded by neatly arranged family photographs either festooned by flowers or draped with rosary beads and illuminated with what seemed more than artificial light. There is another possible interpretation put forward by John Caselberg after he had corresponded with McCahon subsequent to viewing number V in the series. He asserts that “it describes suffering particularly by Polynesian people in Auckland. On a black canvas hangs a necklet of small roses or jewels: islands of light shining against almost unimaginable loss and pain.”

Rosegarden VI, in contrast to other works in this series employs a dark palette of rich green and blues suggestive of a nocturnal seascape. The earlier paintings of the series depict sand, sea and sky enveloped in light and the string of beads operates as a formal device occupying the top of the painting as an adornment outlining the sun. As the series progresses, the mood darkens and the sky grows overcast. This final painting, however, begins a reversal of the process with the darkness lifting and the line of the horizon and a ribbon of breaking surf becoming visible. The implications are clearer when the viewer becomes aware that the series title is derived from the contemporaneous song “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”, which carried a subtext; that there needs to be reconciliation between unfounded expectations and that mutual understanding is imperative if there is to be any kind of future.

MARY-LOUISE BROWNE The artist is referring to J.K. Baxter, dead and lamented, in a letter to Peter McLeavey. Gordon H. Brown, Colin McCahon : Artist, Auckland, 1993, p.174

1

CATALOGUE 373

63

22 Colin McCahon Moby Dick is sighted off Muriwai Beach acrylic on canvas signed McCahon and dated ‘72 in brushpoint lower right; inscribed Moby Dick is sighted off Muriwai Beach in brushpoint lower left 765mm x 915mm provenance Formerly in the collection of a member of the McCahon family.

Reference Colin McCahon reference database number: cm000631 Estimate $340,000 - $400,000

Moby Dick is sighted off Muriwai Beach is one of only five paintings on canvas from an important body of work which was a precursor for the open-ended Necessary Protection series. This series heralded the introduction of the simplified representations of cliff forms and some of the more-intimate and controlled themes that would form the basis of the artist’s later-life practice. Further, in this work, it is evident that McCahon has visually articulated both his environmental concerns and his religious convictions with exceptional clarity. Containing both the stylistic tendencies seen in the artist’s practice of 1960–1970 and the oblique representations of the artist’s output until the time of his death, the Moby Dick series bears witness to the artist at a turning point in his career. It is also a testament to the way in which his love for a particular place lifts the work above the function of symbolic illustration.

In the closing months of 1971, McCahon was living at Muriwai, after establishing a studio there in 1969, and began using imagery that had an association with a specific location – the cliffs above Otakamiro Point, Muriwai – with a view that became the key to the Necessary Protection theme. He was quoted in

64

CATALOGUE 373

1972: “My painting is almost entirely autobiographical – it tells you where I am at any given time, where I am living and the direction I am pointing”. In February 1972, McCahon produced this work and three other paintings on canvas, all titled Moby Dick is sighted off Muriwai Beach, leaving no question about where he had located himself. This site gave greater reality to the view from the cliff top by including the small offshore island of Oaia. In these paintings, the island has been transformed into Moby Dick, the great white whale from Herman Melville’s classic 1851 novel of the same name. The metaphoric linking of Oaia Island and Moby Dick worked on many different levels. The image of the whale allowed McCahon to reference the symbol of the devil of early Christianity whilst recalling the salvation of Jonah from the whale, thereby reflecting his conflicted view of the Church. It also emphasises McCahon’s despair at what was happening to the Muriwai environment and his desire to protect it. Similarly, the island, or rock, represents the source of faith and Christ’s teachings and, on a metaphysical level, the title of the series, Necessary Protection, alludes to the protection of humanity by a spiritual being.

MARY-LOUISE BROWNE

CATALOGUE 373

66

22 Colin McCahon Moby Dick is sighted off Muriwai Beach acrylic on canvas signed McCahon and dated ‘72 in brushpoint lower right; inscribed Moby Dick is Sighted off Muriwai Beach in brushpoint lower left 765mm x 915mm provenance Formerly in the collection of a member of the McCahon family.

Reference Colin McCahon reference database number: cm000631 Estimate $340,000 - $400,000

67

CATALOGUE 373

23 Pat Hanly Prelude to a Journey oil on board signed Hanly and dated 77 in graphite on left panel verso; signed Hanly and dated 77 in graphite on right panel verso 2850mm x 2450mm PROVENANCE: Commissioned as part of a larger mural by Auckland Airport, 1977; deinstalled and gifted to the Chartwell Trust in 1996; dispanded by the Chartwell Trust to various locations in 1996 ILLUSTRATED: Gregory O’Brien, Pat Hanly, Auckland: Ron Sang Publications, 2012, foldout between pp.95-96.

Estimate $70,000 - $90,000 The proceeds from the sale will be used to establish an Auckland Airport Scholarship Fund for tertiary education for pupils of Aorere College, Papatoetoe with whom Auckland Airport has a long standing relationship.

Prelude to a Journey stands as one of the largest examples of Hanly’s practice, possessing dynamic energy and saturated fields of colour. In both the assurance of the artist’s hand and its physical scale, the work invites closer contemplation upon themes underlying Hanly’s practice.

Borrowing elements from earlier experimentation through previous series of works, most notably the Pacific Condition and Pure series of paintings, Prelude to a Journey carries with it historical significance, since it was commissioned by Auckland International Airport for a wall of its departure area.

Organic shapes interconnected by sinuous lines of paint, dripped, splashed, trailed and pushed along the work’s surface create an abstract network, deftly displaying Hanly’s experimentation with different methods of applying paint to surfaces, as well the influence of abstract expressionists such as Jackson Pollock and Helen Frankenthaler. Through this composition, Hanly is offering comment on the unique geographical position of New Zealand as well as the neighbouring islands that also inhabit the Pacific. The vibrant reds and rich yellow pools of paint 68

CATALOGUE 373

floating amongst the cool blue of the background are evocative of the ring of fire, the network of volcanoes positioned along the edges of tectonic plates. Responsible for almost all of the world’s volcanic activity, the ring of fire could be viewed as an apt metaphor for the seeming disorder and vibrant bursts of energy evident throughout Hanly’s practice.

Hanly’s habit of returning to earlier works and utilising them as points of reference for newer works is evident in Prelude to a Journey, with the painting echoing Hanly’s working methodology by displaying the enduring dichotomies evident with Hanly’s practice; small, albeit violent, bursts of energy break up the calm and stillness, skill and daring amid restraint and reflection. Years of experimentation had given way to a more-coherent and confident way of expressing ideas, and Hanly’s knowledge of the connotations of colour, is evident here. Prelude to a Journey also links to the artist’s Garden series, where the exuberance and colour of the physical surroundings provide inspiration, contemplation and fulfilment. The composition of Prelude to a Journey is an insight into the unique vantage points that

the viewer would experience during their travels, as well as the unique landscapes they might discover. The work acts as further contemplation of the numerous people, including Hanly’s ancestors, who travelled, sometimes from opposite corners of the world, to become part of New Zealand’s unique history.

Having been created on an impressive scale, Prelude to a Journey, was restored by the artist in the mid-1990s, regrouped into new configurations and subsequently accessioned into numerous collections throughout the country. What is presented here is one assured piece of a larger image; yet, at the same time, it is an image complete unto itself. Its composition not only links to other panels from the original commission but also reaches out to other works present in Hanly’s oeuvre, through both composition and themes.

ALEKSANDRA PETROVIC

CATALOGUE 373

69

24 Shane Cotton Kiddy Kiddy oil on linen signed © Cotton in brushpoint lower left, dated 1997 in brushpoint lower right 1830mm x 1520mm PROVENANCE Acquired by the present owners from Hamish McKay Gallery, 1997.

Estimate $100,000 - $150,000

Kiddy Kiddy is a superb emblem of Shane Cotton’s history period. Spanning nearly two metres in length, the painting’s impressive scale and densely charged canvas offers valuable insight into the bicultural politics and philosophy of Cotton’s work.

Between 1994 and 1998, Cotton’s artistic focus was on the creation of deeply and densely symbolic figurative tableaux such as the present work: canvases which weave rich and complex narratives of both personal and national poignancy. Bearing compositions of stacked, two-dimensional landscapes fronted by suspended motifs of an intricate and unique iconography, these works arguably represent the style most readily identifiable with Cotton’s artistic identity.

On a formal level, the aesthetic qualities of Cotton’s history paintings are a manifestation of his bicultural engagement: the technique employed in the compositional construction of Kiddy Kiddy recalling both the formal qualities of Maori figurative painting in its sepiatoned qualities and flat picture plane, and the European tradition of topographical landscape painting. In fusing these two styles, the direct inference and essential fabric of Kiddy Kiddy therefore breathes Cotton’s bicultural narrative.

The painting’s iconography draws on Cotton’s own heritage for inspiration,

70

CATALOGUE 373

alluding to stories, symbols and moments in Ngapuhi history to engage issues of cultural identity and challenge our understanding of the Pakeha /Maori cultural dichotomy. Various threads and elements have been presented as motifs suspended on the picture plane. The coiled eel, a symbol of Cotton’s Ngapuhi iwi, is one example, whilst the less subtle imposition of a copyright watermark over the landscape conspicuously points to present-day issues surrounding land ownership and cultural appropriation.

Interestingly, this copyright motif has been repeated as part of the artist’s signature in the lower right of the painting: a pertinent statement which links Cotton’s broader questions of land and cultural ownership to the issue of the artist’s own personal identity and creative ownership.

Cotton also seizes the potential of language to function as an aesthetic tool.

Kiddy Kiddy, as the work has cleverly been titled and as is branded onto the surface of the canvas, offers the anglicised spelling of the Maori pronunciation of Kerikeri. This is a direct reversal of the place name’s contemporaneous treatment whereby the Maori spelling is conferred with the English pronunciation ‘Kerry Kerry’. This speaks to the imposition of European convention on Maori tradition, as well as a tension and awareness surrounding cultural exchange in New Zealand. The use of Kerikeri as a place to illustrate this point is significant also, as it alludes to historical tension

between European settlers and Hone Heke at the Ngapuhi missionary settlement.

The sale of this exceptional work coincides with Shane Cotton’s mid-career exhibition at City Gallery Wellington, a survey focusing on his Hanging Sky works. Although these works represent a significant stylistic shift from the landscape-grounded narratives of his history period, many strongly echo the iconography of Kiddy Kiddy, conveying disconnected symbols and motifs in the tradition of the works of his earlier history.

Particularly striking about paintings such as Head #!?$ (2009 – 2012), for example, is the way in which the richness and autonomy of each floating symbol carry that symbol’s own independent message and significance, much in the spirit of Kiddy Kiddy. Despite the fact that these symbols appear to be physically solitary, their common presence on the canvas means that each forms part of a wider narrative and is irrevocably linked to Cotton’s political message – as well as to the thread connecting his work over the decades.

RACHEL KLEINSMAN

CATALOGUE 373

71

25 Colin McCahon Red Titirangi oil on cardboard signed C.M. and dated July ‘57 and inscribed Titirangi in bushpoint lower left; Gow Langsford gallery label affixed verso 750mm x 530mm REFERENCE Colin McCahon reference database number: cm001580 ILLUSTRATED Peter Simpson, Colin McCahon: The Titirangi Years, 1953 - 1959, Auckland University Press: Auckland, 2007, p. 117.

Estimate $160,000 - $180,000

Featuring a coruscant, fragmented landscape swimming in light, Colin McCahon’s Red Titirangi, from 1957, is a beguiling painting from the artist’s seminal early Cubist period. Painted between 1953 and 1959, while McCahon was living in French Bay, Titirangi, this body of work is largely responsible for the formal introduction of the tenets of Cubism to New Zealand, and its impact on the country’s art-historical identity cannot be overestimated.

Having relocated to Auckland, McCahon found himself submerged in the dense terrain of the Titirangi bush and he set about considering his new surroundings through the formalist concerns of Cubism.

Framed by steep hills, densely populated with kauri trees and subject to an almost continuous deluge of rain, the environment was a radical departure from the flat and comparatively dry plains of Christchurch.

The resultant works, such as Red Titirangi, are inspired by this dramatic change in locale and they illustrate his concern to translate the unique qualities of the physical landscape.

The present painting is one of McCahon’s later responses to the area and, as such, it is much more heavily abstracted than are the earlier works. Here, McCahon has boldly reduced and distilled the landscape, paring back all extraneous material and leaving only the bare essentials. This is typical of the period and points to McCahon’s desire to remove all picturesque content. Red Titirangi, however, retains an element of descriptive beauty, presenting a sunburnt landscape that sparkles and

72

CATALOGUE 373

dances as small rectangular patches of paint flit across the painted surface. In this respect, the work complements the late abstract cityscapes by the modernist master Piet Mondrian, who had a formative influence on McCahon. Indeed, only four years later, McCahon definitively acknowledged Mondrian’s influential role with his 1961 painting Here I Give Thanks to Mondrian.

Without a horizon line or any clear orientating element, the landscape in Red Titirangi appears as though viewed through a prism. It stretches and refracts elegantly before the spectator’s eye, for the concordant selection of colours virtually glides and sings across the surface.

This active dynamism owes much to the carefully placed pockets of colour that McCahon has ordered along opposing diagonals. The result is a richly patterned tableau, which is anchored by the measured application of snippets of deep blue and patches of shadow. With its focus on the space between forms, on structure and on the way in which light interacts with and seemingly dissolves objects, Red Titirangi is concerned to convey something of McCahon’s sensory experience. It focuses on the sound, the light and the colour of the Titirangi bush, with the result that, in Gordon Brown’s words: “the overriding subject… is the sense of luminosity that pours over, through and among the fragmented images, giving to all a soft, incandescent glow”.

JEMMA FIELD

CATALOGUE 373

73

26 Charles Frederick Goldie Te Hei, A Ngati Raukawa Chieftainess oil on canvas signed C.F. Goldie and dated 1920 in brushpoint upper left; inscribed Te Hei, A Ngatiraukawa Chieftainess in graphite and inscribed Te Hei, A Ngatiraukawa Chieftainess in graphite in another hand verso; John Leech Gallery label affixed verso 265mm x 220mm Estimate $120,000 - $150,000

Charles Goldie’s sensitive rendering of the aging chieftainess Te Hei evokes the humanity and spiritual tour de force of the artist’s hand. Although Goldie painted the likeness of Te Hei on several occasions over a period of 13 years, this particular portrait shines out as a gem of the artist’s later production, and is emblematic of the enduring relationships which Goldie cultivated with his sitters from the outset of the 20th century.

Formally speaking, the work demonstrates the slightly freer, more expressionistically inclined technique which defined the height of Goldie’s mature production.

One of the most engaging aspects of the portrait relates to the positioning of Te Hei within the picture plane; depicted in traditional Maori costume and wearing a striking hei tiki, Te Hei assumes a directly front-facing pose, becoming a strong and spiritedly gracious presence. At the same time, the vulnerability and rawness of her hunched pose and squinted gaze imbues the work with a certain element of fragility and humanity.

Te Hei was captured by the artist in two portraits executed in 1907: a front-facing 74

CATALOGUE 373

work and a profile study entitled Touched by the Hand of Time. An additional painting depicting the sitter was also executed in 1909 (this was one of the works stolen from Wellington’s National Art Gallery in 1969). The fact that Goldie returned to re-engage with Te Hei after 11 years is indicative of the long-standing relationships he maintained with his sitters, and the extent to which he felt invested in documenting his subjects with artistic integrity over the years.

Te Hei, a Ngati Raukawa Chieftainess, therefore, stands to represent much more than a likeness, and speaks to the ongoing relationship through which Goldie had continued to engage Te Hei over an extended period of time.

The present work is also one of the last important Maori portraits to have been realised by the artist before he relocated to Australia. He faced significant financial difficulties and it wasn’t until after his father started providing him with a regular income from 1913 that Goldie was able to hone his focus towards the production of modestly sized paintings – such as the present depiction of Te Hei – for domestic consumption rather than the

more-extravagant works tailored for a European market. In the years to come, the idea of going to Australia persisted with a discontented Goldie and, in 1916, he wrote to Sydney artist Alfred Hill to suggest a joint painting trip, lamenting that “things are very bad here in my line”. It was some years later, and very shortly after the present portrait of Te Hei was executed, that this plan came to fruition and Goldie relocated to Australia.

Although the artist did later return to New Zealand in 1923, this period marked a significant shift in the style and nature of his artistic output, and was plagued by the artist’s persistent ill health. Te Hei, a Ngati Raukawa Chieftainess is, therefore, particularly special for being one of the last Maori portraits from within this period of the artist’s production to have been accomplished by Goldie.

RACHEL KLEINSMAN Blackley, Roger, Goldie, Auckland Art Gallery: Auckland, 1997.

CATALOGUE 373

75

27 Frances Hodgkins The Meat Market, Dinan watercolour on paper signed FMH and dated 1902 in brushpoint lower right; John Leech Gallery label affixed verso 355mm x 250mm Estimate $30,000 - $40,000

Painted in July 1902, Frances Hodgkins’ Meat Market, Dinan offers a glimpse of the everyday life of the local Breton people in the medieval town of Dinan in north-west France. Hodgkins had left New Zealand in February 1901 so the present painting was completed less than 18 months after her arrival in Europe. As such, it is redolent with all the wonder, freedom of expression and artistic stimulation that Hodgkins had discovered. After spending time in England, France and Italy, Hodgkins returned to France in July 1902, where she rejoined Norman Garstin’s sketching class at Dinan.

The paintings that she executed during this time, such as Meat Market, Dinan, show Hodgkins continuing her focus on domestic settings or personal and intimate scenes.

These themes held a personal significance for Hodgkins and they continued to do so throughout the entirety of her career, even peppering her last paintings of the 1940s.

Hodgkins’ painterly approach, however, ensures that familiar and personal subjects are never wholly sentimental nor purely illustrative but are endowed with a majestic poise and a quiet simmering beauty.

As with the best of Hodgkins’ early watercolours, Meat Market, Dinan is possessed of a timeless poeticism. Rather than attempting to impart the specifics of time, place or individual figures, Hodgkins provides a suggestive overall impression of the scene. The background is awash with daubs of colour and figures are outlined with a cursory flick of the brush, which testifies to her mastery of the watercolour

76

CATALOGUE 373

medium. By using a direct wet-in-wet technique, Hodgkins is able to achieve a rapid speed of execution that provides the painting with a sense of immediacy and vitality. In this way, Hodgkins’ focus flickers over the group of people as they huddle round to inspect the market goods; it lingers on the quality of the light and it rests largely on conveying a sense of the extensive, shadowed depths of the market place that recede beyond view.

While much in Meat Market, Dinan is loosely brushed over, there is still a wealth of detail, and certain facets are carefully highlighted for visual interest. Elements such as the chequered gingham print of a blouse, the characteristic Breton headwear trailing down the backs of some of the women and the myriad of rafters that recede into the painting are given a sparkling level of clarity. This is elegantly continued in the foreground as Hodgkins provides a graceful impression of the headscarf, the plaited hair and the hesitant footsteps of the little girl as she inches towards the main scene, with the intention, perhaps, to proffer the goods that she carries under her arm. Hodgkins’ handling of paint results in a touching scene that is imparted with an air of casual observation, but with a depth of feeling and awareness that stems from the artist’s genuine interest in the traditions, appearances and habits of the Breton people and their environment.

JEMMA FIELD

CATALOGUE 373

77

78

CATALOGUE 373

28 Grahame Sydney

29 Ralph Hotere

Winter Model

Blue Vertical Stripe

oil on canvas signed Grahame Sydney and dated 1987 in brushpoint lower right; signed Grahame Sydney and inscribed Varnished 27-4-88 (Grumbacher Petarch Varnish, Dammer Solvent: gum spirits of turpentine) in graphite verso 455mm x 405mm

acrylic and brolite lacquer on board signed Hotere and inscribed Blue Vertical Stripe in brushpoint lower left 600mm x 600mm Estimate $50,000 - $60,000

Estimate $25,000 - $35,000

CATALOGUE 373

79

30 Tony de Lautour Powderland acrylic on canvas signed Tony de Lautour and dated 2004 in brushpoint lower right; inscribed Powderland in brushpoint upper left; Brooke Gifford Gallery label affixed verso 800mm x 1200mm Estimate $15,000 - $20,000

80

CATALOGUE 373

31 Don Binney Kotare over Te Henga acrylic, pastel, collaged paper and lithograph signed Don Binney and dated 2002 in graphite lower right and inscribed Print Sections Collage in graphite lower left 490mm x 640mm Estimate $15,000 - $20,000

CATALOGUE 373

81

32 Simon Denny Untitled screenprint and found chalk on paper 640mm x 450mm Estimate $1,000 - $2,000 33 Reuben Paterson Untitled glitter, acrylic and gloss enamel on canvas signed Reuben Paterson and dated 2013 in graphite verso 1000mm x 1000mm Estimate $7,000 - $10,000

82

CATALOGUE 373

34 Don Driver Rural Planes 1994 found painted tin can, animal skull, and steel on found wooden panels diameter 1000mm depth 250mm Estimate $7,000 - $9,000

CATALOGUE 373

83

35 Shane Cotton Whakatikenga oil on canvas signed SWC and dated 1998 in brushpoint lower right; Gow Langsford gallery label affixed verso 505mm x 605mm Estimate $15,000 - $20,000

84

CATALOGUE 373

36 Geoff Thornley Ochre Albus 1974 ink on paper on canvas inscribed and signed Geoff Thornley in ink on upper right of stretcher verso 1090mm x 1090mm EXHIBITED The Valley, Hamish McKay Gallery, 12 November - 9 December 2010 Estimate $6,000 - $9,000 37 Geoff Thornley Cipher string, modelling compound and oil on linen signed Thornley in brushpoint verso; signed Thornley and inscribed For Don, 33 . 94 #8 in stencilled paint verso; Vavasour Godkin Gallery label affixed verso 1085mm x 1595mm Estimate $15,000 - $20,000

CATALOGUE 373

85

38 Garth Tapper The Law and Its People oil on board signed Garth Tapper in brushpoint lower right 1475mm x 2465mm Exhibited The Law and Its People, Ferner Galleries, Parnell, 2008 ILLUSTRATED Jeanette Cook (ed.), Garth Tapper: New Zealand Painter, Auckland: 1998, pp.82-83.

Provenance From the estate of the late Dr Lindsay Poole, a strong supporter of the artist Estimate $120,000 - $150,000

Spanning a monumental 2.5 metres, Garth Tapper’s The Law and Its People, from 1980, is significant in scale, in painterly mark-making and in its political and social commentary. Part group portrait and part narrative painting, The Law and Its People presents a glimpse into the restricted and somewhat sacrosanct world of the legal profession. Together with a number of other paintings, The Law and Its People was Tapper’s response to the request of the Auckland District Law Society to produce and exhibit a suite of works to mark its approaching centenary. In preparation for the significant commission, Tapper was escorted around the old Auckland Supreme Court and, subsequently, over the course of a week-long criminal trial, he was permitted to sit on the press bench where he pictorially documented the proceedings.

Captivated by the dramatic scenes that continually unfolded before him, by the novel and highly ritualistic environment, and by the diversity of people present, Tapper feverishly completed more than 100 drawings, which together served as the basis for the oil paintings.

Opening in March 1980, The Law and Its People was extremely well received. It was, 86

CATALOGUE 373

in fact, Tapper’s most successful exhibition ever, with most works selling to lawyers and law firms. The welcome acceptance of Tapper’s vision by a profession renowned for critical analysis was evidence of the precision and depth that Tapper had managed to impart to the people, scenes and incidents that he portrayed.

This accuracy was the direct result of the preparatory drawings and sketches that he had been able to complete in the courtroom. These sketches also allowed Tapper a large amount of artistic licence as he selected, moved, reordered and regrouped various parts of scenes and figures from his assorted drawings. The Law and Its People is one such composite image. Offering a seemingly realistic image of a closely documented courtroom scene, the present painting is actually an amalgamation of scenes. It details two distinctly separate judges and an assortment of barristers. The painting is largely ordered and directed through a strategic placement of colour and thick, almost tangible, areas of paint.

Employing a relatively restricted palette of predominantly dark, sombre and hushed tones, Tapper enlivens the scene through flickering areas of white. The vast expanse

of the work is further unified through a sparing and highly calculated placement of red, which leads the viewer through the painting to the glowing arches in the distant recesses of the background. In some respects, the painting operates as an abstract painterly field. Thick blocks of colour are stationed across the surface of the work, drawing and pushing the viewer’s eye through and across the painting. Of The Law and Its People, Tapper asserted that it was a combination of “the message, the design, the animation, the juxtapositioning of figures. It proved a very difficult composition to balance.” In the end, however, it is clear that Tapper has achieved an admirable and harmonious balance, in terms of both colour and form.

JEMMA FIELD

CATALOGUE 373

87

39 Garth Tapper Black Gold oil on board signed Garth Tapper and dated ‘87 in brushpoint lower right 1500mm x 2000mm ILLUSTRATED Cook, Jeanette (ed.), Garth Tapper: New Zealand Painter, Tapper Art: Auckland, 1992, p. 93 PROVENANCE Commissioned by the present owner in 1987 directly from the artist.

Estimate $100,000 - $150,000

Black Gold, by Garth Tapper (1927–1999), is a heroic painting in the modernist tradition in both scale and intent. It is arguably one of the most significant works by an artist who holds an esteemed place in the figurative tradition of New Zealand painting. Tapper’s practice, which first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, had utilitarian aims and, as a whole, his life’s work reflected on our national identity from a unique vantage. Of Tapper, art critic Hamish Keith stated in 1975, “… he is completely with the mainstream of New Zealand life and reports upon it. He is perhaps the only genuine social observer we have in New Zealand and should be cherished for that.” While each strand of Tapper’s practice had a different figurative mandate, his entire output shared this common conceptual focus with a directness that stated the truth underlying the human condition in all its vagaries.

However, outside of this, there was also room to document whatever took the eye of the artist: the landscape or the unexpected encounter.

Black Gold is a monumental masterpiece from the artist’s series of paintings of blue-collar workers. The work has as its central motif a uniquely New Zealand subject – a Bitumix road-sealing gang in Silverdale – which Tapper passed en route to his studio in Newmarket. The work is noteworthy because it not only engages with the concerns of the labour force, but reflects on broader political, social and

88

CATALOGUE 373

art-historical issues. ‘Black gold’ is the black sealing tar used on our roads and the title, Black Gold, also refers to the financial gains involved in handling government construction contracts and to the notion that the awarding of such contracts is often governed by the interests of a small minority rather than by those of society as a whole. In classic Tapper form, this work summons a sophisticated political conversation while presenting a simple figurative image.

Black Gold is also remarkable because it presents Tapper’s reflection upon New Zealand society’s relationship with the natural world on another, more cryptic level. In a number of ways – such as the manner in which the artist painted the sky and the solid, rolling hills, and the way in which he described and positioned the workers’ tools – the work alludes to Colin McCahon’s seminal 1952 painting On Building Bridges. Both McCahon’s painting and Black Gold reflect on the way in which human structures and industrial development impact on the natural world and society. On Building Bridges is regarded as a work that was central to the development of modern painting in New Zealand and, accordingly, in Black Gold, Tapper was considering his position in relation to the overall canon of New Zealand’s modernist movement.

CHARLES NINOW

CATALOGUE 373

89

40 Jeffrey Harris Imogen’s Grave oil on board, triptych signed Jeffrey Harris and dated 197577-78 in brushpoint lower right of centre panel; inscribed Imogen’s Grave in brushpoint lower left of centre panel 1200mm x 860mm; 1215mm x 1215mm; 1200mm x 845mm; 1255mm x 2925mm overall ILLUSTRATED Paton, Justin, Jeffrey Harris, Dunedin Public Art Gallery: Dunedin, 2005, pp. 30 - 31.

REFERENCE Paton, Justin, Jeffrey Harris, Dunedin Public Art Gallery: Dunedin, 2005, p. 32.

Estimate $60,000 - $80,000

90

CATALOGUE 373

Imogen’s Grave is a highly personal work, which confronts the viewer with ruminations around the loss of a loved one. Depicted in the work is the emotional lament of the loss of the artist’s daughter, Imogen Rose, who died several months after being born. An intensely emotional work, Imogen’s Grave also offers contemplation on the fragility of life and the possibility of reconfiguring one’s existence after the loss of a loved one.

Like Colin McCahon, Harris utilises Christian symbolism in order to convey the emotional undercurrents of the work. Where the Mother and Child would be placed on the central panel within a triptych composition, Harris has left an area of loose, seemingly unfinished brush strokes which resemble earth that has been dug up and disturbed. The two centrally-placed figures, one on each of the flanking panels, are painted in controlled,

even strokes, providing a calmness and juxtaposition to the disorder of the central panel. It is of note that Harris’ idiosyncratic details of the face and its expressions, created using sharp, angular lines, are absent in the depiction of these figures.

By obfuscating the facial expressions of the figures, Harris directs the viewer into identifying with them and their grief, and acknowledging the universality of sadness.

The angular lines often employed in the depiction of facial expressions, are utilised instead to break up the composition, further enhancing the emotional tension within the work while, at the same time, unifying the disparate, compositional elements present in the three panels.

The physical absence of the titular child in Imogen’s Grave is heightened by the separation of the parental figures, and is a further examination of the issues and ideals of domesticity. Harris’ portrayals

of family, relatives and friends, much like those of fellow contemporary Michael Smither, explore not just the serene and beautiful moments, but also the turbulent, emotional and awkward moments of domestic life. Harris’ depiction of family in Imogen’s Grave serves as a counterpoint to sanitised images of domestic life as disseminated through popular culture and portrayed in television programmes; instead, he focuses on the intimate trials and tribulations of family life. Harris’ expressionism, through the utilisation of familiar symbols, seeks to demystify the tragic moments of life and expose the grief which is inherent in such a tragic loss. By bringing such an event to the fore, and creating a monumental work which is confronting through its physical scale, Harris is undergoing a catharsis, perhaps, and is offering a pathway through grief.

paintings of modernists such as Francis Bacon, alongside works by Albrecht Dürer, Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge. The work could be interpreted as the process by which the artist processes a personal event and, through creating a language of coded symbols, creates a densely layered narrative which also speaks to the universality of existence.

ALEKSANDRA PETROVIC ‘A Conversation with Jeffrey Harris’, Art New Zealand, Issue 18, Summer 1981, pp, 22–29

Imogen’s Grave, shows the influence of

CATALOGUE 373

91

41 Ralph Hotere Towards Aramoana, Black Window acrylic on board in colonial villa sash window frame signed Hotere, dated Port Chalmers, ‘81 and inscribed Towards Aramoana in brushpoint lower edge; signed Hotere, dated Port Chalmers, ‘81 and inscribed Black Window, Towards Aramoana, Les Saintes Maries de la Mer from the stables of Aurora Tce. VII Seven - RKS. Art Nov. Dec ‘81 in ink verso 1000mm x 900mm PROVENANCE From the family of the late Rodney Kirk-Smith, director of RKS Art Gallery and the artist’s dealer and friend. $70,000 - $100,000

Towards Aramoana is a visual poem, imbued with a deep sense of spirituality and rebellion. The work was motivated by Hotere’s personal conviction to preserve Aramoana’s pathway to the sea from a proposed plan to build an aluminium smelter, and comments on both the impact of human habitation on the natural environment and the power structures that govern interpersonal relationships.

Hotere’s engagement with contemporary political discourse is not, however, the only focus of Towards Aramoana; the artist is also exploring the formal qualities of painting through line, colour and composition The recycled villa sash window frame is an iconic feature of much of Hotere’s practice of the 1970s and 1980s, and the obscured visibility is intended to critique the traditional function of a window.

Hotere uses this recurrent shape to defy preconceived notions of openness and utility. Rather than presenting an idyllic landscape, the artist confronts the viewer with an opportunity for contemplation and reflection. The presentation of a vantage

92

CATALOGUE 373

point to an outside world which is denied to the viewer could be interpreted as a sign of rebellion, of foreboding, as well as a call for support. The villa sash echoes Hotere’s own belief that Aramoana’s struggle was emblematic of the struggle of tangata whenua.

The oppressive black paint is broken up by the white cross, which possesses both symbolic and narrative potential. The obfuscation that the colour black offers is diffused by its placement between washes of colour, which remain visible beneath the black and white gestural lines. Hotere had been exploring these formal concerns throughout his series of Black Window paintings, and these artist’s visceral markings, layered atop subtle fields of colour, explore the power of the human gesture and its ability to communicate with an audience. Upon closer inspection, Towards Aramoana offers a hopeful and positive outlook; one that is echoed by the events which occurred in Aramoana that led to the abandonment of the planned smelter. The idea of an individual facing off against a much-greater oppressor has

often been utilised in art, and Hotere’s works referencing Aramoana display an optimism, as the viewer deciphers the meaning within the work.

Towards Aramoana comes from a larger series of works that explore Hotere’s surroundings and the very personal connection between a person and the land. The topography of Aramoana is alluded to, as Hotere’s concern is not with representing the land at the heart of the conflict, but in reaching out to the viewer and communicating a deeper message about responsibility, custodianship and harmony between people and the land.

By addressing the power struggle which occurred in Aramoana, Hotere brings to the forefront the necessity to preserve the surrounding natural environment, as well as the need for perseverance, optimism and determination, a theme which has gained prominence with the passing of time.

ALEKSANDRA PETROVIC

CATALOGUE 373

93

42 Ronnie van Hout Dec-48 acrylic on plastic signed Van Hout, dated 1999 and inscribed Explaining Painting to Theo Schoon in ink on underside of base 130mm x 130mm x 150mm Estimate $2,000 - $3,000 43 Paul Dibble Untitled lost wax cast bronze, 1/3 signed Paul Dibble and dated 2004 with incision on sculpture edge 400mm x 310mm x 155mm Estimate $6,000 - $8,000

94

CATALOGUE 373

44 Peter Robinson

45 Peter Robinson

46 Peter Robinson

Henry’s Cock-Tail Sausage

Guston Head Totem

Sick Fucked Up Smokin’ Universe

ink, gouache and twink on paper signed Peter Robinson and dated 2004 in ink lower right, inscribed Henry’s Cock-Tail Sausage in ink upper left 260mm x 360mm

ink, gouache and twink on paper signed Peter Robinson and dated 2004 in ink lower right, inscribed Gustom Head Totem in ink upper left 360mm x 260mm

PROVENANCE Acquired by the present owner from Peter McLeavey, 2004

PROVENANCE Acquired by the present owner from Peter McLeavey, 2004

ink, gouache and twink on paper signed Peter Robinson and dated 2004 in ink lower right, inscribed Sick Fucked Up Smokin Universe in ink upper right 260mm x 360mm

EXHIBITED Club Foot, Peter McLeavey, 2004

EXHIBITED Club Foot, Peter McLeavey, 2004

Estimate $2,000 - $3,000

Estimate $2,000 - $3,000

PROVENANCE Acquired by the present owner from Peter McLeavey, 2004 EXHIBITED Club Foot, Peter McLeavey, 2004 Estimate $2,000 - $3,000

CATALOGUE 373

95

96

CATALOGUE 373

47 Pat Hanly

48 Don Binney

Bouquet to All Women

Whangarei Heads

pastel, graphite, ink and collage on paper signed Hanly, dated 93/94 and inscribed Bouquet to All Women in graphite lower right 920mm x 650mm

acrylic on paper signed Don Binney and inscribed MM in brushpoint lower right 930mm x 650mm Estimate $12,000 - $18,000

Estimate $10,000 - $15,000

CATALOGUE 373

97

49 Rohan Wealleans Spiral acrylic on paper signed R.Wealleans, dated 2006 and inscribed “Spiral” in graphite verso 420mm x 300mm Estimate $1,000 - $2,000 50 Benjamin Buchanan Untitled vinyl adhesive on paper signed Benjamin Buchanan and dated 07 in graphite verso; Hamish McKay Gallery label affixed verso 450mm x 400mm Estimate $1,000 - $2,000 51 Dick Frizzell Self Portrait with Camera oil on board signed Frizzell, dated 15/12/81 and inscribed Self Portrait with Camera detail from ‘Good Value’ in brushpoint upper left 435mm x 400mm Estimate $12,000 - $18,000

98

CATALOGUE 373

CATALOGUE 373

99

52 Evelyn Page Still Life oil on board, circa 1983 signed E. Page in brushpoint lower right; signed Evelyn Page and inscribed Still Life in graphite verso 330mm x 320mm Estimate $20,000 - $30,000

100

CATALOGUE 373

53 Louise Henderson Untitled (Abstract) oil on canvasboard 780mm x 1420mm PROVENANCE From the collection of Thomas Lucke, a friend of the artist, and gifted to the present owner.

Estimate $10,000 - $15,000

CATALOGUE 373

101

54 Pat Hanly Child Afraid oil and graphite on canvas signed Hanly and dated 61 in brushpoint lower right; inscribed “Child Afraid”, The Gallery, Symonds Street, Auckland in graphite verso ILLUSTRATED: Gregory O’Brien, Pat Hanly, Auckland: Ron Sang Publications, 2012, foldout between p.47.

Estimate $28,000 - $36,000

102

CATALOGUE 373

55 Colin McCahon Bathers No.1 ink on paper signed McCahon and dated 43 in ink lower left; signed McCahon and inscribed 8 Esplin Cres, Karori, Wellington in graphite verso 100mm x 80mm Reference Colin McCahon reference database number: cm001614 Estimate $7,500 - $9,500

CATALOGUE 373

103

56 Nigel Brown Rainbow Aroha oil on board signed N. Brown, dated 89 and inscribed ‘Rainbow Aroha’ and laminated board in brushpoint verso 1040mm x 760mm Estimate $7,000 - $9,000 57 Colin McCahon Puketutu, Manukau lithograph signed Colin McCahon, dated 1957 and inscribed Puketutu Manukau and 3 Lithographs, Published by Peter Webb, High St, Auckland on frontispeice on plate; inscribed Puketutu from my boat ‘57 on third piece on plate 205mm x 265mm each Estimate $6,000 - $9,000

104

CATALOGUE 373

58 Michael Hight Parsons Rock, Otematata oil on canvas inscribed Parsons Rock, Otematata in brushpoint lower left; signed M. Hight, dated 2001 and inscribed Parsons Rock Otematata in graphite verso; Gow Langsford gallery label affixed verso 1100mm x 3000mm Estimate $20,000 - $30,000

CATALOGUE 373

105

59 Toss Woollaston

106

60 Frances Hodgkins

Landscape

Dutch Market Scene

oil on canvas signed Woollaston and dated ‘95 in brushpoint lower right 910mm x 1220mm

watercolour on paper signed F.M.H in brushpoint lower left; John Leech Gallery label affixed verso 170mm x 105mm

Estimate $40,000 - $60,000

Estimate $15,000 - $25,000

CATALOGUE 373

CATALOGUE 373

107

61 Ralph Hotere Black Window; Lo Negro Sobre Lo Oro acrylic, lacquer and gold leaf on glass in colonial window frame signed Hotere and dated ‘92 in brushpoint lower left; inscribed First Exhibited Aero Club Gallery, Port Chalmers in printed lettering and 30/8/92 to 12/9/92 in the artist’s hand on label affixed upper left verso 800mm x 710mm PROVENANCE Purchased by the current owner from Aero Club Gallery, 1992.

EXHIBITED Aero Club Gallery, Port Chalmers 30 August 1992 to 12 September 1992.

Estimate $50,000 - $70,000

108

CATALOGUE 373

Lo Negro Sobre Lo Oro belongs to a series of works that was started in 1991; all of the paintings share the same title. From Spanish, the title translates to ‘Black over the Gold’ and it has been suggested that the works were strongly influenced by the Roman Catholic decorative art and architecture that Hotere saw during his time in Spain. While the work at hand features a small, easily recognisable crucifix form, the series as a whole is considered to be a retreat from Hotere’s politically motivated work of the 1980s.

The Lo Negro Sobre Lo Oro series is typified by a refined use of common materials: gold leaf, black lacquer, glass and recycled window frames. While they contain markings that are clearly informed by the skill set that Hotere developed whilst working with stainless steel, they also demonstrate a sophisticated formal understanding that is reminiscent of his pared-back work of the 1970s. In the Lo Negro Sobre Lo Oro series, Hotere uses gold leaf in a manner that contrasts starkly to the way in which he saw it used in Spanish cathedrals. Traditionally, gold leaf is used to gild or entirely cover surfaces, as if to suggest that they are made from gold. In the Lo Negro Sobre Lo Oro works, he has taken individual sheets of gold leaf and used them as ready-mades; rather than deny its presence, he has used each sheet’s square shape as a structural device. With this in mind, the series can be viewed as an attempt to break down, demystify and understand larger foreign structures.

Reflective surfaces have had a recurring presence in Hotere’s practice. In order to highlight the sparse qualities of his linear abstraction of the 1970s, Hotere embraced the use of lacquers and, in his work of the 1980s, he burnished and cut away from stainless-steel surfaces. However, in the 1990s, his decision to work behind glass positions the Lo Negro Sobre Lo Oro series as a significant departure from his previous work where glossy surfaces were deeply integrated into the painting process.

The glass surfaces serve to separate the paintings from the outside world. Further, their reflective surfaces ensure that the viewer is not confronted just by the painted content but also by a mirror image of themselves and their immediate physical environment. To Hotere, the relationship between the viewer and the work was integral to its overall meaning.

While these works are not protest paintings, they were not made with purely formal motivations either. In the Lo Negro Sobre Lo Oro works, we see a subversive Hotere working through a set of adopted aesthetic parameters in order to further a dialogue about belief systems and societal controls. Lo Negro Sobre Lo Oro pares back the lush veneer of the Catholic Church in order to raise questions about its historic accumulation of wealth. Further, by confronting the viewer with the innately personal experience of observing their own reflection, he extends the work’s mandate to question the role of organised religion in our everyday lives.

CHARLES NINOW

CATALOGUE 373

109

110

CATALOGUE 373

62 Robin White Paremata Landscape watercolour signed R.White and dated 69 in graphite lower right 420mm x 300mm Estimate $9,500 - $12,000 63 Frances Hodgkins Study of a Calf watercolour on paper signed FH and dated ‘94 in brushpoint lower left 220mm x 275mm Estimate $10,000 - $15,000 64

Colin McCahon Untitled Landscape watercolour on paper signed McCahon and dated ‘51 in brushpoint lower left 208mm x 250mm Estimate $8,000 - $12,000

CATALOGUE 373

111

112

CATALOGUE 373

65 Ralph Hotere Rain Falling Surrounding a Tree oil on canvas signed R. Hotere and dated 70 in brushpoint lower left; John Leech Gallery label affixed verso 940mm x 660mm Estimate $35,000 - $50,000 66 Tony Fomison Inward Eye oil on canvas board signed Tony Fomison, dated c. 1 - 15.

2. 88 and inscribed “Inward Eye� and inscribed 19 Lincoln Street, Grey Lynn in brushpoint verso 330mm x 410mm Estimate $15,000 - $20,000 67 Bill Hammond Knocking on the Locker 3, Sea Bird pencil, ink and acrylic on paper signed W.D. Hammond, dated 1990 and inscribed Knocking on the Locker 3.

Sea Bird in pencil upper left 710mm x 1500mm Estimate $10,000 - $15,000

CATALOGUE 373

113

68 Ralph Hotere Working Drawing for Auckland Medical School Banner gouache on board signed Ralph Hotere, dated Port Chalmers ‘75 and inscribed Working Drawing for Auckland Medical School Banner and Height 120 feet on canvas width 3 feet verso 785mm x 300mm Estimate $15,000 - $20,000 69 Jeffrey Harris Self Portrait oil on board 150mm x 255mm Estimate $5,500 - $7,500

114

CATALOGUE 373

70 Chris Booth Earth Cloak pumice, basalt, stainless steel and kanuka 2020mm x 1700mm x 200mm PROVENANCE Commissioned by the present owner from the artist in 1994 Estimate $18,000 - $25,000

CATALOGUE 373

115

71 Tony Lane In Time Like Glass oil paint, gold leaf, white gold leaf and gesso on board, triptych signed Tony Lane, dated 2006 and inscribed oil paint, gold and white gold leaf on gesso grounds on left panel in ink verso 2230mm x 3220mm each; 2230mm x 9660mm overall PROVENANCE Formerly in the collection of Fountainebleau Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada Estimate $15,000 - $20,000

116

CATALOGUE 373

CATALOGUE 373

117

72 Trevor Moffitt Southland Series III No. 8 oil on board signed Moffitt and dated 90 in brushpoint lower right; inscribed Southland Series III No. 8 in ink verso 645mm x 945mm Estimate $9,000 - $12,000 73 Richard McWhannell Self oil on linen signed McWhannell, dated 1996 - 2001 and inscribed Self in ink verso; Campbell Grant Gallery label affixed verso 1000mm x 820mm Estimate $8,000 - $12,000

118

CATALOGUE 373

CATALOGUE 373

119

74 Jenny Dolezel Theatre of Dreams oil on canvas signed J. Dolezel and dated 2009 in brushpoint lower edge; signed Jenny Dolezel, dated 2009 and inscribed Theatre of Dreams, oil on canvas in brushpoint verso 1100mm x 1500mm Estimate $9,000 - $12,000

120

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Upcoming AuctionS & Market commentary Upcoming Auctions & Market Commentary 122 -123

Important Paintings & Contemporary Art – July 2014

124 -125

A2 Art – May 2014

126 -127

Fine Jewellery & Watches – May 2014

128 - 129 Oceanic & African Art – May 2014 130 - 131

Interiors: Decorative Arts – April 2013

132 - 133

Modern Design – May 2014

134

Fine Red Wine – March 2014

Who to Talk to at Webb’s 135

Reginal Services

136 - 137

Valuation Services

138 - 142

Webb’s Departments & People

143

The Last Word - Simon Ward - Profile

Terms & Conditions & Index of Artists 144

Webb’s Terms & Conditions for Buying

145

Index of Artists

CATALOGUE 373

121

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

ENtries now invited FOR july 2014 AUCTION

Contact sophie coupland scoupland@webbs.co.nz / 021 510 876 CHARLES NInOW cninow@webbs.co.nz / 09 529 5601

important paintings & contemporary art

Bill Hammond, Farmer’s Market. Achieved $328,300 122

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Webb’s important paintings & contemporary art MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

1

#

auction house; transacted by value

122% average return on reserve in 2013

$7.6 million

Sophie Coupland Director Fine Art Department

25% greater than any other

$232,135

“2013 marked the highest turnover ever recorded in the New Zealand art market ($20,318,000) and Webb’s facilitated more fine art sales by value than has any other New Zealand auction house.”

2013 average top ten price achieved (25% greater than 2012 result)

The quality of works presented, comprising historical, modern and contemporary practice, at this level in the secondary market in 2013, is a reflection of the confidence that has been invested in Webb’s.

sales under the hammer over the year of $7,600,000, $1,900,000 ahead of our nearest competitor. In addition to having sold more art by value than did any other auction house, Webb’s also achieved a majority share of the top ten sales across the auction industry, confirming Webb’s privileged position in the market and our ability to deliver excellence for our vendors in the sale of high-value artworks. Alongside these results, five new records were achieved, including new record prices for

Market results for 2013 placed Webb’s at first-ranked position as it sold significantly more art by value than did any other New Zealand auction house alongside gaining substantial growth in market share. Webb’s transacted art

contemporary artists Liz Maw, Rohan Wealleans and Bill Hammond.

2013 also marked the highest turnover ever recorded in the New Zealand art market ($20,318,000) - not since the early 2000s has the market seen such liquidity and firm demand.

Entries are now invited for the next auction of Important Paintings & Contemporary Art to be held in July 2014. Contact Sophie Coupland or Charles Ninow to discuss consignment into this prestigious sale.

Webb’s important paintings & contemporary art SALES HIGHLIGHTS November 2013

2 2

3 3

4 4

5 5

6 6

1 1

7 7

8 8

9 9

01 – Shane Cotton, The Painted Bird. Achieved $117,250 02 Hammond, MoaPainted HunterBird.

Cave.

Achieved$117,250 $82,075 01 – Bill Shane Cotton, The Achieved 03 Bush,Moa Turnbunkle Achieved$82,075 $8,793 02 – Kushana Bill Hammond, Hunter Squat.

Cave. Achieved 04 Hammond, AchievedSquat. $84,420 03 – Bill Kushana Bush,Fly. Turnbunkle Achieved $8,793 05 Frederick “One of the Old School”, WiripineNinia 04 – Charles Bill Hammond, Fly.Goldie, Achieved $84,420 Ngati Awa Chieftainess. $240,362 05 –ACharles Frederick Goldie,Achieved “One of the Old School”, WiripineNinia 06 –ABill Hammond, I had a Dream Last Night.

Achieved $87,937 Ngati Awa Chieftainess.

Achieved $240,362 06 – Bill Hammond, I had a Dream Last Night. Achieved $87,937

10 10

11 11

07 – Pat Hanly, Hope Vessel Attacked. Achieved $97,750 08 Rae, The Fold (Study).

Achieved $38,106 07 – Jude Pat Hanly, Hope Vessel Attacked.

Achieved $97,750 09 Mrs Huria Whakamairu, Wairarapa, New Zealand.

08 – Gottfried Jude Rae,Lindauer, The Fold (Study).

Achieved $38,106 09 – Achieved Gottfried $175,875 Lindauer, Mrs Huria Whakamairu, Wairarapa, New Zealand. Achieved 10 –$175,875 Michael Smither, Elizabeth with Sarah and Joseph. Achieved $152,425 11 Achieved $70,350 10 – Gordon MichaelWalters, Smither,Untitled.

Elizabeth with Sarah and Joseph. Achieved $152,425 11 – Gordon Walters, Untitled. Achieved $70,350 CATALOGUE 373

123

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

ENtries now invited FOR MAY 2014 AUCTION

A2 ART

Don Binney, Swoop of the Kotare, screenprint. Estimate $5,000 - $7,000 124

CATALOGUE 373

Contact charles ninow cninow@webbs.co.nz / 09 529 5601

WEBB’S

Webb’s A2 Art MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

$1,641,381

Charles Ninow Webb’s Fine Art Specialist

Total A2 turnover – 2013 financial year

$620,000

sales in February

44%

“With a considerable number of absentee and telephone bids registered, the February A2 sale drew a national audience, and the high sale total confirms the demand from collectors in this area of the market.”

growth in A2 sales since 2012

Webb’s February A2 sale continued the outstanding results that were seen in this category throughout 2013. As the first event on the 2014 auction calendar, our February sale achieved a new record total of $620,000, which exceeded the previous record that we set in September 2013.

With an unprecedented volume of works, the sale was spread over two sessions and saw enthusiastic particpation on both evenings. Highlights were noted across modern and contemporary periods with

Peter Siddell’s To Taranaki securing $14,650 and Grocer by Dick Frizzell selling for $11,900. Graphic editions were in consistently high demand on both nights with works by John Pule, Bill Hammond and Ralph Hotere performing extremely well.

Webb’s A2 auctions offer an industryleading forum for the sale of middlemarket works holding values of between $1,000 and $20,000. The February sale was

a reflection of the ongoing growth and high standing of this auction category, reaffirming that Webb’s A2 sales act as an extremely effective secondary market platform.

Entries for the forthcoming May A2 sale are now invited. Webb’s team of art specialists encourages you to make an appointment to discuss consignment opportunities and to obtain a complimentary market appraisal.

Webb’s A2 Art SALES HIGHLIGHTS febRuary 2014

1

6

2

3

7

01 – Raymond Ching, Black Duck. Achieved $6,560 02 – Ralph Hotere, Winter Solstice. Achieved $11,720 03 – Dick Frizzell, Grocer. Achieved $11,900 04 – Peter Siddell, To Taranaki. Achieved $14,650 05 – Colin McCahon, North Otago. Achieved $4,690

4

8

5

9

10

06 – Ans Westra, Mongrel Mob Convention. Achieved $4,690 07 – John Pule, E Fonoga E Koe Haau. Achieved $4,100 09 – Bill Hammond, Two Figures. Achieved $2,640 10 – Ralph Hotere, A Union Jack?. Achieved $7,320 11 – Don Driver, Nova. Achieved $5,860 CATALOGUE 373

125

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Zora Bell Boyd zbellboyd@webbs.co.nz / 09 529 5606

fine JEWELLERY & Watches Anna Carr acarr@webbs.co.nz/ 09 529 5606

An attractive platinum and diamond necklace. Achieved $30,485.00

126

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Webb’s fine JEWELLERY & watches MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

34%

“The Webb’s team has been proud to present our newly designed catalogues and an array of exceptional pieces across all genres of jewellery, enhancing a continued interest and growth in the jewellery auction market over the past year.”

increase on average turnover

Last year was one of evolution for Webb’s Jewellery department and, having set several substantial records including the highest price for the sale of a loose stone on the New Zealand market and this country’s highest-grossing jewellery sale, the department is planning a range of exciting auction events for 2014.

Along with our Fine Jewellery auctions, we are introducing special sales with calendar events in mind such as the Pre-Valentine’s Day Auction on 8 February and a Mother’s Day Auction. The new

Anna Carr Webb’s Jewellery Specialist

Zora Bell Boyd Webb’s Jewellery Specialist

team, Zora Bell Boyd, Anna Carr, Ruri Rhee and Peter Downey, conducted its first auction in August 2013 and achieved record-breaking sales totalling $800,193: a 34% increase on the average turnover for jewellery in the market. The new team offers a blend of expertise that delivers a bespoke and specialist service. Alongside appraisals and valuations, we are delighted to offer private treaty sales for those interested in buying loose diamonds of any size, colour, clarity and cut, outside of the auction calendar. Countless private

transactions have been brokered through Webb’s on behalf of clients and our direct access to an international diamond supply uniquely qualifies Webb’s to facilitate lucrative transactions both on and off the auction floor. There are new marketing channels and fully illustrated catalogues, and photographs of all pieces are now available to be viewed online; these advancements have encouraged an enhanced overall consigning and buying experience.

Webb’s JEWELLERY SALE HIGHLIGHTS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

01 – Platinum and pink sapphire necklace. Achieved $43,700 02 - Loose 5ct cushion cut diamond. Achieved $205,187 03 - A rare 1950’s Oyster Perpetual Rolex Submariner wristwatch. Achieved $10,552 04 - A round brilliant solitaire diamond ring. Achieved $31,125

05 - A fine Girard Perregaux gold chronograph wristwatch. Achieved $22,277 06 - A stunning 5.28ct diamond solitaire ring. Achieved $58,625 07 - A spectacular sapphire and diamond bracelet. Achieved $27,545 08 - An important 18ct rose gold ladies Patek Philippe wristwatch $37,520 CATALOGUE 373

127

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

ENtries now invited FOR 10 May 2014 AUCTION

Contact Jeff Hobbs jhobbs@webbs.co.nz / 021 503 251

oceanic AND african art

Important Toki Poutangata Handle. Achieved $17,587 128

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Webb’s Oceanic & African Art MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

$46,900

$35,175

highest price achieved for a Nguru flute at auction 2013

Jeff Hobbs Webb’s Oceanic Art Specialist

“An appreciation for Oceanic & African Art drives our focus on quality and exquisite craftsmanship.

This focus and understanding has resulted in a positive increase in results achieved for Webb’s Oceanic & Tribal department.”

highest price achieved for a pair of rare Huia birds at auction 2013

Mankind remains as captivated today as ever by the exquisite quality of Tribal art forms. Demand for fine quality and early examples remains firm with collectors focusing on the strongest material presented. 2013 marked another strong year for Webb’s Tribal Art Department with several highlights and records set across the fields of Maori, Pacific and African arts. Five years ago Webb’s joined forces with leading Oceanic specialist

Jeff Hobbs. With a remit to elevate Maori and Oceanic art as an investment class in its own right for the connoisseur collector, Jeff established a landmark campaign to repatriate Maori taonga and Oceanic artefacts to New Zealand. He has been successful in repatriating a number of pieces and collections of significant Maori taonga. Webb’s work within the field of Tribal & Oceanic artefacts also extends to institutional valuations with Webb’s

being Te Papa’s chosen valuer of Oceanic collectables. Entries are now invited for the May 2014 Oceanic & African Arts auction which will feature strong consignments of Polynesian weaponry, a superb collection of African art and important pieces of Taonga Maori.

High levels of demand are expected for exceptional pieces of pounamu workmanship and prestigious carving.

Webb’s Oceanic & African Art SALES HIGHLIGHTS

1

3

2

4

5

10

6

01 – Rare Tongan Whalebone Chest Ornament. Achieved $23,400 02 – Important Nguru Flute. Achieved $46,900 03 – Tahitian Shark Hook. Achieved $16,400 04 – Pair Of Rare Cased Huia. Achieved $35,175 05 – Whalebone Rei Puta, The Ryman Collection. Achieved $140,300

7

8

9

06 – Early Poutokomanawa. Achieved $27,000 07 – Kotiate. Achieved $25,800 08 – Rare Fijian War Club. Achieved $32,700 09 – Historic Mere Pounamu. Achieved $146,600 10 – Ashanti Royal Lion. Achieved $22,300 CATALOGUE 373

129

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

ENtries now invited FOR april 2014 AUCTION

Contact josh williams jwilliams@webbs.co.nz / 09 524 6804

Interiors: DECORATIVE ARTS & AnTIques

A Rare 19th Century Rhinoceros Horn Libation Cup. Achieved $56,200 130

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Webb’s DECORATIVE ARTS MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

$787,000

Josh Williams Webb’s Decorative Arts Specialist

“2014 would be an opportune time to sell antique Chinese porcelain as the previous five years has seen a steady trend of rising prices for genuine antique pieces.”

Record price for an antique sold at public auction in New Zealand The unprecedented sale of a pair of magnificent 19th-century Chinese carved rhinoceros horns set a record price for any antique or artwork offered at public auction in New Zealand when it achieved $797,000 in September 2013. This was followed by some very strong prices for further antique rhinoceros-horn artefacts highly sought after by the domestic Chinese market. The market for Chinese antiques has remained

buoyant and the department has seen a considerable rise in new patronage from local Chinese collectors. Some of our highest prices ever achieved for quality bracket, carriage and long-case clocks and chronometers were realised in 2013. The sterling-silver market has been consistent in terms of quality and prices achieved.

The market continues to respond positively to the interior-design-focused sales of

eclectic and unusual offerings including memento mori, taxidermy, industrial pieces, militaria and items of New Zealand historical significance. The department also saw strong demand for quality silver and a resurgence of interest in pre-20thcentury wooden furniture; this stands in fashionable contrast to the ever-growing demand for 20th-century modernist design.

Webb’s decorative arts recent SALES HIGHLIGHTS

1

4

2

5

6

01 - A Royal Doulton Maori Art Tea Set. Achieved $2,900 02 - A Mid 19th Century French Mantel Clock. Achieved $1,850 03 - A Victorian Mahogany Butler’s Tray. Achieved $1,450 04 - A Harrison & Howson Silver Plate Cutlery Canteen. Achieved $1,300

3

7

8

05 - A Chinese Porcelain Enamelled Vase. Achieved $4,650 06 - A Japanese Silver Gin & Bitters Bottles. Achieved $600 07 - A Chinese Crackle Glaze Crab Claw Vase. Achieved $1,600 08 - An Impressive Early 20th Century Rhinoceros Horn. Achieved $86,700 CATALOGUE 373

131

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

ENtries now invited FOR 8 May 2014 AUCTION

Contact Josh Williams jwilliams@webbs.co.nz / 09 524 6804

MODERN DESIGn

Inside Out In association with mr. Bigglesworthy

A Set of Eight Niels Moller Dining Chairs

by J.L. Moller.

Achieved $6,100 132

CATALOGUE 373

WEBB’S

Webb’s MODERN DESIGN MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

73% 100% of lots sold, by volume

sell-through rate, by value

The October 2013 Modern Design auction Line & Form, held in association with Mr. Bigglesworthy, resulted in the highestever sale total for a Webb’s Modern Design department with a 10.6% increase in turnover from the previous April 2013, American Collection, sale. The market also absorbed 73.0% of all lots offered – the highest sell-through rate in the market.

This year will see an ongoing demand

Josh Williams Webb’s Modern Design Specialist

“ Webb’s signature modern design sales will carry through into 2014 with a selection of premium imported mid century furniture in our May ‘Inside Out’ collection.”

for iconic designs from the mid-century period and a growing interest in New Zealand heritage in this field will continue to strengthen. High demand will remain for rare and exceptional lighting design and sculpture. Webb’s strength in this field lies in our ability to import marketfresh and unique pieces, which together retain a point of difference when compared with other material offered

locally; this sets Webb’s apart from other auction houses. Webb’s ongoing partnership with Mr. Bigglesworthy will see the Modern Design department continue to offer a great selection of quality pieces over the 2014 season.

Entries are now invited for the forthcoming auction to be held on 8 May 2014.

Webb’s MODERN DESIGN SALES HIGHLIGHTS

5

2

8

4

6

1

3

7

01 - A Vintage Jielde Floor Lamp. Achieved $2,200 02 - A Charles & Ray Eames Cherry Cherry Wood Folding Screen. Achieved $3,900 03 - A Bob Roukema Contour Chair by Jon Jansen. Achieved $5,100 04 - A Vintage German Station Clock. Achieved $2,300 05 - An Adrian Pearsall Platform Sofa by Craft Associates. Achieved $7,000

9

06 - A Milo Baughman Burr Walnut Consol Table. Achieved $4,400 07 - An Ib Kofod Larsen Model 66 Rosewood Sideboard by Faarup.

Achieved $10,500 08 - A Curtis Jere Birds in Flight Wall Sculpture. Achieved $7,000 09 - A Geoffery Harcourt F590 Lounge Chair by Artifort. Achieved $5,200 CATALOGUE 373

133

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

ENtries now invited FOR 24 March 2014 AUCTION

Contact simon ward wine@webbs.co.nz / 09 524 6804

FINE & RARE WINE Webb’s Fine & Rare Wine department holds an established position as one of one of New Zealand’s leading sources of cellared quality vintage wines. Alongside New Zealand wines by the great makers such as Te Mata, Dry River and Felton Road, each sale offers a selection of boutique French wines from the

134

CATALOGUE 373

Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux regions. In particular, French Wine Vintages have demanded top prices on the markets of London, New York and Hong Kong and their availability at Webb’s offers local buyers the opportunity to purchase some of the world’s finest wines.

WEBB’S

contact a webb’s specialist

REGIONAL SERVICES webb’s wellington Webb’s provides a comprehensive auction service for Wellington clients. A Webb’s presence in Wellington and streamlined services between the two centres enable ease of access to the Auckland market for those in the ‘arts and culture capital’.

Wellingtonians have long supported Webb’s both as collectors and consignors.

A five-day-a-week appraisal and valuation service and personally supervised, door-todoor freight and logistics extends beyond Wellington to the entire lower North and upper South Islands. Webb’s Wellington services are headed by Carey Young and Jeff Hobbs.

currant market appraisals, commentary on current market trends, valuations and consignment and acquisition advice.

A 20 year veteran expert in Oceanic, Tribal arts and antiquities, Jeff operated as a successful dealer and consultant in New York and the United Kingdom during the 1990s and subsequently owned and operated the well respected Sulu Gallery, Wellington. Although Jeff’s specialist interests lie in the fields of Tribal art and Eastern antiques, he will be working closely with Webb’s Auckland specialists to provide services across the spectrum of antiques and collectables.

contact Jeff Hobbs jhobbs@webbs.co.nz / 021 503 251 Carey Young cyoung@webbs.co.nz / 021 368 348

Jeff Hobbs Webb’s Oceanic Art Specialist

Carey Young Head of Fine Art Services, Wellington

Fine art specialist and gallerist, Carey Young leads Webb’s art department services in Wellington and is available to undertake

webb’s south island Gillie Deans, our resident Christchurch and South Island specialist, has over 30 years’ experience within the visual arts community. Gillie Deans provides comprehensive fine art services including current market and insurance valuations, conservation and advice around the purchase and sale of artworks by auction or private treaty.

Working with those who are both new to collecting art and seasoned connoisseurs, Gillie Deans prides herself on providing accurate market based knowledge and working with discretion and honesty.

Gillie Deans gdeans@webbs.co.nz / 027 226 9785

Gillie Deans Resident South Island Specialist

“…Gillie Deans provides comprehensive fine art services including current market and insurance valuations.”

CATALOGUE 373

135

Len Lye, Self Portrait, hand-worked photograph of a photogram.

Webb’s recently undertook a valuation of the complete holdings of the Len Lye Foundation’s collections and archives.

WEBB’S

commissions now invited Webb’s Valuations service

Contact Brian WoOd bwood@webbs.co.nz / 09 524 6804

Valuations Valuations are prepared for the purposes of: - Insurance - Post-loss Insurance - Family Estate Division - Financial Reporting - Relationship Property Division - Corporate Compliance

Webb’s valuers offer a proven ability to accurately undertake valuations for any items, from single pieces to complete collections, within set time frames and in a cost-effective manner.

Webb’s Valuation department is the most comprehensive of its kind in New Zealand. With over 35 years of experience and a team of 20 specialist staff members, we provide tailored services that set the industry standard.

Specialist fields of expertise include: - New Zealand and International Art - Photography - Ceramics - Antiques and Decorative Arts - Modern Design - Maori Artefacts and Oceanic Art - Books, Rare Documents, Maps and Manuscripts - Fine and Rare Wine - Vintage Motorcycles - Fashion and Textiles - Household Chattels

Significant recent valuations conducted by Webb’s cultural assets valuer Brian Wood include: • University of Otago art collection • Govett-Brewster Art Gallery • Len Lye Foundation • Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki • Auckland Council • Auckland War Memorial Museum • Te Papa Tongarewa • Wellington City Council • Numerous regional museums and galleries

Webb’s valuations are based on industry-standard methodology and are accepted by all of the leading insurance companies and brokers.

To discuss your valuation requirements or for a no-obligation quote, contact Brian Wood.

DDI: 09 529 5609. Mob: 021 48 69 48

Webb’s valuations recent comissions

1

2

3

4

01 - Te Papa Tongarewa 02 - Olveston Historic House, Dunedin 03 - Auckland Art Gallery, Toi O Tamaki

5

04 - Motat, Auckland 05 - Wellington CIty Council, Public Art Collection

CATALOGUE 373

137

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

Webb’s people Over 37 years of experience in fine art and auctions.

Founded in 1976, Webb’s created a market for contemporary art at auction through the 1980s and led the rise of the art market in the early 2000s, establishing a position as New Zealand’s foremost auction house. Webb’s has a total turnover of roughly twice that of any other New Zealand auction house, unsurpassed specialist expertise and the business diversity needed to cater for an all-encompassing range of collecting genres; thus, our identity is shaped as an acclaimed industry authority.

Fine Art Department.

Webb’s Fine Art department has an unmatched reputation for excellent service in achieving record prices at auction for contemporary, early modern, modern and historical artworks. Our extensive Fine Art calendar leads the market and consists of specialist sales of Important New Zealand Works of Art, Contemporary Art, Historical Works of Art, Photography and A2 Art (auction tier two).

Sophie Coupland — BA, Head of Department, Fine Art With 15 years’ experience in the fine art industry, Sophie’s 19th to 21st-century fine art knowledge is extensive and highly referenced. She has managed the sale and placement of many of the country’s finest and most-coveted works of art, and headed the Webb’s Fine Art department through the rise of the market (1999 – 2004).

Mobile: +64 21 510 876 DDI: +64 9 529 5603 scoupland@webbs.co.nz

Charles Ninow — MFA, Fine Art Specialist Charles joined Webb’s in 2011 and has an expert, well-referenced knowledge of the New Zealand secondary market. Particularly, his areas of interest lie in the modern and contemporary periods.

In addition to this, he is also engaged with current critical discourse surrounding the primary market and the institutional sector. Charles holds a master’s degree from Elam School of Fine Arts.

Mobile: +64 29 770 4767 DDI: +64 9 529 5601 cninow@webbs.co.nz

Gillie Deans — Resident South Island Specialist With over 30 years’ experience within the visual arts community, Gillie provides fine art services to Christchurch and South Island clients including current market and insurance valuations, conservation and advice around the purchase and sale of artworks by auction or private treaty.

Mobile: +64 27 226 9785 gdeans@webbs.co.nz

Carey Young — Head of Fine Art Services, Wellington Founder and director of newly opened Wellington contemporary gallery The Young, Carey previously worked for leading dealer gallery Hamish McKay and has over ten years’ experience in the industry. She is available in Wellington to provide commentary on current market trends and valuations for market and insurance purposes.

Mobile: +64 21 368 348 cyoung@webbs.co.nz

Rachel Kleinsman — BA, MA, Fine Art Specialist, Assistant Manager Rachel is an art specialist with a strong knowledge of the international art market, and has worked for Christie’s, Sotheby’s and White Cube gallery in London. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and Modern Languages (Victoria University of Wellington) and a Master of Arts degree in Art Business (Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London).

DDI: +64 9 524 6804 rkleinsman@webbs.co.nz

Hannah Daly — BA, Registrar, Fine Art Department Hannah holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Art History and History from The University of Auckland. She has a strong interest in European modernism, particularly across the fields of fine art and design.

DDI: +64 9 524 6804 artteam@webbs.co.nz

Aleksandra Petrovic — BFA, PgDipFA, Junior Fine Arts Specialist, Registrar With an interest in modern and contemporary art, Aleksandra has previous experience in commercial and contemporary art spaces and galleries, and a background in fine art.

138

CATALOGUE 373

DDI: +64 9 524 6804 apetrovic@webbs.co.nz

WEBB’S

Neil Campbell Mobile: +64 21 875 966 DDI: +64 9 529 5607 ncampbell@webbs.co.nz

Chris Allsop Mobile: +64 21 679 319 DDI: +64 9 529 5605 callsop@webbs.co.nz

Sophie Coupland Mobile: +64 21 510 876 DDI: +64 9 529 5603 scoupland@webbs.co.nz

Katrina Sewell DDI: +64 9 524 6804 ksewell@webbs.co.nz

Charles Ninow Mobile: +64 29 770 4767 DDI: +64 9 529 5601 cninow@webbs.co.nz

Rachel Kleinsman rkleinsman@webbs.co.nz

Aleksandra Petrovic DDI: +64 9 524 6804 apetrovic@webbs.co.nz

Hannah Daly artteam@webbs.co.nz

James Hogan Mobile: +64 21 510 477 jhoganl@webbs.co.nz

Josh Williams DDI: +64 9 524 6804 jwilliams@webbs.co.nz

Amy Moore DDI: +64 9 5246804 amoore@webbs.co.nz

Brian Wood DDI: +64 9 529 5609 bwood@webbs.co.nz

Anna Carr DDI: +64 9 529 5606 acarr@webbs.co.nz

Peter Downey DDI: +64 9 529 5606 jewels@webbs.co.nz

Ruri Rhee DDI: +64 9 529 5606 jewelleryteam@webbs.co.nz

Zora Bell Boyd Mobile: +64 21 268 589 DDI: +64 9 529 5606 zbellboyd@webbs.co.nz

Simon Ward Mobile: +64 21 642 277 DDI: +64 9 529 5600 wine@webbs.co.nz

Ben Ashley DDI: +64 9 524 6804 bashley@webbs.co.nz

Pouarii Tanner DDI: +64 9 524 6804 marketing@webbs.co.nz

Daniel Koene DDI: +64 9 524 6804 tech@webbs.co.nz

Mandy Thorogood DDI: +64 9 524 6804 frontofhouse@webbs.co.nz

Steve Galpin DDI: +64 9 524 6804 sgalpin@webbs.co.nz

Duncan Rooney DDI: +64 9 524 6804 drooney@webbs.co.nz

Jeff Hobbs Mobile: +64 21 503 251 jhobbs@webbs.co.nz

CATALOGUE 373

139

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

departments Antiques & Decorative Arts, Collectables & Estates Department.

The Antiques & Decorative Arts department comprises a dedicated, experienced team of specialists covering 20th/21st-century design, New Zealand ceramics, Maori and Oceanic arts, folk art, colonial furniture, European ceramics and glassware, Asian arts, clocks, marine and nautical instruments, sterling silver, textiles and vintage clothing, and toys and dolls.

Complementarily, the Collectables & Estates department hold affordable weekly sales offering a wide variety of interesting and useful items including antiques, household furnishings, collectables, appliances, crockery, cutlery, jewellery, paintings and prints.

James Hogan — Head of Department, Antiques & Decorative Arts James has worked with Webb’s for over 20 years, and is a highly experienced senior valuer and appraiser of antiques and decorative arts from the 18th to the 21st centuries. His particular interests include New Zealand colonial furniture, English and Continental furniture from the 18th and 19th centuries, retro and modernist furniture and interior objects.

Mobile: +64 21 510 477 jhoganl@webbs.co.nz

Josh Williams — BA, Auction Manager, Modern Design Specialist Having worked for Auckland Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and in antique shops in London, Josh’s specialist interests include Georgian furniture and antiques, and mid-century modern design. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (The University of Auckland) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Museum Studies (The University of Sydney).

DDI: +64 9 524 6804 jwilliams@webbs.co.nz

Steve Galpin — Estate & Decorative Arts Specialist Steve has worked for sixteen years as Webb’s senior in-house valuer of decorative arts and antiques. With an extensive knowledge of decorative arts from the 18th to the 20th centuries, Steve is one of New Zealand’s most broadly knowledgeable experts on antiques, decorative arts and the sale of antiques at auction.

DDI: +64 9 524 6804 sgalpin@webbs.co.nz

Duncan Rooney — BFA, Auction Administrator With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The University of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts, Duncan is also a keen carpenter, designing and making a range of contemporary furniture in his spare time. Duncan is available to provide advice to clients on all matters relating to our weekly sales and the auction process.

DDI: +64 9 524 6804 drooney@webbs.co.nz

Fine Wine Department.

Webb’s Fine & Rare Wine department leads the New Zealand auction market in the sale of fine, collectable wine. Webb’s sales feature fine New Zealand wines, premium Australian wines, Champagne, First Growth Bordeaux, premium Burgundy and a selection of Sauternes, Ports, Italian wines and Cognacs.

Simon Ward — RAWM, Consultant, Fine Wine Department Simon joined Webb’s as director of the Fine Wine department in 2009. With over 20 years in the industry encompassing production, sales, marketing and winery management, Simon’s international experience includes four years based in Italy. He holds an Associate Diploma of Wine Marketing (Roseworthy College, South Australia).

Mobile: +64 21 642 277 DDI: +64 9 529 5600 wine@webbs.co.nz

Oceanic And African Art Department.

Two sales are held annually in this specialised area of collecting. Sales feature artefacts from the pre-contact and contact periods through to 20th-century works. Pieces covered include those used for ritual, ceremonial, decorative and practical purposes within traditional Maori and Oceanic and African cultures, as well as New Zealand colonial furniture.

Jeff Hobbs — Consultant, Oceanic And African Art Department Jeff is a veteran expert in Oceanic, Tribal Arts and antiquities. A successful dealer and consultant in New York and the United Kingdom during the 1990s, he subsequently owned and operated Wellington’s well-respected Sulu Gallery. Jeff has travelled internationally on behalf of Webb’s repatriating significant Maori and Oceanic material 140

CATALOGUE 373

Mobile: +64 21 503 251 jhobbs@webbs.co.nz

WEBB’S

Fine Jewels & Watches.

Webb’s jewellery sales include a wide selection of fine and magnificent jewels together with valuable watches, significant diamonds, the finest antique and modern jewels, and watches from the most sought-after makers in the world.

Zora Bell Boyd — BA (Hons), BDes, Specialist – Marketing Manager Zora has a background in precious gemstone trading, bespoke jewellery manufacture and high fashion. She established Wunderkammer, a boutique fashion destination, and her own jewellery range, and has over 10 years’ experience sourcing precious stones and antique jewellery from locations as far afield as South America and Asia.

Mobile: +64 21 268 589 DDI: +64 9 529 5606 zbellboyd@webbs.co.nz

Peter Downey — Senior Specialist, Valuer – Antique Jewellery A founding director of Webb’s jewellery department in the 1980s, Peter has 44 years of market experience and is one of New Zealand’s foremost jewellery specialists. He has a comprehensive knowledge of all materials and styles, and his specialist areas include Castellani, Giuliano, Fabergé, Cartier, art nouveau and art deco.

DDI: +64 9 529 5606 jewels@webbs.co.nz

Ruri Rhee — Jewellery Auction Assistant & Administrator Ruri has a strong interest in contemporary jewellery design and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and is currently working towards her Masters Degree in Arts Management.

Working closely with Zora Bell Boyd, Anna Carr and Peter Downey to facilitate the operations of the Webb’s fine Jewellery Department, Ruri has been part of the Webb’s team now for nearly a year.

DDI: +64 9 529 5606 jewelleryteam@webbs.co.nz

Anna Carr — BDes, DipTeach, Specialist Anna Carr (nee Ward) is a practising jeweller who, since graduating in 2004 with a Bachelor of Design (Honours) degree, majoring in Contemporary Jewellery, and a Postgraduate Diploma in teaching, has exhibited nationally and internationally. Prior to starting at Webb’s, Anna worked as a Jewellery Coordinator at Masterworks for four years.

DDI: +64 9 529 5606 acarr@webbs.co.nz

Vintage Motorcycles & Industrial Design Department.

Webb’s is the market leader in the sale of collectors’ motorcycles in Australasia. As the largest auction house in New Zealand to hold scheduled exhibitions and auctions of important motorcycles, Webb’s delivers international prices and expert service to its clients and caters for both local and global demand for superior machines.

Neil Campbell — LLB, BEcon, CEO A trained lawyer with a degree in Economics, Neil worked in the film production sector for many years, and as a script-writer (his story ‘The Freezer’ was made into a film in 2006). Neil formerly represented the New Zealand Union for Film Directors, and worked as the in-house content lawyer for TVNZ. Neil ensures Webb’s team is well-supported and focused on providing the best range of services in New Zealand.

Mobile: +64 21 875 966 DDI: +64 9 529 5607 ncampbell@webbs.co.nz

Modern Design.

Held twice annually, these sales present design classics and pieces by the world’s most celebrated designers. Webb’s modern design partnership with mid-century specialists Mr. Bigglesworthy ensures that high-calibre, classic and desirable designs are offered.

Josh Williams — BA, Auction Manager, Modern Design Specialist Having worked for Auckland Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and in antique shops in London, Josh’s specialist interests include Georgian furniture and antiques, and midcentury modern design. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (The University of Auckland) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Museum Studies (The University of Sydney).

DDI: +64 9 524 6804 jwilliams@webbs.co.nz

CATALOGUE 373

141

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

departments Valuations Department.

Webb’s provides valuation services to public institutions, and corporate and private collections, including Auckland Art Gallery, Te Papa Tongarewa and numerous regional galleries and museums. Domestic valuation services include single items or entire collections and cover artworks and the full spectrum of antiques, interiors, modern design and collectables.

Brian Wood — BFA, Head of Valuations Leading the Valuation department, Brian has a sound knowledge across the collecting genres and is a specialist in studio ceramics. Brian ran his own art and antique gallery before heading overseas. On his return to New Zealand, he completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree majoring in ceramics and managed a private art collection before joining Webb’s.

Mobile: +64 21 486 948 DDI: +64 9 529 5609 bwood@webbs.co.nz

Bethunes at Webb’s – Rare Book Department.

Bethunes operates as the rare book department of Webb’s. The department deals in rare, out-of-print and collectable books, historical photography, maps and plans, manuscripts, documents and ephemera, posters and prints, and postcards.

Ben Ashley — BA, Head of the Rare Books Department Ben has a background of over ten years’ experience in high-end retail, and his varied skills and knowledge provide a fresh, pragmatic approach to book sales and appraisals. Ben studied New Zealand Literature at The University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington and the International Institute of Modern Letters.

DDI: +64 9 524 6804 bashley@webbs.co.nz

Management Neil Campbell — LLB, BEcon, CEO A trained lawyer with a degree in Economics, Neil worked in the film production sector for many years, and as a script-writer (his story ‘The Freezer’ was made into a film in 2006). Neil formerly represented the New Zealand Union for Film Directors, and worked as the in-house content lawyer for TVNZ. Neil ensures Webb’s team is well-supported and focused on providing the best range of services in New Zealand.

Mobile: +64 21 875 966 DDI: +64 9 529 5607 ncampbell@webbs.co.nz

Chris Allsop — DipActg, DipIntlMktg, General Manager Chris Allsop comes to Webb’s with over 20 years’ experience in accounting, administration and business management. Having been with Webb’s for seven years, he brings to the business exceptional financial and management skills.

Mowbray Collectables Ltd Mowbray Collectables Ltd is a publicly listed parent company which houses a range of auction based assets in key fields of collecting and cultural investment. Mowbray Collectables also hold a 25% equity stake in Sotheby’s Australia. John Mowbray is the former President of the International Federation of Stamp Dealers Associations and is a director of Webb’s and Sotheby’s Australia.

142

CATALOGUE 373

Mobile: +64 21 679 319 DDI: +64 9 529 5605 callsop@webbs.co.nz

WEBB’S

THE LAST WORD

SIMON WARD

Fine Wine Specialist Simon Ward has been involved in the wine industry all his life. He grew up in Wellington where his father was involved in the hospitality business, which helped to stimulate his interest in wine.

He studied at the prestigious Roseworthy Agriculture College in South Australia before further developing his knowledge of wine production by completing a number of vintages in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Italy. His focus then shifted into sales and marketing, and he was appointed General Manager of Te Awa winery before heading the Webb’s wine department in late 2008.

Simon cites this business as being great because of the passion that people have for the product. “A career highlight would have to be working and living in Italy for a number of years. I often travelled around the country, visiting various wineries and

I was fortunate to meet many great people, sample great wines and enjoy the odd long lunch.”

In terms of the wine market direction Simon says, “There have been a number of trends developing in the secondary market over the last few years. Most of the wine we sell at Webb’s, in terms of value, is European. These wines are obviously traded internationally so we tend to follow that trend. The strengthening Asian market would have to be the most significant shift that has occurred in the last five years. As a result the value of blue chip wines has increased considerably, which in turn has a positive effect on the price of other wines. This change happened during a period when many other investments were performing poorly and so wine investment has been seen as a star performer. Recently, we have seen

an easing of these highs which could be viewed as a market correction.

As the secondary market matures for New Zealand wines, I expect to see increased interest for top vintages from the best producers. The autonomy of product that comes through Webb’s on a regular basis is constantly changing and that’s something I really enjoy. As a self-confessed wine nerd, it’s certainly enjoyable to have a cellar full of fantastic wines to work with on a daily basis and to be involved in offering high quality wines in various stages of maturity.”

As head of the Webb’s Fine Wine Department, Simon is always happy to meet with clients who would like to discuss their wine collection, consignments or purchases.

CATALOGUE 373

143

Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

CONDITIONS of sale for buyers 1. Bidding. The highest bidder shall be the purchaser subject to the auctioneer having the right to refuse the bid of any person.

Should any dispute arise as to the bidding, the lot in dispute will be immediately put up for sale again at the preceding bid, or the auctioneer may declare the purchaser, which declaration shall be conclusive. No person shall advance less at a bid than the sum nominated by the auctioneer, and no bid may be retracted.

2. Reserves. All lots are sold subject to the right of the seller or her/ his agent to impose a reserve.

3. Registration. Purchasers shall complete a bidding card before the sale giving their own correct name, address and telephone number.

It is accepted by bidders that the supply of false information on a bidding card shall be interpreted as deliberate fraud.

4. Buyer’s Premium. The purchaser accepts that in addition to the hammer or selling price Webb’s will apply a buyer’s premium of 15% for the sale, (unless otherwise stated), together with GST on such premiums.

5. Payment. Payment for all items purchased is due on the day of sale immediately following completion of the sale.

If full payment cannot be made on the day of sale a deposit of 10% of the total sum due must be made on the day of sale and the balance must be paid within 5 working days.

Payment is by cash, bank cheque or Eftpos. Personal and private cheques will be accepted but must be cleared before goods will be released. Credit cards are not accepted.

6. Lots sold as Viewed. All lots are sold as viewed and with all errors in description, faults and imperfections whether visible or not. Neither Webb’s nor its vendor are responsible for errors in description or for the genuineness or authenticity of any lot or for any fault or defect in it. No warranty whatsoever is made. Buyers proceed upon their own judgement.

Buyers shall be deemed to have inspected the lots, or to have made enquiries to their complete satisfaction, prior to sale and by the act of bidding shall be deemed to be satisfied with the lots in all respects.

7. Webb’s Act as Agents. They have full discretion to conduct all aspects of the sale and to withdraw any lot from the sale without giving any reason.

8. Collection. Purchases are to be taken away at the buyer’s expense immediately after the sale except where a cheque remains uncleared. If this is not done Webb’s will not be responsible if the lot is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed.

Any items not collected within seven days of the auction may be subject to a storage and insurance fee. A receipted invoice must be produced prior to removal of any lot.

9. Licences. Buyers who purchase an item which falls within the provisions of the Protected Objects Act 1975 or the Arms Act 1958 cannot take possession of that item until they have shown to Webb’s a license under the appropriate Act. 10. Failure to make Payment. If a purchaser fails either to pay for or take away any lot, Webb’s shall without further notice to the purchaser, at its absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies it may have, be entitled to exercise one or more of the following rights or remedies: A. To issue proceeding against the purchaser for damages for breach of contract.

B. To rescind the sale of that or any other lot sold to the purchaser at the same or any other auction.

144

CATALOGUE 373

C. To resell the lot by public or private sale. Any deficiency resulting from such resale, after giving credit to the purchaser for any part payment, together with all costs incurred in connection with the lot shall be paid to Webb’s by the purchaser. Any surplus over the proceeds of sale shall belong to the seller and in this condition the expression ‘proceeds of sale’ shall have the same meaning in relation to a sale by private treaty as it has in relation to a sale by auction.

D. To store the lot whether at Webb’s own premises or elsewhere at the sole expense of the purchaser and to release the lot only after the purchase price has been paid in full plus the accrued cost of removal storage and all other costs connected to the lot.

E. To charge interest on the purchase price at a rate 2% above Webb’s bankers’ then current rate for commercial overdraft facilities, to the extent that the price or any part of it remains unpaid for more than seven days from the date of the sale.

F. To retain possession of that or any other lot purchased by the purchaser at that or any other auction and to release the same only after payment of money due.

G. To apply the proceeds of sale of any lot then or subsequently due to the purchaser towards settlement of money due to Webb’s or its vendor. Webb’s shall be entitled to a possessory lien on any property of the purchaser for any purpose while any monies remain unpaid under this contract.

H. To apply any payment made by the purchaser to Webb’s towards any money owing to Webb’s in respect of any thing whatsoever irrespective of any directive given in respect of, or restriction placed upon, such payment by the purchaser whether expressed or implied.

I. Title and right of disposal of the goods shall not pass to the purchaser until payment has been made in full by cleared funds.

Where any lot purchased is held by Webb’s pending i. clearance of funds by the purchaser or ii. completion of payment after receipt of a deposit, the lot will be held by Webb’s as bailee for the vendor, risk and title passing to the purchaser immediately upon notification of clearance of funds or upon completion of purchase. In the event that a lot is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed before title is transferred to the purchaser, the purchaser shall be entitled to a refund of all monies paid to Webb’s in respect of that lot, but shall not be entitled to any compensation for any consequent losses howsoever arising.

11. Bidders deemed Principals. All bidders shall be held personally and solely liable for all obligations arising from any bid, including both ‘telephone’ and ‘absentee’ bids. Any person wishing to bid as agent for a third party must obtain written authority to do so from Webb’s prior to bidding.

12. ‘Subject Bids’. Where the highest bid is below the reserve and the auctioneer declares a sale to be ‘subject to vendor’s consent’ or words to that effect, the highest bid remains binding upon the bidder until the vendor accepts or rejects it. If the bid is accepted there is a contractual obligation upon the bidder to pay for the lot.

13. SALES POST AUCTION OR BY PRIVATE TREATY. The above conditions shall apply to all buyers of goods from Webb’s irrespective of the circumstances under which the sale is negotiated.

14. Condition of Items. Condition of items is not detailed in this catalogue. Buyers must satisfy themselves as to the condition of lots they bid on and should refer to clause six. Webb’s are pleased to provide intending buyers with condition reports on any lots.

WEBB’S

INDEX OF ARTISTS Aberhart, Lawrence 46, 47

Hotere, Ralph 30, 44, 57, 73, 80, 84

Angus, Rita 90

Hurley, Gavin 45, 62

Bush, Kushana 4

Illingworth, Michael 18

Castle, Len 68, 69, 70, 71

Kaan, Simon 77

Ching, Raymond 39

Leek, Saskia 74

Clark, Russell 78

Lindauer, Gottfried 23, 91

Cotton, Shane 21, 50

Maddox, Allen 9, 36, 49, 58, 97

Culbert, Bill 16

McCahon, Colin 89

Dawson, Neil 96

McCracken, David 83

Dibble, Paul 42, 51, 85, 86

McLeod, Andrew 52

Driver, Don 40, 54

Millar, Judy 5, 37

Ellis, Robert 98

Mitchell, Sam 61

Esplin, Tom 99, 100

Parekowhai, Michael 14

Fomison, Tony 1, 7

Peryer, Peter 12, 66

Fraser, Jacqueline 88

Piccinini, Patricia 11

Friedlander, Marti 65

Rae, Jude 28

Frizzell, Dick 15, 17, 41, 59, 92, 93

Reynolds, John 63, 64

Gimblett, Max 8

Robinson, Peter 6, 31, 32, 33, 48, 60

Goldie, Charles Frederick 22, 26

Smither, Michael 25

Good, Roy 76

Stichbury, Peter 67

Grosse, Katharina 53

Stringer, Terry 87

Hammond, Bill 19, 20, 34, 35, 55, 56

Thompson, Jeff 102

Hanly, Pat 27, 38, 43

Trusttum, Philip 103

Harris, Jeffrey 79

van Hout, Ronnie 13

Harrison, Michael 2, 3

Walters, Gordon 24, 29

Heaphy, Chris 75, 81, 82

Weeks, John 10

Hodgkins, Frances 72

Williams, Mervyn 94, 95

Holmwood, John 101

CATALOGUE 373

145

fine Jewellery & WATCHES

Catalogue 375 29 March 2014