Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

Questioning Art in Hobart

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The Sydney Morning Herald takes a tour of David Walsh’s MONA–Museum of Old and New Art–that is being built in Tasmania:

The last thing he wants to do, though, is to tell people what to think, or make them feel inferior or intimidated. Indeed, he is not averse to sending up the pretensions of the art world, and visitors will be encouraged to have an opinion. People don’t have to like his art; he’s not even sure he likes all of it.

”We don’t know what ‘good’ is,” he says. ”We’re never going to know what ‘good’ is because there is no such thing as ‘good’. There’s taste and there’s style and there’s charisma and pizzazz and charm and chutzpah. We’ve got a million words for describing the same thing and nobody really knows what it is.”

He says while many museums hide behind a cloak of authority and demand quasi-religious faith from their audiences, he wants to do the opposite.

Tasmanian Gamble Turns Art World On Its Head (Sydney Morning Herald)

Goodman Pushed Aside at Sotheby's Australia

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The anodyne statements coming from Sotheby’s Australia to explain the sudden retirement of Tim Goodman–the man who only last year arranged the surprise switch from Bonham’s to Sotheby’s for his Second East Auction Holdings–can’t really explain the abrupt removal of Goodman and the ascent of his erstwhile deputy  Geoffrey Smith. The dry narration in The Australian would lead the casual reader to understand that a very bad year for Sotheby’s Australia amid an overall not-great year for the Australian art market meant Goodman had run out of time with his partners:

Mr Smith said the resale royalty and the threatened changes to self-managed superannuation funds had deterred buyers.

Sotheby’s strategy was to sell fewer lots, but works of “exceptional quality” that had not been on the market previously or for many years, he said.

Mr Smith, who manages the estates of Australian artists James Gleeson and Albert Tucker, said he would also aim to develop the private treaty aspect of the business.

Among the new directors is Mr Smith’s partner, Gary Singer, a former deputy lord mayor of Melbourne and currently Sotheby’s chief executive.

Smith and Singer together own 40% of the auction house.

Local Managers Buy Sotheby’s Branch (The Australian)

Australian Art Stays Up

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The Sydney Morning Herald has some details on Sotheby’s late August sale:

Sotheby’s Australia is also travelling well. Its August 31 sale of Important Australian Art in Sydney exceeded $4.72 million, selling 64 per cent by lot and 77 per cent by value. Top result was for Brett Whiteley’s Shao (Rain Slanted by Wind), which fetched $696,000, within the estimates of $600,000 to $800,000. Other strong results included Jeffrey Smart’s The Steps (sold for $486,000, upper estimate $350,000), Charles Blackman’s The White Tablecloth ($648,000, upper estimate $750,000) and Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly 1957 ($72,000, upper estimate $30,000). The lesser-known Nora Heysen’s Self Portrait 1932 was a pleasant surprise, achieving $168,000. This is more than quadruple her previous record of $35,750 set by Sotheby’s in 2005.

Rarity Has Its Own Rewards (Sydney Morning Herald)

Australia-New Zealand Alliance

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Occasional contributor and Australian art market commentator and participant sends this story from the Australian Art Sales Digest about his new venture:

From the Australian Art Sales Digest 27th August 2010

Commercial art gallery Michael Reid at Elizabeth Bay has established a trans-Tasman art alliance with Webb’s, New Zealand’s premier auction house, after talks over the last two months.

Webb’s is 49% owned by major shareholder, Mowbray Collectables Ltd, which has been listed on the New Zealand stock exchange since 1993.

Mowbray Collectables Ltd. also has a 20% shareholding in First East Auction Holdings Pty. Ltd., whihc owns 100% of Second East Auction Holdings Pty. Ltd, the licencee holder of the Sothebys Australia franchise.

Michael Reid at Elizabeth Bay, in addition to representing Webb’s art auctions in Australia, will be working closely with the auction house to position contemporary New Zealand art- through private treaty sale- into the Australian market.

Conversely, those Australian collectors interested in consigning New Zealand and Australian art to the Kiwi / Australia market may be encouraged by a relatively modest sellers commission; the ease of shipping and an absence of a resale royalty in New Zealand.Continue Reading

Sydney Biennale Brings In 500k

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The Sydney Biennals is over and the tally is big:

More than 517,000 visited the Biennale venues, with an estimated 408,000 additional visitors enjoying the Biennale’s outdoor works in the Royal Botanic Gardens and an innumerable audience experiencing Roxy Paine’s large-scale work, Neuron, on the front lawn of the Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay. Continue Reading

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