ART+OBJECT Closes Most Successful Ever Sale

All five works in the catalogue by Colin McCahon have now sold.


Colin McCahon's Necessary Protection realised $177 290

We have today closed off the April 12th Important Paintings and Contemporary Art auction and in doing so have pulled the curtain down on the strongest art auction of at least the last three or four years and A+O's most successful art auction in our four year history. Post-sale negotiations have taken the sale total to $1 575 000 and signify a marketplace which is far healthier than what we previously had thought. We are now accepting entries for our next multi-vendor art auction which will take place after The Collection of David and Angela Wright, on August 18th. A full list of prices realised will be posted in the next couple of days.

National Business Review

You can read John Daly-Peoples review of our latest sale here: http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/soup-cans-sell-well-art-auction-91213

Christchurch Post-Loss Valuations

James Parkinson and Hamish Coney have just returned from Christchurch where in conjunction with the team from Wrightways Studios they saw over 100 people to conduct post-loss valuations for art and collectables damaged or destroyed in the recent earthquake.

The A+O team were based at the Burnside Rugby Club and were flat out for two days inspecting damaged items and preparing valuations at a discount rate for Christchurch residents who have sadly lost much loved collectables or family heirlooms. The range of material inspected included shattered crystal, damaged ceramics & domestic sculpture and artworks which had suffered substantial or complete damage due to smashed glass and frames.

ART+OBJECT to Participate in the Auckland Festival of Photography

Yvonne Todd, Bo-Drene (lightjet print in an edition of 3)

ART+OBJECT will participate in this year's Auckland Festival of Photography with our Important Photographs Auction featuring the Michael Seresin Collection. This will be the first time an auction house has participated in the annual festival. The festival runs from Friday 3 June – Sunday 26 June. The programme for this, the 8th annual festival, has been announced and will feature more than a hundred exhibitions and events across Auckland. Roberta Thornley is this year's annual commissioned photographer and the highlight of the festival will probably be the Brian Brake Retrospective at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. For more information visit: http://www.photographyfestival.org.nz/. Selected entries and consignments are still invited for the auction.

McCahon Sale Makes Headlines

Both the NZ Herald and the Dominion Post picked up on the sale of the Elias painting for over half a million dollars last night. The below snippet appeared in today's Herald on page 3:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10718892

ART+OBJECT's first major art auction of the year bucks trend of difficult market and economy

In front of a packed house A+O last night delivered the most successful major art auction in recent memory selling over one million dollars of art under the hammer, including the most major McCahon to come to market in over a decade. Some of the highlights included:

Michael Parekowhai, Bill Jarvis $9435

Don Driver, Horizontal Relief $17 155

Andy Warhol, Campbells Soup $25 160

Andy Warhol, Campbells Soup $25 160

Peter Stichbury, Walter Whitlow $60 620

Ralph Hotere, Mungo $20 585

Colin McCahon, He Calls for Elias $571 900

Julian Dashper, Untitled $19 440

Peter Robinson, In this Lost... $59 475

Colin McCahon, Kauri and White Pine $148 690

* all prices include buyer's premium

A Full list of prices realised will be published shortly

Auction Tonight: 6-30pm

McCahon House Trust Function and Peter Simpson Talk

Over 50 people gathered yesterday to hear Peter Simpson give a wonderfully insightful talk on the Elias painting along with the four other McCahon's coming up in Tuesday night's sale. If you missed it you can hear Peter talk at the upcoming Readers and Writers Festival on his other favourite subject, Leo Bensemann.

Christchurch Earthquake Valuations

This Thursday and Friday James Parkinson and Hamish Coney are in Christchurch conducting valuations. They will be accompanied by Wrightway Conservation Studios. You can find them at the Burnside Rugby Club at 405 Avonhead Road between 11:00am and 4:00pm on both days. To make an appointment or to discuss any aspect of the valuation process conatct James Parkinson james@artandobject.co.nz 021 222 8184.

Video Preview for April 12th Important Paintings and Contemporary Art

You can watch Directors Hamish Coney and Ben Plumbly discuss a few of their favourite art works in the upcoming auction in the moving image preview above.

IMPORTANT PAINTINGS AND CONTEMPORARY ART - ON VIEW

McCahon House Trust Function This Saturday at 4:00pm

Peter Simpson, one of the most widely-respected opinions on the art of Colin McCahon and author of the recent Colin McCahon, The Titirangi Years 1953-1959 will discuss the work of Colin McCahon with particular reference to He Calls for Elias and Kauri and White Pine: Domestic Landscape, both of which will be auctioned at A+O next Tuesday, this Saturday at ART+OBJECT. Please join us for a glass of Invivo wine in support of the McCahon House Trust. RSVP to Hamish Coney hamish@artandobject.co.nz

Opening Tuesday