Yesterday
Sotheby’s bets on New York demand for Indigenous art
Several works by Emily Kame Kngwarreye headline an auction estimated to bring make than $4.5 million in sales.
April
Why this early Whiteley went from £200 to $1.2m
Two paintings were brought from the young artist in 1961. Last week one sold for almost four times the other.
March
From £450 to $1m: Early Whiteleys emerge with a rich backstory
In 1961 the young Australian artist paid close attention to the pretty Californian art student who bought two of his works in London.
A Canadian estate sale bargain is about to deliver a 200 times return
A wood carving snapped up at an estate clearance for the price of lunch turns out to be something quite rare and valuable.
February
Barry Humphries’ estate tops $9m as NY Indigenous sale returns
The first works to feature in big local auctions are emerging on the back of a blockbuster sale of Barry Humphries’ personal collection in London.
September 2024
Art lovers turn out in force to snap up works at Sydney Contemporary
Many gallery owners at the art fair, with one eye on the limp art market so far this year, say they have done much better than expected.
August 2024
The surprising home of Indigenous art in Europe
Indigenous art curator Tina Baum is riding a wave of popularity and curiosity in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture
June 2024
Big name Indigenous artists bring the love to Redfern
A high-end auction brings Indigenous art to the people, while Menzies hopes Kirk Douglas can be their hero.
March 2024
From a Darwin backroom to centre stage in Melbourne
Northern Territory’s Anglican Diocese could be $120,000 richer when it sells a painting given to it almost 30 years ago by artist Ginger Riley Munduwalawala.
December 2023
Art sales top $140m but it’s a buyers’ market now
Australian art auction houses largely defied inflation, interest rates and conflict, but the pandemic-era surge has run its course.
November 2023
The great Australian artist who rose to fame in just a decade
A trip to the remote desert land known as Utopia gives a glimpse into the life of Indigenous artist Emily Kam Kngwarray, the subject of a new exhibition.
Like ‘light fittings’: Murdoch family to sell underappreciated art
Three beguiling paintings that for generations hung in obscurity at a Murdoch family grazing property are expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars.
October 2023
Former NAB director’s art collection goes under hammer
Artwork in the estate of a Melbourne business blue-blood who shrugged off a fraud scandal in the 1990s will go under the hammer in Melbourne on October 29.
September 2023
Menzies’ $3m-$5m Indigenous collection to sell, but not at Menzies
The late, controversial Rod Menzies’ collection will be sold by Cooee Art, while records tumbled for several under-appreciated women artists at Leonard Joel.
July 2023
AGNSW has the shiny new gallery, but where’s the new art?
Some critics are saying that it’s just not good enough to open a new building and change virtually nothing in it for an entire year.
May 2023
13 records in New York as buyers spend up on Indigenous art
A European buyer dropped $2.3 million as a host of works sold far beyond their estimates. In Sydney, the Witch of Kings Cross proved auction magic.
March 2023
Women dominate in best Indigenous art sale in a decade
There was no sign of cost-of-living pressures at Deutscher and Hackett’s sale, where estimates were blitzed and total sales topped $3.2 million.
Can Gabori’s giant contemporary Indigenous work set a record?
The artist whose works have been making waves in Europe will test a local market that has been reluctant to spend as much on Aboriginal art as international collectors.
December 2022
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.
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.