Auction Of Works By Respected Women Artists Brings Record Prices

A unique auction of works by women artists has attracted many bids with some of the works selling for record prices and well above their predicted upper limits.

The auction featured some of the country’s highly respected women artists and many of the works in the Women in Art auction at the International Art Centre in Parnell, attracted 20 or 30 bids before they were sold.

The auction featured works by some of the most highly regarded and respected women artists, including Louise Henderson, Kushana Bush, Helen Flora Scales, Rhona Haszard, Frances Hodgkins and numerous others.

One of the works, The Return of the Prodigal Son, by French-born, New Zealand artist, Dame Louise Henderson, was passed in with a bid of $70,000 after it was earlier predicted to bring between between $100,000 and $150,000.

Henderson was born in France but moved to Christchurch with her husband, New Zealand school teacher, Herbert Henderson, after they married in 1925. She is considered to be one of New Zealand’s greatest painters and a pioneer of modern abstraction.

An untitled work by notable Wellington born Helen Flora Scales, sold for a record price of just under $39,000, which included the buyer’s premium and GST. The previous record for a Scales work was $16,000 for a work sold by the International Art Centre in 2016..

A Kushana Bush work, Sleeping with Lobsters, also sold for a record price of slightly over $39,000, including the buyer’s premium and GST.

Richard Thomson, director of the International Art Centre and the auctioneer for the sale, said it was the second sale the centre had held of women artists only and attracted interest from throughout New Zealand and overseas.

Grace Alty, a co-ordinator for the auction, said the popularity of women artists was shown by the number of very competitive bids received for many of the works.

“They were so popular because they were so good. For some of them we had more than 35 bids and many of those bids were well above what we thought they would bring.”

An untitled work by Thames-born artist Rhona Haszard, who died in 1931, was found in an Auckland opportunity shop and after 35 bids sold for just over $11.000, including buyer’s premium and GST. Many of her works were lost or destroyed after she died in 1931.

Mr Thomson said the auction featured numerous rare and sought after works.

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