IMPORTANT PAINTINGS & CONTEMPORARY ART - CONSIGN NOW JULY 2013

Important Paintings & Contemporary Art CONSIGN NOw

New Zealand’s Premier Auction House 18 Manukau Road Newmarket, Auckland 1149 New Zealand P +649 524 6804 auctions@webbs.co.nz

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COVER Michael Parekowhai Etaples 2001, c-type colour photograph,1500mm x 1250mm Achieved $25,200 March 2013 BACK COVER Peter Robinson Marriage Vows 2002, acrylic and oil stick on paper, 1360mm x 1000mm Achieved $27,000 March 2013

Important Paintings & Contemporary Art HIGHLIGHTS March CONSIGN NOW JULY

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CONTENTS Invitation to Consign

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Left: Tony Fomison Bacchus: Michelangelo (detail) 1970, 410mm x 300mm Achieved $11,750 March 2013

Forthcoming Highlights

Michael Smither Portrait of Sarah

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Bill Hammond Zoomorphic Lounge

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Ralph Hotere Towards Aromoana

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March 2013 Highlights

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Bill Hammond Last Nightjar in Congested Sky

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Ralph Hotere Vidyapati’s Song

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Charles Goldie The Whitening Snows of the Venerable Elder Atama Paparangi

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Michael Illingworth What lies beneath these fragments of reference?

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Evelyn Page Breakfast at Hobson Street

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Charles Goldie Ngatirea (Daydreams)

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Pat Hanly Torso A

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Milan Mrkusich Themes and Variations II

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Consign now Important Paintings & Contemporary Art July 2013

Left: Bill Hammond Zoomorphic Lounge (detail) 1999, 2000mm x 840mm. Estimate $180,000 – $250,000

Entries are now invited for the next sale of Important Paintings & Contemporary Art to be held in July 2013.

This auction will comprise a quality selection of contemporary and modernist practice alongside artwork of historical significance. Already consigned is a number of major modern paintings including: a large-scale work on jute canvas

by Colin McCahon from the Jump series, of a quality not seen at auction since the mid-’90s; a masterpiece by Michael Smither from the seminal Domestic series; a Black Window by Ralph Hotere presented in a villa sash window frame which comes from the family of the late Rodney Kirk-Smith, director of Auckland’s RKS Art gallery and the artist’s dealer and friend; and a large-scale work by Bill Hammond of emerald-green palette and from the highly regarded Zoomorphic series.

Please contact us to discuss the consignment of works including no-obligation valuation advice and informed commentary regarding Webb’s industry-leading results and the current market dynamics. Assessments are made in person, throughout New Zealand.

Auckland Contact Sophie Coupland E: scoupland@webbs.co.nz P: 09 529 5603

Wellington Contact Carey Young E: cyoung@webbs.co.nz P: 021 368 348

Christchurch Contact Gillie Deans E: gdeans@webbs.co.nz P: 027 226 9785 5

Michael Smither Portrait of Sarah oil on board signed with initials and dated ’74 1220mm x 1220mm $150,000 – $200,000

Produced in 1974, Portrait of Sarah belongs to Michael Smither’s highly celebrated series of paintings that depict the development of his own children. The work, a self-portrait with his daughter in the garden, captures an intimate moment in time and is a superbly realised evocation of the principles of family life. To this end, the work subtly engages with New Zealand’s national identity and speaks to the ideals of a pastoral existence and the nurturing of life.

Never before presented to the market, this is the most important, large-scale painting from the Domestic series to be offered since 2003 and represents a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire a museum-quality work from this seminal period.

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Bill Hammond Zoomorphic Lounge oil on canvas signed and dated 1999 2000mm x 840mm $180,000 – $250,000

Set against a backdrop of molten emerald green, Bill Hammond’s Zoomorphic Lounge presents a skilful snapshot of his phantasmagorical world of mythological creatures in a variety of forms. The artist’s virtuoso handling of chromatic subtleties, decorative patterning and contrasting brushwork produces a harmonious composition blanketed by an eerie yet magnetic calmness. In this work, the artist imagines an earth untouched by the influence of the human hand.

Whilst a large number of works by Bill Hammond is presented at auction each year, relatively few are from the artist’s critically acclaimed 1995 – 2000 period. A predominantly green colouration, a composition constructed principally from the artist’s iconic avian figures, a refined approach to technical detail and the large scale of this work place it as one of the finest to be presented in recent years.

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Ralph Hotere Towards Aramoana, Black Window acrylic on board in a colonial villa sash window frame inscribed Towards Aramoana, signed and dated ’81; inscribed Black Window, Towards Aramoana, Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, from the stables at Aramoana Tce, Hotere, Port Chalmers, ’81, VII seven RKS Art, Nov. Dec. ’81 verso 1000mm x 900mm $150,000 – $180,000

The Black Window paintings, presented in villa sash window frames and produced in the early 1980s, are celebrated as amongst Ralph Hotere’s finest work. Carrying a distinct political and conceptual agenda, the works engage with the proposal to open an aluminium smelter at Aramoana, near the artist’s home and studio at Port Chalmers, in the 1970s. Opposition to the smelter centred on its environmental impact and, by utilising the ‘found’ sash window frame, Hotere aimed to incorporate a conservationist ethos into the fabric of the work itself. The colour black is used with symbolic relevance, alluding to death and destruction. It negates the view that we expect to see through the window; rather than a landscape, all we see is a deep, sonorous void.

This work was gifted to the son of the late Rodney Kirk-Smith, director of RKS Art gallery, Hotere’s dealer, friend and long-time supporter, and has never before changed hands. Two fine works from this series were presented at auction in late 2012 and both achieved figures of $160,000.

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March 2013 Highlights Webb’s most recent sale of Important Paintings and Contemporary Art, held in late March, once again broke new ground in the secondary market for contemporary and modern New Zealand art practice. With private collectors acquiring over $2.0-million worth of significant New Zealand art, Webb’s first major sale for 2013 was one of the highest-grossing, mixed-vendor auctions held in the New Zealand market for a decade.

In essence, the strong result was driven by the market’s consistent, passionate demand for critically celebrated examples of historical, modernist and contemporary art practice. With this, it seems as though the song that Webb’s started to hum 45 years ago remains the same: rarity and quality will always find a place to rest within the collector’s eye.

However, it is somewhat erroneous to discuss ‘the market’ as an entirely homogenous entity as the nuances which drive the appeal of certain works are specific to certain artists and to where each work falls within the artist’s oeuvre, and need to be considered alongside more tangible factors such as a work’s condition and provenance, and recent market activity. With this in mind, we have selected eight works which achieved significant recognition and offer an opinion as to the intrinsic appeal of each work within a collector’s market context.

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Bill Hammond Last Nightjar in Congested Sky Achieved $293,100 March 2013

At over three metres wide, Last Nightjar in Congested Sky is the largest work by the artist ever offered at auction.

Having said this, the secondary market for Hammond’s practice has historically been defined by a focus on works that prominently feature green and metallic pigments. That Last Nightjar in Congested Sky outperformed almost every other work by Hammond ever offered on the secondary market indicates that demand for the artist’s work continues to grow, with collectors now exhibiting a refined, in-depth knowledge of the artist’s conceptual concerns.

Webb’s has a long-established history as the leading auction house for Hammond’s practice; this was heralded by the sale of Fortified Gang Headquarters for the record figure of $326,250 in 2008, which stands as the highest price ever achieved for a work by a living New Zealand artist at auction. Of the top 50 results achieved for the artist’s work at auction, Webb’s holds a market share of 70%. Further, when reviewing the results achieved for major paintings

by Bill Hammond over the last 12 months, Webb’s has controlled the lion’s share of the market place. During this period, the total turnover of the market for paintings by Hammond was $729,650. Of this total, Webb’s share of the market was in excess of 92% by value. In addition to the recent sale of Last Nightjar in Congested Sky, Webb’s also transacted the sale of At the Flood for $230,000 during this period. In addition to this, a number of exceptional results were achieved for smaller-format works.

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Bill Hammond Last Nightjar in Congested Sky (detail) 2004, 1800mm x 3600mm (overall)

Last Nightjar in Congested Sky is a bravura display of Hammond’s technical ability. In applying oil directly to an unforgiving ground of raw Belgian linen, the artist’s choice of materials followed a minimalist ethos and allowed him no room for error or alteration.

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Ralph Hotere Vidyapati’s Song Achieved $222,800 March 2013

Vidyapati’s Song belongs to Hotere’s seminal series of Song Cycle banners; its impressive scale and vertical format present like an abstracted waterfall, while its speckled, splattered paintwork and downwards directional thrust evoke the rain imagery of the poem by Bill Manhire which adorns its lower edge.

This work is one of only two from Hotere’s series of Song Cycle banners to ever have been made available to the auction market; the first was presented almost a decade ago. Critically, the works are highly regarded because they form a bridge between Hotere’s severe abstraction of the 1970s and the expressive work that he would make in the mid to late 1980s. The price of $222,800 achieved for Vidyapati’s Song was, by far, the highest figure realised for a work by Ralph Hotere in a traditional, mixed-vendor offering held in the last 12 months.

During this period, the market has been offered two single-vendor collections holding a high number of works by Hotere. Even so, of the major works by Hotere sold during this time, results show that Webb’s has held 55% of market share and that our two closest competitors have held 30% and 14% shares respectively. That we continue to serve as the most-effective service provider to those seeking to release works by Hotere is not surprising, as Webb’s played a pivotal role in the rise and development of the secondary market for the artist’s practice. Recent results demonstrate that Webb’s unique approach to marketing continues to drive the highest level of new investment in this area of market.

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Ralph Hotere Vidyapati’s Song 1979, 3040mm x 912mm

The Whitening Snows of the Venerable Elder Atama Paparangi Achieved $258,000 March 2013 Chief of the Taumia hapu of Te Rarawa Iwi, Atama Paparangi (1817 – 1917) was a revered warrior who fought alongside Tamati Waka Nene against Hone Heke at Kororareka. Depicting the sitter in exacting, photorealistic detail – from the incised linear indents of his moko to the lustre of his whakakai pounamu – The Whitening Snows is an important record of one of Goldie’s favoured sitters.

Having been painted in 1913, The Whitening Snows of the Venerable Elder Atama Paparangi belongs to Goldie’s important body of early portraits. The artist’s works painted before 1920 are typified by a higher level of surface detail than is present in his later work. In the recent market, the availability of male subjects from this period has become increasingly scarce. While some examples have been available, it has been a decade since a chiefly male subject from as early as 1913 has been made available to collectors.

Over the last 12 months, Webb’s has convincingly led the market for Goldie’s work. Of the five major portraits that we have offered, all have sold above estimate for a combined total of $1,194,750. Accordingly, during this period, Webb’s has held a market share that is 62% greater than that of our closest competitor in this sector of the market.

This, in turn, has allowed us to foster a focused and dedicated base of active collectors of Goldie’s work. The results achieved over the last 12 months included a new record for a female subject with the sale of No Koora Te Cigaretti, a Portrait of Mihipeka Wairama, Tuhourangi for $339,250.

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Charles Frederick Goldie The Whitening Snow of Venerable Elder Atama Paparangi 1913, 297mm x 215mm (oval)

Charles Goldie

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Michael Illingworth While What lies beneath these fragments of reference? was born out of Illingworth’s disdain for ‘phony’, middle-class suburbia, residing at the heart of the work is a calm pervasiveness and respect for nature and transcendence, which hark back to more-traditional modes of existence.

Prior to being offered at auction in March of this year, What lies beneath these fragments of reference? had not been seen by the public since it was first exhibited in Illingworth’s seminal solo exhibition Paintings with no titles to obey, held at Barry Lett Gallery in 1967. Notably, the entire exhibition of 17 paintings was purchased by a single buyer and it was from their collection that this work was released for sale. The work was in remarkably good condition, a factor that strongly influences the market for Illingworth’s work. The fact that What lies beneath these fragments of reference? achieved an exemplary result serves to demonstrate that, in the current market, modernist works, which are representative of the artist’s most-celebrated practice and are of superior provenance and condition, generate the highest level of competition.

The figure of $158,300 achieved for What lies beneath these fragments of reference? is the highest price that a private collector has paid at auction for a work by Illingworth in over seven years. Webb’s has long held a preeminent position in the market for Illingworth’s practice. Of all auction transactions for works by Michael Illingworth, Webb’s market share is in excess of 50% by value whereas that of our closest competitive colleague is 27%. Further, with regard to just the top ten record prices at live auction, Webb’s market share increases to 63%.

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Michael Illingworth What lies beneath these fragments of reference? 1964, 600mm x 755mm

What lies beneath these fragments of reference?

Achieved $158,300 March 2013

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Evelyn Page Breakfast at Hobson Street Achieved $193,500 March 2013

It is very seldom that works by Page are made available to the auction market. To this end, aside from Breakfast at Hobson Street, only four other examples of the artist’s sought-after figurative practice from her late period (1970 – 1980) have ever been offered. While the artist’s earlier works were influenced by cornerstone Canterbury modernists such as her mentor Sydney Lough Thompson, her later practice delved into a lyrical mode of abstraction that set her aside from the trend towards reductive modernism that was prevalent in New Zealand during the 1970s.

Looking back on the history of the secondary market for Page’s late work, it is evident that Webb’s influence is inextricably present in both its rise and its development. Of the four previous major figurative works that had been offered, three of those were presented by Webb’s. Included in these results was the record price of $209,000 achieved for Nude with Magnolias in 2002. While the nature of Breakfast at Hobson Street’s subject matter sat somewhat outside that which had previously performed well on the auction market, the market recognised and responded to the work’s rarity. Further, the fact that the work had never before been offered in a public setting and was of superior, wholly original condition served to compound the interest in it.

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Evelyn Page Breakfast at Hobson Street 600mm x 810mm

Painted when Page was in her late 70s, Breakfast at Hobson Street is a personal work that depicts her husband, musician Frederick Page, enjoying breakfast at the couple’s Wellington home. This is one of the most important examples of Page’s practice held in private ownership and it employs her highly celebrated, fauvist-inspired approach to colour and line.

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Charles Goldie Ngatirea (Daydreams) Achieved $152,500 March 2013

Painted in the romantic style defined by Goldie’s late-career practice, Ngatirea (Daydreams) features a looser handling of brush and comparatively richer tonalities than do the artist’s more-rigid early works. In this work, we see Goldie return to and further develop the approach that he had successfully honed at the Academie Julian in Paris during the 1890s.

In recent years, the market has given the highest level of focus to works by Goldie which are painted in the photorealistic manner for which he is best known. Further, in terms of subject matter, works which have depicted sitters who are wearing traditional dress or are adorned with visible ta moko have generally garnered the highest competition. Accordingly, the style and subject matter of Ngatirea (Daydreams) sat somewhat outside of the criteria for which the auction market had previously shown strong demand. Ngatirea (Daydreams) is a mature work in which the artist not only continued his agenda to document the culture, traditions and likeness of the tangata whenua but also sought engagement with his sitter on a more emotive level.

That Ngatirea (Daydreams) was met with a strong level of competitive bidding and achieved a figure that was within the upper bracket of its estimate range serves as a demonstration of both the health of the Goldie market and the effectiveness of Webb’s marketing processes. The price of $152,500 that the work achieved is within the vicinity of some recorded figures achieved for more-typical female portraits only a few years ago. As the market for Goldie’s practice continues to rise, it has become a regular occurrence for works to achieve figures at the mid-high end of their estimate range. This occurred with four of the five works by Goldie that Webb’s has offered during the last 12 months.

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Charles Frederick Goldie Ngatirea (Day Dreams), Natarua Hangapa - Arawa Tribe 1938, 300mm x 245mm

Pat Hanly Torso A Achieved $76,200 March 2013

Hanly’s Torso series saw the artist return to depicting the human form after a period of more than half a decade in which he abandoned figurative painting. Depicting its sitter in an angular, jagged semblance, Torso A is an unapologetic celebration of the imperfect nature of the human condition.

While Pat Hanly’s figurative paintings of the 1970s are some the artist’s most iconic images, good examples from this period are scarcely made available to the auction market. Further, when assessing the relative value of such works, the market has specific criteria. In order for a figurative painting by Hanly to perform well, its composition must be balanced, its palette must be highly keyed and finely nuanced, and its condition must be perfect. With regard to these criteria, Torso A was a distinguished example. Fittingly, its sale price of $76,200 is the highest figure ever achieved for a painting from the Torso series.

Over the last 12 months, a total of four major works by Hanly, all from different periods, has been sold on the auction market. Half of these sales were transacted by Webb’s and, by value, Webb’s held a share of this area of the market that was 62% greater than that of our closest competitor in the secondary market for modern New Zealand paintings.

Once again, the key to Webb’s success in this area of the market has been our ability to develop and sustain a dedicated core of collectors who are actively engaged with Hanly’s practice.

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Pat Hanly Torso A, 1977, 670mm x 645mm

Milan Mrkusich Themes and Variations II Achieved $71,500 March 2013

In Themes and Variations II, form is defined only by subtle chromatic shifts and is arranged according to an invisible grid. Dominated by a field of immersive blue, this is a refined example of Mrkusich’s mid-1960s’ practice.

The work is an exploration of the symbolic potential of graphic imagery.

The figure of $71,500 achieved for Themes and Variations II is the highest price ever realised for a work from this period in the artist’s career. While Mrkusich’s practice has a long history of auction market sales, of which Webb’s has transacted a share of 57% by value (against the 30% share held by our closest competitive colleague), good examples from the mid-1960s’ are scarce. Contextually, this period in the artist’s career is of profound significance as it saw him refine his use of circular and straight-edged symbols. It was in these works that the artist first began to use repeated symbols, assembling them in an almost-musical manner.

Themes and Variations II is a highly successful example of an important period in the artist’s practice and the outstanding result achieved in its sale was once again a by-product of the market’s increasing level of focus on high-quality works of academic and historical significance. Collectors carefully assessed the work’s condition and the fact that it was found to be perfect ensured a high level of competitive interest. While it is typically fortuitous that an artwork has not seen previous exposure to the auction market, Themes and Variations II had been offered through another service provider in recent history. Thus, the fact that the sale price achieved by Webb’s more than doubled the low estimate and far exceeded the upper estimate stands as a testament to the effectiveness of Webb’s marketing reach.

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Milan Mrkusich Themes and Variations II 1966, 1165mm x 1165mm

Forthcoming Auctions Consign now

Important Paintings & Contemporary Art - JULY 2013 Entries close 10 June 2013

New Zealand’s Premier Auction House 18 Manukau Road Newmarket, Auckland 1149 New Zealand P +649 524 6804 auctions@webbs.co.nz

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Bill Hammond Show Business (detail) 1990, 593mm x 493mm Achieved $15,250 March 2013

A2 Art - May 2013 Entries close 23 April 2013

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