Frances Hodgkins Works To Be Sold At Waiheke Auction

The works of Frances Hodgkins christened ‘The Hidden Portfolio,’ are among 150 lots being auctioned on Waiheke Island on Wednesday, the 20th of February.

The pieces, which were exhibited at Artspace in Ponsonby, Auckland and at the Otago Art Society in Dunedin caused some controversy after their authenticity was challenged by a small group of people deemed Frances Hodgkins experts.

Owner of the works, Andy Boston, said he is very pleased that they are going to auction after years spent authenticating the pieces.

‘The works in ‘The Hidden Portfolio’ probably went straight from Frances Hodgkins studio to the place they spent the next six decades. Because of this there is no trail of exhibitions or dealer’s sales that are usually relied on as provenance. This has meant I have had to thoroughly prove that the works were by Hodgkins through research, forensic testing and a little bit of luck. Fortunately Frances wrote thousands of letters in her more than 40 years overseas and this has helped trace what she was doing, where she was and also how she was feeling’.

‘I am totally confident that all of the 12 pieces in the portfolio are by the hand of Frances Hodgkins and many people who have now seen the exhibition are also convinced of the fact’.

The items in ‘The Hidden Portfolio’ contain three previously unheard of naturalistic self-portraits, three textile designs and a number of portraits of some of the people closest to Hodgkins.

‘I believe it was a folder of very personal and experimental items that were probably not intended for public consumption’, says Boston.

‘All of the information pertaining to ‘The Hidden Portfolio’ is in the auction catalogue and people can read, view the works and make their own minds up.’

The Colony auction catalogue with an emphasis on Kiwiana, Collectables and Decorative Arts is available to view on FB Colony Waiheke.

Online bidding for all of the lots has commenced and will finish with the live auction beginning from 6.30pm on Wednesday 20 February 2019 at Colony in Ostend.

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