The Age reports on Melbourne’s Aboriginal art auction that suffered badly despite a strong showing in Sydney. The Aboriginal art market has been hit hard in recent years even before the overall art market softened up around the world.

Barely half of the 265 works offered at Deutscher and Hackett’s inaugural Aboriginal art auction last night sold, fetching a total of $1.3 million, including commissions.

Executive director Chris Deutscher, who had been hoping for a $2 million sale, was disappointed. “I think we all know we are heading into uncharted waters,” he said. “There were a lot of works that we were sure would sell. I would have predicted a 70 per cent sale rate. It was patchy and a lot of the middle to high priced works didn’t sell.

Downturn Hits Auction Hard (The Age)