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A large audience gathered at Deutscher and Hackett’s Melbourne premises on the evening of Wednesday 26th for the Important Fine Art and Aboriginal Art Auction.
Highlights of the evening included Del Kathryn Barton, Satellite Fade-Out 2, 2011, which reached an auction record for the artist of $204,000 against an estimate of $80,000- 120,000. The artist’s former highest price at auction was $192,000 for Keeper of the Polka-Dotts, 2004, which sold at Deutscher and Hackett in August 2011.
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Two spectacular and rare Bronwyn Oliver sculptures attracted keen interest with Bloom, 1998, selling for $192,000 and Inscription, 2000, selling for $156,000.
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Cressida Campbell, Berry Island, 1992, a hand painted and incised woodblock, with an estimate of $45,000-60,000, sold for an auction record for the artist of $78,000. Campbell’s, Self Portrait, 1988, became the highest price paid for a painting by the artist, eclipsing the work’s estimate of $8,000-12,000 it sold for $45,600.
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Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Dots (HRT), 2001, sold for $492,000 against an estimate of $200,000 - 300,000, indicating the strong local and international appreciation for the New York based Japanese artist.
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Brett Whiteley, Sydney Harbour in the Rain, 1976, from his acclaimed Lavender Bay series, had an estimate of $350,000-450,000 and was purchased for $504,000.
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Eric Thake, Self Portrait in a Broken Shaving Mirror, 1945, a gouache from his time as an Official War Artist, attracted strong bidding and sold for $60,000, an auction record for a work on paper by the artist and well above the estimate of $25,000-35,000.
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Rover Thomas, Gulabal-Snake, 1989, painted at the peak of the artists’ career sold for $144,000 against an estimate of $80,000 - 120,000.
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Works by Lloyd Rees, Howard Arkley, Jeffrey Smart, Narelle Jubelin and international artists William Kentridge, Yinka Shonibare & Roy Lichtenstein also performed well during this successful final sale for the year.
Deutscher and Hackett are now consigning for auctions to be held in early 2015.
*All sold prices above include buyer’s premium