Brett Whiteley Masterpiece To Set New Australian Record
Henri’s Armchair (1974-75) – from the Whiteley’s Lavender Bay series – displays the artist’s studio home over Sydney Harbour.
Henri’s Armchair (1974-75) – from the Whiteley’s Lavender Bay series – displays the artist’s studio home over Sydney Harbour.
Despite a tumultuous year across the country, Australian auction houses have been fairing reasonably well with the smart money strongly supporting art investment. With that in mind, a Brett Whiteley masterpiece is set to break an Australian art record this week when it goes under the hammer in Sydney.
Presented by Menzies Art Brands, Henri’s Armchair (1974-75) – from the Whiteley’s Lavender Bay series – displays the artist’s studio home over Sydney Harbour across an impressive 195cm by 302cm canvas.
Menzies Art Brands has attached a $5-$7 million price estimate to the masterpiece, which, if the upper end is achieved, will make it the highest value Australian artwork to sell at auction.
“The scale, subject matter, provenance, exhibition history, literary referencing and ‘freshness to market’ of Henri’s Armchair are all factors that make it one of the most valuable Australian paintings to ever be offered for sale on the secondary market,” says Justin Turner, Menzies Art Brands’ head of art.
The previous record currently sits at $5.4 million, achieved by a Sidney Nolan painting a decade ago that is now part of the permanent collection at the Art Gallery of NSW.
Whiteley is one of Australia’s most celebrated artists – a dual Archibald Prize winner he remains the only Australian artist to have won the Archibald, Sulman and Wynne prizes in the same year.
The prized artwork will go under the hammer Thursday 7 pm AEST, November 26 at Menzies’ Sydney gallery as a single lot.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
China’s economic recovery isn’t gaining the momentum money managers are awaiting.
Data from China Beige Book show that the economic green shoots glimpsed in August didn’t sprout further in September. Job growth and consumer spending faltered, while orders for exports came in at the lowest level since March, according to a monthly flash survey of more than 1,300 companies the independent research firm released Thursday evening.
Consumers’ initial revenge spending after Covid restrictions eased could be waning, the results indicate, with the biggest pullbacks in food and luxury items. While travel remains a bright spot ahead of the country’s Mid-Autumn Festival, hospitality firms and chain restaurants saw a sharp decline in sales, according to the survey.
And although policy makers have shown their willingness to stabilise the property market, the data showed another month of slower sales and lower prices in both the residential and commercial sectors.
Even more troubling are the continued problems at Evergrande Group, which has scuttled a plan to restructure itself, raising the risk of a liquidation that could further destabilise the property market and hit confidence about the economy. The embattled developer said it was notified that the company’s chairman Hui Ka Yan, who is under police watch, is suspected of committing criminal offences.
Nicole Kornitzer, who manages the $750 million Buffalo International Fund (ticker: BUIIX), worries about a “recession of expectations” as confidence continues to take a hit, discouraging people and businesses from spending. Kornitzer has only a fraction of the fund’s assets in China at the moment.
Before allocating more to China, Kornitzer said, she needs to see at least a couple quarters of improvement in spending, with consumption broadening beyond travel and dining out. Signs of stabilisation in the housing market would be encouraging as well, she said.
She isn’t alone in her concern about spending. Vivian Lin Thurston, manager for William Blair’s emerging markets and China strategies, said confidence among both consumers and small- and medium-enterprises is still suffering.
“Everyone is still out and about but they don’t buy as much or buy lower-priced goods so retail sales aren’t recovering as strongly and lower-income consumers are still under pressure because their employment and income aren’t back to pre-COVID levels,” said Thurston, who just returned from a visit to China.
“A lot of small- and medium- enterprises are struggling to stay afloat and are definitely taking a wait-and-see approach on whether they can expand. A lot went out of business during Covid and aren’t back yet. So far the stimulus measures have been anemic.”
Beijing needs to do more, especially to stabilise the property sector, Thurston said. The view on the ground is that more help could come in the fourth quarter—or once the Federal Reserve is done raising rates.
The fact that the Fed is raising rates while Beijing is cutting them is already putting pressure on the renminbi. If policy makers in China wait until the Fed is done, that would alleviate one source of pressure before their fiscal stimulus adds its own.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual