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Barton, Boyd and Whiteley lead way as August sales kick off

8 August 2018

Australian Financial Review  |  Peter Fish

​Like her or hate her, no one could argue Del Kathryn Barton's paintings lack detail. But Barton's Farewell, which kicks off Sotheby's art sale this month, packs in five women plus assorted rabbits, birds and cats amid branches and foliage.

NEWS: If you’ve ever wanted to buy a gold tourbillon for $3000 you might just be in luck

7 August 2018

Time+Tide  |  Felix Scholz

Auctions can be funny things. Most of the time the coverage around watch auctions tends towards the record-breaking headlines – the most expensive this, that or the other. But sometimes, thanks to the fact that auctions tend to be a crystallisation of market forces, you can find a hidden gem. Which might just be what lot 179 at tomorrow’s (the 8th of August) Sotheby’s Australia Important Jewels and Watches sale will be.

Sotheby's Australia Returns to the 'Paris End' of Melbourne's Collins Street

3 August 2018

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State of Grace: Important Modernist Interior Emerges for Auction at Sotheby’s Australia

3 August 2018

Consigned by the granddaughter of Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE, Grace Cossington Smith’s highly-acclaimed masterpiece, Fruit in the Window 1957 is offered for auction for the first time by Sotheby’s Australia at its August sale of Important Australian Art (estimate $200,000-250,000, pictured previous). Dr Brown has long been revered as Australia’s most prolific art collector and dealer, Fruit in the Window formed the cornerstone of his personal art collection. With the painting’s particularly distinguished provenance and exhibition history, the composition is a pictorial record of the artist’s domestic environment, a shimmering interior painted in a pointillist manner. In 2014, Sotheby’s Australia achieved the artist auction record of $671,000 for The Window 1956, formerly in the collection of art historian and art-museum curator, Daniel Thomas, and acquired by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. Consigned by the granddaughter of Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE, Grace Cossington Smith’s highly-acclaimed masterpiece, Fruit in the Window 1957 is offered for auction for the first time by Sotheby’s Australia at its August sale of Important Australian Art (estimate $200,000-250,000). Dr Brown has long been revered as Australia’s most prolific art collector and dealer, Fruit in the Window formed the cornerstone of his personal art collection. With the painting’s particularly distinguished provenance and exhibition history, the composition is a pictorial record of the artist’s domestic environment, a shimmering interior painted in a pointillist manner. In 2014, Sotheby’s Australia achieved the artist auction record of $671,000 for The Window 1956, formerly in the collection of art historian and art-museum curator, Daniel Thomas, and acquired by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. (340.02 KB)

Old timers tick on in brace of pocket watch auctions

1 August 2018

Australian Financial Review  |  Peter Fish

An array of vintage pocket watches is about to hit the Melbourne market – a relatively rare offering of several hundred examples that is likely to attract great collector interest. And judging by the attention given to some of the lots at a Sydney preview it could attract a number of new buyers. After all, who would have thought a meticulously worked gold, gem-set or enamelled pocket watch by an eminent 19th century maker could be found for less than $1000?

Precision Timing: One of the Highest Valued Selection of Watches to be Auctioned in Australia

31 July 2018

Geoffrey Smith, Chairman of Sotheby’s Australia commented: ‘One of the most important and comprehensive auctions of watches in Australia will be conducted by Sotheby’s Australia on 8 August 2018 in Melbourne. The cornerstone of this sale is two significant private collections, property from the Late James (Jim) Woodward and property from the Late William (Bill) Hughes. James Woodward was integral to the introduction of high-end European appliances to the Australian market, obtaining the licence to import the Smeg brand. The wristwatches from Jim’s collection are a testament to his connoisseurship of European elegance, design and craftsmanship. Perfectly complimenting this selection, William Hughes’ collection of pocket watches provides a fascinating and comprehensive insight into over 200 years of time-keeping and style.’ Geoffrey Smith, Chairman of Sotheby’s Australia commented: ‘One of the most important and comprehensive auctions of watches in Australia will be conducted by Sotheby’s Australia on 8 August 2018 in Melbourne. The cornerstone of this sale is two significant private collections, property from the Late James (Jim) Woodward and property from the Late William (Bill) Hughes. James Woodward was integral to the introduction of high-end European appliances to the Australian market, obtaining the licence to import the Smeg brand. The wristwatches from Jim’s collection are a testament to his connoisseurship of European elegance, design and craftsmanship. Perfectly complimenting this selection, William Hughes’ collection of pocket watches provides a fascinating and comprehensive insight into over 200 years of time-keeping and style.’ (227.86 KB)

Brett Whiteley’s Multi-Million Dollar Sydney Harbour View to Lead Sotheby’s Australia’s August Sale

26 July 2018

Geoffrey Smith, Chairman of Sotheby’s Australia commented: ‘Harbour (Grey Day) (1978) comes to auction having remained unseen in public for 40 years. The painting beautifully articulates aspects of the Asian aesthetic that appealed so greatly to Whiteley. Here each element of the composition – palm trees, boats, promontories, buildings, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, wharves, bays, together with the great expanse of Sydney Harbour, are applied in a deliberate kind of a calligraphic gesture against a simple, flat, empty background. The painting is a literate, sensual, elegant, and quietly joyous celebration of the good art and the good life; the composition is a quiet exhalation that elevates the soul. Sotheby’s Australia is honoured to offer this rare masterpiece in our August sale of Important Australian Art and we anticipate great excitement from collectors in Australia and internationally.’ Geoffrey Smith, Chairman of Sotheby’s Australia commented: ‘Harbour (Grey Day) (1978) comes to auction having remained unseen in public for 40 years. The painting beautifully articulates aspects of the Asian aesthetic that appealed so greatly to Whiteley. Here each element of the composition – palm trees, boats, promontories, buildings, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, wharves, bays, together with the great expanse of Sydney Harbour, are applied in a deliberate kind of a calligraphic gesture against a simple, flat, empty background. The painting is a literate, sensual, elegant, and quietly joyous celebration of the good art and the good life; the composition is a quiet exhalation that elevates the soul. Sotheby’s Australia is honoured to offer this rare masterpiece in our August sale of Important Australian Art and we anticipate great excitement from collectors in Australia and internationally.’ (197.02 KB)

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