Archives

Aboriginal Benefits Foundation Fundraising Art Auction Sunday 13th November 2011 2–4 pm Entertainment by dancers from NAISDA Dance Collage (National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Association) Location – STILLS GALLERY – 36 Gosbell Street, Paddington, Sydney Tax deductible donation at the door Warmun Art Centre Flood Damage On Sunday 13 November, the Aboriginal Benefits Foundation is …

Adrian Newstead The last-second discovery of an extremely rare 1972 Clifford Possum board in New York, and the sale of the entire Paddy Bedford Estate, have set the scene for a fascinating end to the 2011 Aboriginal art calendar. With Mossgreen absenting itself from Aboriginal art sales until 2012, and Deutscher and Hackett opting for …

It was expected to ignite collector interest, but Bonham’s first Aboriginal art auction on June 28th disappointed an almost all counts. Specialists Francesca Cavazzini, Greer Adams and Tim Klingender had more than a year to prepare for the launch of their new department. Yet they offered an underwhelming catalogue that was overburdened with uninspiring and recycled works. The new Bonham’s Australia Chairman, Mark Frazer, delivered the sale to a room of just 60 people. By night’s end they had achieved $893,820 including BP. Not one painting sold for more than $100,000 though 5 sold between $60,000 and $81,600. The final result? – just 42% by value and 47% by volume.

On results alone you would be forgiven for thinking that D’Lan Davidson’s second Aboriginal art sale was a failure. The Directors of Sotheby’s Australia have, however, a great deal to be happy about.

In November 2010 Bonham’s announced that two former staff from the Aboriginal Art department at Sotheby’s Australia, Francesca Cavazzini and Greer Adams, had been employed as specialists in charge of their new Aboriginal Art Department. Chairman Robert Brooks also announced that Tim Klingender (former Director of Aboriginal Art at Sotheby’s Australia) would take on the role as Senior Consultant in order to advise on all aspects of its operation.

The catalogue is everything one would expect of a top rate Sotheby’s sale. High quality artifacts and carvings, old bark paintings, early western desert boards, Papunya Tula acrylic paintings, and Hermannsburg watercolours abound. These in fact constitute 129 lots, or 73% of this 176-lot offering. Ninety-one items (52%) were created prior to 1980 while only twenty-four (14%) were created post 2000.