Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Aboringal Art Market Goes Global

June 29, 2011 by Marion Maneker

Rebecca Thurlow of the WSJ’s Scene Asia blog is tracking the Aboriginal art market. There’s good news and bad news. The bad news was that yesterday’s sale at Bonhams was a bust even though the firm had planted its flag in the Aboriginal auction market:

Of the 145 items in the catalogue, only 68 lots sold, bringing a total of A$744,168, excluding the auction-house premium. The auction was expected to fetch up to A$1.8 million.

Most of the items that did sell went at the lower end of the estimate range or below it. Another painting by Mr. Thomas, “Booralbun,” featured on the cover of the auction catalog and estimated to sell for A$100,000-A$120,000, brought just A$68,0000. Yet the private collector who sold the work made a solid gain, having bought the work from the Holmes a Court Collection at a Sotheby’s auction for A$46,000 in 1999.

The good news is that new collectors from outside Australia are coming into the market sensing an opportunity and attracted by international tours of Aboriginal art:

“It isn’t going to get any cheaper than this,” said art collector and media consultant Les Margulis who purchased a carved wooden figure by Stanislaus Puruntatameri for A$1,200, below the A$1,500 low estimate.

International interest in the auction proved stronger than local interest, with most buyers of major lots phoning in from the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, London and Singapore.

Aboriginal Art Auction Flops (Scene Asia/Wall Street Journal)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Forlani Defrauded?Forlani Defrauded?
  • All for One; One for AllAll for One; One for All
  • Sotheby’s Announces $12m Picasso to Lead Joan Oestreich Kend CollectionSotheby’s Announces $12m Picasso to Lead Joan Oestreich Kend Collection
  • Halsey Minor’s Unsold San Francisco Home Looted for $300,000 in Fine ArtHalsey Minor’s Unsold San Francisco Home Looted for $300,000 in Fine Art
  • VIP Art Fair Victim of Own Success?VIP Art Fair Victim of Own Success?
  • Sotheby's Has 91% Sell-ThroughSotheby's Has 91% Sell-Through

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor
 

Loading Comments...