The Langham Sydney makeover
1 August 2014Gourmet Traveller
Making a five-star hotel feel like home is the challenge under way at The Langham Sydney - though four months and $30 million is a fine start.
In The News
Jeffrey Smart work reveals a Road less travelled
29 July 2014The Australian | Michaela Boland
A JEFFREY Smart “mystery painting” has surfaced in Sydney after having been owned by the same family since it was bought from South Yarra Gallery in Melbourne 42 years ago.
Chinese antiques lead Sotheby's Australia July sale
25 July 2014Blouin ArtInfo | Nicholas Forrest
Sotheby’s Australia has brought together an eclectic range of desirable art and objects for their July 29 Fine Asian, Australian & European Arts & Design auction in Melbourne.
Famous duck painting Sotheby's auction highlight
25 July 2014Australian Auction Review | Richard Brewster
Sotheby’s Australia forthcoming Fine Asian, Australian & European Arts & Design Melbourne auction will highlight the painting Ans Ufer (Enten) by German artist Alexander Koester, famous for his painting of ducks.
Ducks get top billing among arts, design, weaponry
24 July 2014Australian Financial Review | Peter Fish
Bristling weaponry, paintings and fine Asian furniture will be on show at Sotheby’s Australia in Melbourne from July 24, prior to going under the hammer on Tuesday, July 29.
Australian Financial Review | Peter Fish
Last week’s sale of the Tom Roberts’s portrait Miss Minna Simpson at an auction record for the artist of close to $1 million could signal a reawakened interest in Australia’s Heidelberg School artists as well as highlighting what may well be a shift in sentiment towards more traditional paintings.
No Cuts to Art Prices at Sotheby’s
15 May 2014Australian Art Sales Digest | David Hulme & Brigitte Banziger
A large number of the 101 lots at Sotheby’s on budget day bore low estimates, promising a cut to prices. The venue of choice, the aptly named Treasury Lounge at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney’s CBD, raised the hopes of many to bag some bargain art on the night. International auctioneer Martin Gallon was in fine form and brimming with confidence, and in the end did not deliver any cuts at all: with 113.5% sold by value and 71.3 % sold by volume, the evening brought a total of $5,569,910 IBP.
In a tale of two auctions
14 May 2014The Australian Financial Review | Peter Fish
Even a towering effort by the late Fred Williams couldn’t save Bonhams’ important fine art sale in Sydney on Monday, with a big tally of unsold paintings heading back to disappointed vendors and only a handful of respectable prices.
But the Sotheby’s Australia sale the following night – the night of Treasurer Joe Hockey’s “horror” budget – was seemingly a world apart, recording exceptional prices and artist records.
Sotheby’s Australian art sale exceeds estimate
14 May 2014The Australian | Michaela Boland
SOTHEBY’S Australia’s first Important Australian Art sale for the year delivered good theatre.
Blouin ArtInfo | Nicholas Forrest
Sotheby’s Australia will offer a repatriated Sidney Nolan painting entitled “Ned Kelly: Kelly and Horse” 1955 (estimate $300,000-400,000) as part of their May 13 Important Australian Art auction in Sydney. The painting has been in private hands in London for nearly sixty years.
The Australian | Michaela Boland
Rare Buddha tops Sotheby’s comeback sale
24 April 2014Australian Financial Review | Peter Fish
Sotheby’s Australia appears to have comfortably exceeded its financial targets with its Sydney sale of arts and design last week, helped along by a couple of surprises.
Sotheby’s Australia decision to relaunch its Arts and Design sales in Sydney has paid dividends with the company’s April 15 Fine Asian, Australian, and European Arts and Design sale achieving a total of AU$2.3 million including Buyer’s Premium and figures of 73% by volume and 134% by value.
When platypus was fair game for farmers
15 April 2014The Australian | Michaela Boland
SOTHEBY’S Australia tonight auctions a rare blanket made from platypus pelts. The 95cm by 125cm rug is one of only a very small number to have survived from the turn of the 20th century, when it was permissible to hunt the semiaquatic mammals.
Blouin Artinfo | Nicholas Forrest
Sotheby’s Australia has re-launched its Arts and Design sales in Sydney, the first of which will be the auction house’s April 15 Fine Asian, Australian, and European Arts and Design sale. Bringing together a wide range of objects including items of furniture, ceramics, silver, and some wonderful paintings, the sale is an eclectic affair with some notable highlights.