September 2023
Mystery of what happened to Andrew Pridham’s $2.5m ‘Whiteley’ solved
The investment banker and Sydney Swans chairman speaks for the first time about being duped in Australia’s biggest alleged art fraud.
January 2023
‘You start to self-censor’: Dark Mofo’s chief on the threat of cancel culture
After a tough two years culminating in a furore, Leigh Carmichael is soon to move on from his role. But first he’ll deliver one more norm-shattering work.
Dark Mofo boss burnt by cancel culture
In the aftermath of the Indigenous blood row, Dark Mofo’s outgoing director Leigh Carmichael says the threat of public outrage is stifling discussion of controversial ideas.
December 2022
National Museum clears controversial $1.3m Rover Thomas donation
After an eight-month investigation, the National Museum of Australia has given the all clear to a contentious $1.3 million painting donated to the institution in 2020.
The 10 top art sales of the year
A record number of women made it into the top ten auction prices this year. That number was two.
Why Melissa Caddick’s discount jewels were bad value for her victims
Fraudster Melissa Caddick paid $1.86 million for her jewels but they were sold for just $720,800. That was a fail for her victims.
Best year since 2007: Deutscher and Hackett set art auction record
The first million dollar sale for a Rosalie Gascoigne work helped the auction house to $52 million in sales for the year.
November 2022
Will buyers pay a premium for Melissa Caddick’s lavish jewellery?
Smith & Singer have taken the unusual step of publishing the eye watering prices the fraudster paid, and the much lower estimates.
Art sale records keep tumbling as collectors spend up
The year-end sales have delivered new highs for Del Kathryn Barton and Albert Namatjira, among others, with rare works from Brett Whiteley and Howard Arkley up next.
Groundbreaking miner’s art collection goes under the hammer
‘Force of nature’ Millie Phillips was a pioneer for women in the mining industry and a dedicated collector of blue-chip Australian artists.
Two paintings with long stories headline year-ending sale
Paintings by Arthur Boyd and Ethel Carrick Fox rediscovered in private collections overseas will hit the secondary market for the first time.
Schofield hands $2m jewellery collection to Powerhouse
Australia’s queen of antique jewellery, Anne Schofield, has given most of her rare and historic collection of gemstone jewellery to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
October 2022
26 paintings sell to one bidder as Cbus sale winds up
An entire exhibition of desert art works from 1990 was the last tranche from Cbus’s collection.
Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger save the day
Andy Warhol’s prints of Mick Jagger and Ingrid Bergman found buyers, but Tracey Moffat’s set of 10 giant-sized photos proved a bridge too far for the market.
US election pushes buttons at toy sale
Clive Evatt’s collection of US election badges estimated at $400 sells for $10,000 in a five-day sale of the contents of the Leuralla toy museum.
Record expectations for Tracey Moffatt photo series
The Indigenous artist’s suite of 10 works has been consigned from the Balnaves Collection and has an expected range of $350,000 to $450,000.
September 2022
Which woman artist will make an impact this time?
If the last couple of years are any guide, a sale dedicated to women artists could bring overdue recognition to a few more forgotten Australian painters.
Cost of living crisis? Not at this $10m art sale
The market is so strong that Deutscher and Hackett is on track to have the best year for an Australian auction house since before the GFC.
Art fair sales point to young artists on the rise
Sydney Contemporary saw sales aplenty, from six-figure sums for rising contemporary stars to sellouts for art school students making waves.
From German WWII prisoner to important Australian modernist
German-Australian artist Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack might not be a household name, but his reputation in the art world is expected to deliver strong results for his abstract works.