I know what I like
A unique collection of early 20th century negatives from a Wanganui studio sold for $50,000 at the two day Fine and Applied Arts Auction at Dunbar Sloane last week.
The Mark Lampe/Tesla Studio Photographic Negative Collection, made up of an estimated 80,000 negatives spanning the years 1931 to 1955, portrays a glimpse of early Wanganui life through portraits, school photographs and weddings, with many of servicemen taken during the Second World War.
Auctioneer and valuer Bettina Frith says that, though there is still some anxiety in the art market and many of the works sold for under their estimated value, she is pleased with the outcome.
“We’re quite pleased with the result,” she says.
“An estimate is only an estimate - some works went well over theirs so it goes both ways.
“It’s still a very good market, although both sides, buyers and sellers, are still a little cautious.”
A J Douglas Perrett painting which was sent to London in about 1900 for a display of New Zealand art also fetched a high price, the $21,000 it reached far eclipsing the pre-auction estimate of $6,000-10,000.
Overall, the auction took in more than $600,000.
Frith says the art market is more of a buyers’ market with smaller, less expensive items becoming more popular, though in the end it comes down to a matter of personal taste.
“It’s really just what works people liked,” she says.
“After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
The Mark Lampe/Tesla Studio Photographic Negative Collection, made up of an estimated 80,000 negatives spanning the years 1931 to 1955, portrays a glimpse of early Wanganui life through portraits, school photographs and weddings, with many of servicemen taken during the Second World War.
Auctioneer and valuer Bettina Frith says that, though there is still some anxiety in the art market and many of the works sold for under their estimated value, she is pleased with the outcome.
“We’re quite pleased with the result,” she says.
“An estimate is only an estimate - some works went well over theirs so it goes both ways.
“It’s still a very good market, although both sides, buyers and sellers, are still a little cautious.”
A J Douglas Perrett painting which was sent to London in about 1900 for a display of New Zealand art also fetched a high price, the $21,000 it reached far eclipsing the pre-auction estimate of $6,000-10,000.
Overall, the auction took in more than $600,000.
Frith says the art market is more of a buyers’ market with smaller, less expensive items becoming more popular, though in the end it comes down to a matter of personal taste.
“It’s really just what works people liked,” she says.
“After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
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