Art's awesome foursome drive sales through roof

By ANGELA GREGORY

Fine art sales through New Zealand's three major auction houses shot up 40 per cent in value in 2003 but the boom is expected to soon start levelling out.

Figures released by art financier company Index Group show art is an increasingly popular investment in New Zealand and gaining significant value.

Index Group managing director Adam Parore - the former New Zealand cricketer - said he collated sale figures from the 40 top-selling artists sold through the International Art Centre, Dunbar Sloane and Webbs.

Mr Parore said new entrants flocked into the sale rooms last year, pushing the market turnover up forty per cent on 2002 and grossing a total of $13.65m.

Mr Parore said the art sales dynamic was similar to the property market with New Zealanders preferring to invest in tangibles.

People were also feeling better off and more able to invest in extras.

"If your house has gone up in value $300,000 you're going to feel richer."

Art sales were also helped by low interest rates and a strong economy. "The economic climate of the last three years has been very favourable."

But Mr Parore picked that sale volumes would consolidate in the next couple of years and build a platform before taking off again.

Contemporary art was performing better than historical art, with the rare exception of traditional artists like Charles Goldie and Frances Hodgkins.


Mr Parore said the "awesome foursome" of Ralph Hotere, Colin McCahon, Bill Hammond and Hodgkins further increased their market dominance.

In 2002 that group accounted for $3.48m in sales or 36 per cent of turnover. In 2003 they accounted for $7.07m in sales and 51 per cent of market turnover.

Mr Parore said Hotere continued his record-breaking spree surpassing the marks he set in 2002 to rack up records for the highest number of works sold (99) and the highest turnover by a New Zealand artist at $2.52 million.

In September he became the first artist to gross $2 million in sales.

McCahon joined Hotere by year end in the $2m club with a total of $2.03 million.

Mr Parore said outside of the big names a new wave of younger artists like Peter Robinson were beginning to sell consistently.

Further proof of a buoyant New Zealand art market came through this week with the first dedicated online fine arts auction. Managing director of Fishers Online Auctions, John Fisher said he was ecstatic at the response, which saw 30 works on offer and turnover of $1.2 million.