Appearing in Australia, too, are superbly well curated exhibitions in primary galleries, and exceptional results on the secondary market. High end works by established names like Olsen, Lindsay, and Williams are realizing results two and three times over their estimates, whilst demand for significant works by Whiteley, Namatjira and William Robinson remains strong. The numbers of lots devoted to work on paper by leading houses can comprise as much as 1/3 to 1/2 of all works on offer. For example, in Deutscher Menzies March sale no less than 110 works on paper in the 325 lot sale, went under the hammer. This would seem to indicate that the work on paper trend is well and truly established here.

Throughout April Barrack Gallery will focus on work on paper, with a representative and diverse selection of works by gallery artists and leading names. Included will be a superb early Brett Whiteley drawing of Rome from 1960, oils on paper by Barrack Gallery star Laura Matthews, a selection of print work and crayon & collage by Roar artists David Larwill, Mark Schaller and Pasquale Giardino and introducing the intricate, Moorish inspired ovoid forms of Katy Woodroffe.

This exhibition appeals to both first time buyer and expert alike, with the view to showcasing the wide variety of media, styles and genres of our artist’s works on paper. Join us for a champagne or coffee at Barrack Gallery over this focus month and be at the forefront of collecting in this exciting, specialist medium.

Brenda Colahan 2006
Manager, Barrack Gallery

Barrack Gallery Works on paper - Opening 13 April 2006.  Exhibition current until 10 May.

Media View

Home-grown originals that are fit to print

An exhibition in London at the end of 2009 should do much to enhance the appreciation - and possibly the value - of a medium that is relatively neglected in Australia. The world's premier print-collecting institution, the British Museum, is to mount a survey of Australian print making.

Acquisitions by the museum over the past 20 years mean that modern and contemporary Australian print makers are now being ranked alongside the great masters - Durer, Rembrandt, Hogarth and Goya.

Terry Ingram, Australian Financial Review : Smart Money
25 February 2006

Click here for full article

Christie's bids Australia farewell

One of the world's most prestigious fine art sales houses, Christie's, is closing down its Australian auction operations, saying it will focus on better opportunities in Asia.

While the Australian market has recorded high prices and the firm recorded a $5.3 million take from one auction last week, Christie's has struggled as the third player in a high-cost industry where sales can go offshore or onto the internet.

Terry Ingram, Australian Financial Review
15 March 2006

Click here for full article

Collecting an art for lawyer

CHRISTIE'S auction of the late W.R. Burge collection in Sydney last Monday had the contemporary art market all fired up.

Most investment advisers will suggest waiting until an artist proves themselves with significant sales to big galleries or collections before investing heavily in untried works. Ultimately, this is safe advice, but probably won't result in big long-term profits. Watching local trends and how they reflect overseas moves, as Burge did, is a better bet if you're prepared to risk some capital on a long-term investment.

Antony Davies, The Australian
8 March 2006

Click here for full article

Artists face up to more prize money

The Archibald has always had the prestige, the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize the money. Now, the latter has lots more money.

The Moran family yesterday announced the establishment of a $6 million arts foundation. Interest from the foundation will be used to make the $100,000 Moran prize an annual event - it has been biennial since its 1988 inception - and to set up an annual photographic prize that will also come with $100,000 in booty.

Katrina Strickland, Australian Financial Review, News Section
15 March 2006

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Intriguing image mired in confusing allegory

MARCUS Wills's striking Archibald winner has a backstory as esoteric as its title: The Paul Juraszek monolith (after Marcus Gheeraerts).

Is it the strongest painting in the show? It's an intriguing image, even a fun one, but it's a little too obscure and gimmicky...

Review by Sebastian Smee, The Weekend Australian March 25, 2006

Click here for full article

Rare Brack painting could fetch $2m

"I think that people are realising that the art market has been historically in the last five years a very good place for people to invest," [Justin Miller, chairman of Sotheby's art auction house in Australia] said.

"(And) internationally the fine art market is performing extremely buoyantly at the moment."  The highest price paid for an Australian painting is $2.3 million for a portrait by 19th Century master Frederick McCubbin, which was sold six years ago.

Amy Fallon, The Australian March 31, 2006

Click here for full article

Top Performers

With our focus on work on paper this month, the results listed below include highlights of top performing works in this medium. These Australian artists are currently amongst the markets most sought after.  Art Equity has sold works by all the artists listed and for some, is a representative gallery in NSW. 

• Fred Williams
  A work on paper (gouache) titled Lysterfield by Fred Williams sold for $68,400 at Deutscher Menzies March 15th auction, a figure more than double the low end estimate.
• John Olsen
  Works on paper by John Olsen also achieved exceptional results at Deutscher Menzies' March auction. His Frog Studies watercolour and pastel on paper realised 40,800 against an estimate of $18-$25,000.   A watercolour, gouache & pastel on paper titled Cat & Goldfish Bowl sold for $55,200 and Ah Frog! What joy & love, an ink & wash on paper sold for $11,400 against an estimate of $6-$8,000.

• David Boyd
  David Boyd continues to wow the auction room with higher than estimated hammer prices for his works.  At the Deutscher Menzies March 15th auction, an oil on composition board titled Girl in Apple Tree sold for $28,800- well above the estimate of $14- $18,000. Music and the Angels, an oil and gouache on card had an estimate of $6,500 - 9,000 but sold for $18,600. Children, an oil on canvas sold for $16,800 (estimate: $6,000 - $10,000).  Boyds works had similar success at Bonhams and Goodman March 29 auction.  An oil on canvas titled The Twin Hills sold for $23,900 (estimate: $10-$15,000) and an oil on canvas Eros Showering Down Golden Wattle sold for $29,875 well above the high end estimate of $15,000. According to Artprice.com, 100 USD invested in 1997 in a work by David Boyd had an average value of 578 USD in February 2006.  His auction turnover in 2005 was almost USD500,000, compared with 164,000 in 2002.

• David Bromley
  Bonhams & Bruce sold a large oil painting by contemporary Adelaide artist David Bromley for $25,300.  This was a new world auction record for the artist and a new auction record for any contemporary living South Australian artist.
• Katy Woodroffe
  Tasmanian artist Katy Woodroffe is due to exhibit at the Barrack Gallery at Art Equity in the second half of 2006. Katy has steadily built a career which has received both critical and curatorial recognition, coupled with excellent market success to date. Her highly evocative works are a must see for collectors interested in artworks that marry beautiful imagery with deep emotional intensity.
  A review of a recent Hobart exhibition by The Mercury's Joerg Andersch spoke of the "sheer eloquence of Woodroffe's technique" and the "beautiful imagery" at which you marvel. (Click here for review excerpt).

• Ronnie Tjampitjinpa
  The market appetite for Ronnie Tjampitjinpa's bold and highly spiritual works was evident in our sell-out March exhibition, Their Country.  It was also seen in the auction room at Bonhams and Goodman on March 29 when a Tingari Cycle acrylic on linen sold for $11,353 - more than double the high end estimate ($3,000 - $5,000)

MARKET WATCH

International Art Market
According to global art price monitors, Artprice.com, the international art market achieved record-breaking results in 2005. Turnover of fine art sales for the year hit US$4.15 billion against US$3.6 billion the previous year - largely a result of a price increase of 10.4% following on from a 99% rise already recorded in 2004.

The 2005 auction data illustrated that the drawings segment represented almost 24.4% of total fine art transactions and 12.7% of turnover (up from 11.6% in 2004.  Clearly in boom times, this segment posted the sharpest price rises of all fine art categories.

Australian Art Market

The art market was abuzz in March with heady auction activity, contradicted by the shock news of Christie's pull-out of Australia.  A sale of Australian, international and contemporary paintings on April 10 in Melbourne will be Christies final showdown.  The news came soon after Christie's hugely successful sale of the W.R.Burge Collection in Sydney which, with a 98% clearance rate, grossed $4.89 million.  Many sale prices were well above estimates and a new record auction price in Australia for sculpture was achieved by Robert Klippel's Opus 361 (Eighteen Miniature Constructions). 

In 2005 Christies ranked third with a turnover of $17.3 million against $22.6 million for Deutscher Menzies and $33 million for Sotheby's.  Christie's denies its stiff competition for the closure of its Australian operations and plans to pursue opportunities in Asia. 

Deutscher Menzies recorded some spectacular results at its Australian and international art auction in Sydney on March 15.  The sale totaled $5.67 million with an 80% clearance rate.  Some of the most impressive prices realised were achieved by works on paper including works by John Olsen and Fred Williams (see Top Performers section).  An oil on board by John Perceval, The Hull, Williamstown, estimated to sell for between $60,000 and $80,000, sold for an extraordinary $198,000.  A work by Lin Onus achieved $396,000 after an estimate of $200,000 - $250,000.  Rosalie Gascoigne's All that Jazz fetched $384,000.  Other exceptional sale results were from artworks by Garry Shead, Charles Blackman, Tim Storrier and Bill Henson.

The success of Deutscher-Menzies Brisbane sale on February 22nd however was marred by what appears to be the largest default at an Australian auction in recent times.  Terry Ingram reported in The Australian Financial Review on April 3rd that a single bidder defaulted on $500,000 worth of important works - almost one-quarter of the value of the entire sale.  The bidder has been declared of unsound mind by her psychiatrist.

Bonhams & Goodman's auction of Australian, Aboriginal and International Art - was conducted on March 29th and included pictures from the Angus MacDonald Estate.  An oil by Ethel Carrick Fox, Dans Mon Jardin sold for $143,500 - double the low end estimate.  Two Pro Hart pictures in the sale sold well with Study for Australian Mural fetching $23,000 against estimates of $12,000-16,000 and Landscape with Figures and Motor Car going for $12,145 against a $4,000-6,000 estimate.  Two David Boyd oils also sold impressively - with prices more than double the low end estimate.

Bonhams & Bruce March 21 sale in Adelaide was 95% sold by volume and 96% sold by value - one of the highest sell through rates in the company's 130 year history. The auction achieved a new world auction record for Adelaide artist, David Bromley.  Works by Pro Hart were also sold with spectacular results - two to three times the estimate.

Sotheby's Fine Australian Art auction will be held in Melbourne on April 11th. The Sydney preview had a number of major works on show with the highlight being a John Brack oil on canvas.  The work titled The Bar, a portrait of a barmaid in a Victorian bar could break the record for the highest price paid for a modern Australian painting.  The auction also includes a Brett Whiteley portrait from his Lavendar Bay collection. The painting is expected to fetch as much as $700,000.

Competition winner

Congratulations to Jonathan Pritchard from Victoria, winner of our "$10,000 Art Portfolio" competition which was drawn by Legion Interactive on 14 March 2006.  On receiving the great news from his Art Equity consultant Phil Freeman, Jonathan made the comment...

"As an art lover, I never thought of it as a business. Merging the two creates the best of both worlds making the words 'art appreciation' sound very different."

"The Team at Art Equity has been outstanding in all areas, informative, professional, insightful and accommodating to my budget and needs. Something very different and something very exciting, I would advise this to any who are looking for unique opportunities. "

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SMART PORTFOLIO

The April Premium Portfolio focuses on works on paper and includes works by three founding members of the ROAR group; David Larwill, Mark Schaller, Giardino Pasquale.

The portfolio offers a return of 9% over a period of two years.  Given the performance of these artists over recent years, the opportunity for capital appreciation during the rental period, additional to rental income, is strong. 

ART EQUITY RENTAL PORTFOLIOS enable you to earn income from the art you own.  You purchase an art portfolio starting from around $10,000 which we then rent to the corporate sector.  You will earn income of between 6.5% to 9 per cent per annum from your investment as well as the potential capital appreciation of the artwork over time.