As before, I’ve focused on recognisable artists and works that appear reasonably often at auction. Most of my picks sit below $10,000. In many cases, they are closer to $1,000. That makes them a much more realistic entry point into artists whose major paintings can now sell for hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars.

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Criss Canning (b. 1947)

Criss Canning is an interesting name to watch in this group because her market has strengthened recently, with Gum Blossom from Pootilla setting a new auction record for the artist at $412,500 in 2025. Her prints, by contrast, still appear at much lower levels.

Two prints I would watch out for are Hakea and Other Seed Pods (edition of 60) and Pink Poppies (edition of 50), both capture the botanical subject matter collectors associate with her. Although neither have come up at auction recently, based on previous results, I would expect to pay somewhere between $3,000 to $5,000 for Hakea and around $1,000 for Pink Poppies.

Lin Onus (1948–1996)

Lin Onus is one of Australia’s most important First Nations artists, and his works are instantly recognisable. He brought a contemporary approach to the Australian landscape, often combining reflections, water, animals and traditional rarrk-style patterning.

Onus produced a number of screenprints in the mid-1990s before his death. Four to consider are Gumbirri Garginingi, Gumiring Garkman, Pitoa Garkman and Goonyah Na Bilda (each in editions of 85). These works are typical of his lily pond and reflection imagery, and I would expect to pay around $4,000 to $5,000.

Another print to consider is Michael and I are Just Slipping Down to the Pub for a Minute, the first in the series The Adventures of X & Ray. It features an ochre-striped dingo (Ray) in aboriginal coloured stripes surfing on a cross-hatched stingray (X), atop a Hokusai styled wave. The original painting sold at auction in 2025 for just over $300,000. It was also released as a print in an edition of 48 after Onus’s death. I generally prefer prints made during an artist’s lifetime, but this is such an iconic Onus image that I would make an exception. Expect to pay around $5,000.

Tim Storrier (b. 1949)

Tim Storrier’s most recognisable works are of surreal fires set against desolate landscapes, so I would focus on prints that capture those elements. Broadly, there are two types of prints that Storrier produces. The first are collagraphs, a specific printmaking technique, that usually appear in editions of 70. Ones to watch out for are Night Embers, Evening Line, and The Night Run. These works have sold for around $1,500 to $2,500 in the last year but you can also buy these works directly from the artist’s website for $5,500.

There are also archival pigment prints (usually released in editions of 25) that I believe are prints of his original paintings. These sell at auction for similar prices to the collagraphs.

Although there are paintings with similar subjects and titles, the collagraphs appear to be distinct works, and so for that reason are my preferred prints to buy.

Howard Arkley (1951–1999)

Arkley is one of the hottest names in the Australian auction market right now. In 2025, two of his paintings sold for $2.5 million each. The challenge is that the best Arkley prints are not all cheap. Interior with Built-in Bar, made with Juan Davila, is a major work in its own right and has carried estimates around $45,000 to $55,000. Then there are the prints of the suburban brick house also depicted in his painting Triple Fronted 1988. There appear to be multiple versions of this print in small editions of 5-8, with one of these selling for just under $25,000 last year. That puts these prints outside the shoestring category.

Possibly one of the more underrated buys in the entire auction market are the Zappo Head prints. Arkley started producing these in 1991 as an open edition. The base print appears in black and white, but what makes these interesting is that Arkley then hand coloured many of them in, essentially creating unique works, but they are not priced that way. One of these sold for under $1,000 in 2024 at Lawsons.

For the more classic suburban imagery Arkley is known for, Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, has released print reproductions. These are in editions of 499 and come in small and medium and (sometimes) large sizes. These works include Deluxe Setting, Triple Fronted, House with Native Tree, Riteroom, Nick Cave, and Zappo Head (the latter can be differentiated by the orange background from the same named print above). These sell between $3,000 - $5,000 at auction but have dropped in price from earlier this decade.

David Larwill (1956–2011)

David Larwill is not as blue-chip or as recognisable as other artists in this list, but he’s had hot momentum recently with many works selling at 2 or 3x the low estimates, and is amongst the most traded artists at auction. The works I would focus on are Dog and Yes, both from the mid-2000s and in editions of 50. Recently, these have sold for between $1,000 - $2,500. Though you may even be able to pick one up for less. Two further prints to consider are Hot Head and Blues (each also in editions of 50) that sell for similar prices as above.

Larwill’s best works have a child-like, energetic charm, and that translates well into print. This is a good-value collecting opportunity for someone who wants a lively, fun image by a well-regarded Australian artist without spending heavily.

Tim Maguire (b. 1958)

Tim Maguire’s market is strongest for his large, highly magnified flower and fruit paintings. There are a number of prints from the early 2000s I would focus on that capture Maguire’s signature zoomed in perspective on flowers. These prints include Shadows - Tulip, Shadows - Camelias, and Three Berries (each in editions of 50) and Open Tulip and Closed Tulip (each in editions of 80). These prints can be bought for around $1,000. Another earlier print to consider is Hollyhocks (edition of 30) from 1991 that has sold between $1,000 to $2,000 recently.

Cressida Campbell (b. 1960)

Technically, most of Cressida Campbell’s works are prints. Even those that sell for over $500,000. The difference is that most of these are unique woodblock prints, not conventional editioned prints. That means they are priced as original works rather than affordable multiples.

But one print to watch by Campbell is The Verandah (edition of 99) from 1987, though it is not necessarily cheap. This is an editioned print of the original work that set a record for Campbell’s works. It has sold for between $10,000 to $20,000 recently.

Two other works I would consider that capture Campbell’s style are Vegetable Garden and The Bush (each in editions of 99) both produced a year later in 1988. Vegetable Garden has sold for between $10,000 to $15,000, while The Bush is a smaller work and has sold for around $5,000 recently.

John Kelly (b. 1965)

John Kelly is best known for his absurd, humorous cow images. The cows are often shown in impossible situations: stacked on top of one another, stuck up a tree, or being carried across the landscape. They are funny, but they are also instantly recognisable, which is exactly what you want when buying a print or multiple by a major artist.

Kelly has made various etchings, but these are usually in small editions and do not appear often at auction. The work I would focus on is Cow Up A Tree. This is an open edition laser-cut steel work that is framed and can be displayed like a traditional print. It captures Kelly’s humour and visual identity in a very accessible format. I would expect to pay around $1,000.

Del Kathryn Barton (b. 1972)

Del Kathryn Barton is one of the most important contemporary names in this group with her works now fetching $500,000 at auction. Her works are these highly detailed psychedelic fantasy portraits. The works I would focus on are the three prints from That’s When I was Another Tree (each in an edition of 30), these currently sell for about $4,000 to $5,000 at auction. The Last Night of My Life with Cat is another solid option (also an edition of 30) with the figure and animal combination feeling strongly linked to Barton’s practice. These would be my picks of Barton’s prints.

There are also limited edition digital prints of her major works including Wild Carrot Dream (edition of 25), Those Eyes (edition of 75), and To Love Like This (edition of 150) that sell for around $2,000. And if you want a more toned down version of Barton’s works, then search out the prints from The Nightingale and the Rose series. This is a project inspired by Oscar Wilde’s fairy tale, originally created for an illustrated book. These works include wilder grew her song and the tree shook its head, “my roses are yellow”, it answered (each editions of 30) and sell for around $2,000.

CJ Hendry (b. 1988)

CJ Hendry’s market is very different from the others because it has been built heavily through direct releases, social media and a large international following. She blends fine art, collectables, and collaborations with major brands, in much the same way KAWS, Takashi Murakami, and Daniel Arsham have done. This month she’s had huge success in Sydney with her Flower Market collaboration with Pandora.

Hendry understands contemporary collecting culture extremely well; the risk is that her works may be judged more like hype collectibles than enduring artworks. For those interested in embracing Hendry’s practice, the HOOOOOOPS series is the one I would focus on. These are small prints from an edition of 100, usually sold with the original suitcase packaging. Recent examples such as Barkley, Johnson, Jordan and O’Neal have sold for around $2,000 to $3,000.

Like last week, there are a few names that almost fit this list. But not quite.

Although photographers often work in editions, I’ve chosen not to include them, as I’ll likely look at them separately on another occasion. If you want to get a head start, names to consider include Max Dupain (1911 - 1992), Tracey Moffatt (b. 1960), Michael Cook (b. 1968), Shaun Gladwell (b. 1972). And although better known for her sculptures, Patricia Piccinini (b. 1965) has also produced a number of photography prints.

Two other artists specifically calling out: Garry Shead (b. 1942) is one of Australia’s top contemporary artists and has produced a number of prints, but these have appeared at auction infrequently. Look out for his Annunciation series. Another artist to watch is Brent Harris (b. 1956) who hasn’t achieved the same success as other artists in this list, but has a strong print practice and is well respected in art circles.

What stands out from this group is the range. You can find contemporary still lifes and domestic interiors from Criss Canning, Cressida Campbell and Tim Maguire; surreal fires from Tim Storrier; psychedelic portraits from Del Kathryn Barton; ultra-contemporary collectible editions from CJ Hendry, and the very recognisable works of Howard Arkley.

Many of these artists now have paintings selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. In Arkley’s case, multiple works have sold for more than $1 million. That can make them feel completely unobtainable.

But prints and multiples offer another way in. They are not all bargains, and not every edition by a famous artist is worth chasing. But if you focus on recognisable images, good condition, sensible prices and works that genuinely connect to the artist’s best-known practice, there are still opportunities to collect some of Australia’s most recognised contemporary artists on a far more modest budget.

But not entirely. Many of these artists also made prints. These works regularly appear at auction at a fraction of the price of their paintings.

This week, I’m looking at my picks. Most sell for under $10,000. That is not small change, but it is a much more realistic entry point into some of the biggest names in Australian art. I’ve focused on recognisable artists and prints that appear reasonably often at auction. It is about works you can actually watch for, bid on, and potentially own.

Part one covers the blue-chip classics. These are the names most collectors already know. Part two will look at more contemporary names in the Australian market.

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Margaret Preston (1875 - 1963)

Printmaking was central to Margaret Preston’s practice. Her woodcuts and hand-coloured prints helped define her reputation, especially her bold still lifes and native flower subjects. The challenge is price. The best Preston prints are no longer especially “cheap”, with many now carrying five-figure expectations. But there are some buying opportunities in the $10,000 to $15,000 range, including works such as Wooden Bridge, Mosman (edition of 50) and Flowers in Jug (edition of 125). Examples from these editions have also sold for more, so patience will likely be necessary.

Sidney Nolan (1917 - 1992)

Sidney Nolan’s works of Ned Kelly are amongst the most recognisable in Australian art. The paintings are out of reach for almost everyone, but his prints give collectors a way in at a far lower price. I would focus on the Kelly prints, there are two series that come up at auction somewhat frequently: Ned Kelly I (1970-71, edition of 60) and Ned Kelly II (1978-79, edition of 75). A set of each is in the collection of the Tate Britain. While a full set can sell for $50,000, individual works are more likely to sell around $5,000.

Arthur Boyd (1920 - 1999)

Boyd produced a large body of prints, which makes him one of the more accessible names on this list. That was clear in Leonard Joel’s auction last year, when a collection of Boyd prints from his printmakers, Tony and Indra Deigan, came to market. Many sold for around $1,000. For a major Australian artist whose paintings can sell for very large sums, that is a surprisingly affordable entry point. The key is to be selective. There is a lot of Boyd print material around, so I would focus on images that connect clearly to his best-known subjects, particularly the landscapes of Shoalhaven.

John Brack (1920 - 1999)

John Brack is best known for sharp, tightly composed paintings of postwar suburban and working life. My pick of his prints is La Traviata (edition of 150), which was originally commissioned by the Australian Opera. Two examples have sold recently for $7,500 and $11,250 both at Leonard Joel. There are also numerous other prints of nude female figures that typically sell for around $1,000 to $4,000. But La Traviata feels more distinctive and more memorable than many of the smaller nude prints.

Jeffrey Smart (1921 - 2013)

Smart’s works feel more contemporary than many of those by his peers. The industrial and city settings, often with waiting figures and bold blocks of colour, still look fresh. Three prints that regularly capture this world are The Waiting Bus (edition of 80), The Last Train (edition of 65), and Man with Bouquet (edition of 100), which generally sell in the $6,000 to $10,000 range. Another option is Cable Coils, which has sold for around $3,000 - $6,000 in recent years and is an etching of an original work of the same name by Smart that sold for $828,000 in 2024.

Margaret Olley (1923 - 2011)

Olley is best known for her richly coloured interiors and table-top still lifes filled with flowers, fruit and ceramics. Her prints carry much of that same appeal at a much lower price. Recent examples have sold for around $3,000 to $5,000. The works I would watch for are Flowers, Plums and Oranges (edition of 50), Marigolds and Fruits (edition of 80) and Basket of Oranges, Lemons and Jug (edition of 150).

John Coburn (1925 - 2006)

Coburn is not the most well known name on this list, but his works are perhaps the most distinctive. His bold, colourful abstract works have an immediate decorative appeal and are reminiscent of Matisse’s cut-outs. His prints appear regularly at auction, with many selling for under $1,000. My pick is the Seasons series (edition of 99), especially Spring, which has regularly sold for between $2,000 and $3,000 in recent years. Other editions to watch are Paradise Garden (edition of 99) and the various versions of Tree of Life.

Fred Williams (1927 - 1982)

Williams is one of the more visually restrained artists in this list. But that is also the point. His best works reduced the Australian landscape to marks, spacing and rhythm, and his prints can capture that very well. He produced a series of 12 prints, the Lithographs 1976-1978 (edition of 50), amongst these Wild Dog Creek I and Wild Dog Creek II are the more interesting and have sold for around $5,000 in recent years. Also look for his prints of the You Yangs from the early to mid 1960s, as his paintings of this landscape were one of the key moments in Williams’ career. The titles and categorisation of the prints appear messy, but they have also sold for around $5,000 recently.

Charles Blackman (1928-2018)

Blackman produced a number of prints, the two I would focus on are Blackman’s Schoolgirls (edition of 75) and Blackman’s Alice (also an edition of 75). Both sets of prints are based on earlier defining periods in his career.

Blackman Schoolgirls is a set of five prints, based on Blackman’s original Schoolgirls series from the early 1950s that have been described as a turning point that established him as a significant painter of postwar modern life. A full set sold for around $5,000 in 2024. Blackman’s Alice is a series of six prints that connect directly to his most famous body of work from the late 1950s; a full set of the six works sold for $7,364 in 2024 at Menzies, while individual prints from this series sell for less.

Prices for Blackman’s prints have fallen since the 2010s, which may suggest he is currently out of favour. But that could mean a good buying opportunity for collectors.

John Olsen (1928 - 2023)

Olsen, much like Fred Williams captured the Australian landscape in an almost abstract expressionist way. But where Williams is pared back, Olsen embraces energy, movement and colour. He created numerous prints, and my pick would be Lake Eyre in December (edition of 75). Although it most recently sold for just $2,000, it hasn’t appeared at auction frequently. Appearing at auction more frequently is Tropical Rainshower (edition of 300). Condition seems to vary, which may explain the wide range of prices. One example sold for under $1,000 in 2025, while others have sold for more than $4,000 in recent years.

Brett Whiteley (1939 - 1992)

Whiteley is probably the biggest name on this list, which makes his prints especially interesting. Many of his most recognisable prints are already well beyond a shoestring budget. Lipstick (edition of 50) sold for just over $80,000 in 2025, while The Cat (edition of 100) often sells for $40,000 to $70,000.

But there are still Whiteley prints under $10,000. The better opportunities are usually smaller etchings, animal and bird subjects, Paris works, and Bali screenprints. The three Swinging Monkey works (edition of 50) sells below $10,000, while Garden in Sanur, Bali (edition of 100) sold for $6,150 in 2025 at Bonhams. With Whiteley, I would be cautiously selective. Don’t buy for the name alone. Hold out for something within budget that still captures the style of his best work.

A few names are worth mentioning because they almost fit this list, but not quite.

Dorrit Black (1891 - 1951) and Ethel Spowers (1890 - 1947) are both important Australian printmakers, but their best prints are now well beyond the shoestring category. Last year, Black’s The Lawn Mower sold for $67,500 and Dutch Houses sold for $41,727. Spowers is in similar territory, with Tug of War selling for $71,182 and The Rain Cloud for $51,545.

First Nations artists are another difficult category for this exercise. There are prints worth tracking down, including Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s State of My Country and Rover Thomas’s Red Rock Stockyard, but they appear infrequently and printmaking has not been central to their practices.

Russell Drysdale, Arthur Streeton and Ethel Carrick Fox are three big Australian names that produced prints but very infrequently appear at auction. Meanwhile John Peter Russell, Grace Cossington Smith, and Ian Fairweather seem to have stayed away from prints almost entirely.

These are amongst the biggest names in Australia art. The important point is that their prints are not a cheap substitute for paintings. The best ones stand on their own. But they also give collectors a realistic way into artists whose major works are now far beyond their reach.

You just need to be patient and selective. Not every print by a famous artist is worth chasing. But if you focus on strong images, good condition and sensible prices, there are still opportunities to own serious works.

Next week we’ll look at more contemporary names and print editions to collect.

These high-quality chromolithographs are reproductions of paintings by Goldie. They were produced and distributed in illustrated newspapers such as The Graphic and the Auckland Weekly News.

A Good Joke (All ‘e same t’e Pakeha) is probably the most well known and frequently appears at auction. It depicts Te Aho-o-te-Rangi Wharepu, a Ngāti Mahuta chief and an artist in his own right, known as an expert waka carver and tattoo (tā moko) specialist. He sat to be painted by Goldie on at least 10 occasions. According to Te Papa:

‘A Good Joke’ seems to have been available in two printings, the first in 1906, when it was offered as a supplement to the Auckland Star, and again in 1921-2, when it was described as being ‘printed in full colours on heavy art paper, and is eminently suitable for framing’ (Auckland Star, 21 January 1922, p. 6). However on both occasions, the print was not only available as a supplement, a giveaway, but also available to purchase, in which instance it could be posted in a cardboard tube! (Auckland Star, 8 November 1906, p. 6)

A Warm Day is another print that also often appears at auction. Sometimes called A Hot Day after the original in Christchurch Art Gallery. This work depicts Patara Te Tuhi, also a chief of Ngāti Mahuta. Again, from Te Papa:

A warm day was made available as a pictorial supplement, a ‘presentation plate’ in the Christmas issue of the Christchurch Weekly Press in 1904. Not only was the painting a work of ‘colonial reputation, but also, according to advertisements it was ‘perfectly reproduced, having received nine printings’ (“New Zealand Illustrated, 1904, Woodville Examiner, 3 October 1904, p. 2). The reproduced portrait became so familiar to New Zealanders that reference was made to it in accounts of Patara Te Tuhi’s death in 1910 (‘Personal’, Auckland Star, 2 July 1910, p. 9), and Goldie reportedly saw two copies hanging over his coffin when he attended Patara’s tangi (Roger Blackley, Goldie, 1997, p. 48).

But there were other prints too. Blackley in his book on Goldie notes that popular examples include Day Dream printed in 1902 and The memory of what has been and never more will be printed in 1905. But these two seem to rarely come at auction. Other Goldie prints that come up at auction also include A Relic of a Noble Race and various prints of Ina Te Papatahi.

The two prints that matter most at auction are A Good Joke and A Warm Day. Both are still affordable compared with Goldie paintings, but prices for these works have ranged between $1,000 and $18,000. Below, I examine how these are performing at auction and share my recommendation on buying price points.

One caveat: these works are more than 100 years old and were originally distributed through newspapers and magazines. Condition, fading, framing and later additions can all affect price. I have not adjusted for those factors below, because auction listings do not describe condition consistently.

A Good Joke

A Good Joke sold for as much as $17,000 back in 2018 and almost as much in 2020. It hasn’t reached that peak recently but even in 2022 and 2023 there were 3 sales that achieved around $13,000.

Looking more closely at the five works that sold above $10,000, there are some clear differences. The work in 2020 looks like it was in excellent condition and presented in a unique and ornately carved frame, and it came in the middle of the pandemic buying boom. As for the high point in 2018, that is an enigma: there is no obvious explanation to me why that one sold for the price it did - sometimes it just takes two determined bidders to achieve exceptional results.

The three works from 2022 and 2023 are particularly interesting. They are unique in that each appears to have been separately hand-signed or signed in ink by Goldie (look for the signature around the pocket watch in the image above). Most copies of A Good Joke are only “signed in the plate”, which means the signature is part of the printed reproduction. These are the only three works I’ve seen that have a second signature. That seems to put them in a different category and create a meaningful premium. The 2022 sale is especially interesting in that the estimate was just $1,500 - $2,500 but achieved a hammer price of $11,000. It looks like the estimates in 2023 were then revised up significantly on the back of that result.

Aside from those outliers, prices have stayed at or under $5,000 over the last four years, with most selling in the $1,000 to $3,000 range. Interestingly, one of the cheapest recent examples, which sold for just $940 in 2024, was described as having a real feather placed in the hat by the artist. So a unique touch is not always enough to create a premium. It may be that buyers were unsure whether the alteration was truly by Goldie.

A Warm Day

A Warm Day comes up less frequently at auction, but there is still enough data to make it worth a look. Prices have been more erratic than A Good Joke. There was a very strong result in 2020 and further high prices around the $10k mark in 2021 and 2022. But unlike the hand-signed examples of A Good Joke, there is no obvious single feature explaining those premiums.

From the chart below, prices are now more consistently staying below $5,000, though the market has looked thinner. Three lots offered in 2024 all failed to sell, despite low estimates between $1,500 and $3,000. That suggests buyers were becoming more selective, rather than simply accepting the higher price levels set during the pandemic-era boom. And, in fact, there have been four opportunities to buy for under $2,500 across the last 3 years.

But the market in 2026 diverges. Two sold in February but at wildly different prices: one at International Art Centre for just under $2,000, and another at Art & Object for $8,530. The latter had a conservative estimate of just $1,500 - $2,500 but seems to have achieved much more because of the quality and condition of the print and (at least) two determined bidders.

The Price Tipping Point

While A Good Joke has almost always sold (87%), the sell-through for A Warm Day is not as strong (71%) at auction, and drops further when looking just at more recent years, indicating less demand for this print. For example, you can see three were offered in 2024, but none managed to sell.

2022 looks like the point where the market became more selective for both these prints. High prices were still possible, but more lots also failed to sell, and $1,500 - $4,000 became the standard price range. That suggests after the pandemic peak of 2020 and 2021, buyers were no longer willing to chase every example at elevated estimates, unless there was something special about the work, eg. in the case of A Good Joke, a signature in ink.

Conclusions

For A Good Joke, I would now think about the market in two tiers. A standard chromolithograph, signed only in the plate, seems to be a $2,000–$5,000 object in most recent cases, influenced by condition and framing. But a hand-signed example is different. Those can justify a much higher price, and the results suggest they can push into the $12,000–$13,000 range.

That does not mean every hand-signed copy is automatically worth that much, or that an unsigned copy cannot occasionally sell strongly. The top two results in the dataset do not appear to have been hand-signed, so other factors clearly matter. But if I were buying, I would treat “signed in ink” as a fundamentally different price category.

My takeaway is that normal versions of A Good Joke should be bought with discipline and either a clear condition report or seen with your own eyes, and I would not pay more than $3,000. Personally, I wouldn’t pay a premium for Goldie’s hand-signed version, but if that appeals to you, be prepared to pay much more.

A Warm Day is harder to read. It comes up less often and sell-through is weaker. Across the full dataset, the median is around $3,700, but recent results have been thinner and more uneven. The recent February sales demonstrate works can still achieve high prices. My recommendation is the same as A Good Joke: I would hold out for a good example that I can acquire for no more than $3,000.

The key point for both works is patience. Unless you are chasing a particularly unique frame, unusually good condition, or a signed-in-ink example, these are works where I would rather wait than get dragged into a bidding war.

The hammer ratio is the hammer price divided by the low estimate. A work with an estimate of $10,000 - $14,000 that sells for $10,000 would have a hammer ratio of 1, but if that work sold for $25,000, it would have a hammer ratio of 2.5.

Lost in the maths already? Essentially, the higher the number, the more competition there is for that artists’ works. A number around 1 - 1.5 means that an artist’s works are meeting the expected selling price. Where it gets interesting is when the number is higher than 2.0, meaning those works are selling well above estimated prices.

As you’ll see below, a number of Australian artists sit in the range of 3.0 - 5.0 indicating particularly strong interest in those artists. There was not the same level of competition in New Zealand, but there was still hot demand for some artists.

Australia

1. Barry Humphries (7.90) Low Estimate: $38k | Realised Sales: $297k

2. Dorrit Black (4.83) Low Estimate: $165k | Realised Sales: $797k

3. Donald Friend (4.49) Low Estimate: $42k | Realised Sales: $188k

4. Marguerite Mahood (3.75) Low Estimate: $5k | Realised Sales: $18k

5. Yvonne Audette (3.75) Low Estimate: $9k | Realised Sales: $34k

6. Leonard French (3.47) Low Estimate: $63k | Realised Sales: $217k

7. Tom Roberts (3.24) Low Estimate: $485k | Realised Sales: $1,570k

8. Will Ashton (3.13) Low Estimate: $37k | Realised Sales: $116k

9. Janet Cumbrae-Stewart (2.84) Low Estimate: $19k | Realised Sales: $54k

10. George Baldessin (2.59) Low Estimate: $31k | Realised Sales: $79k

There was clearly strong demand for works by Barry Humphries (1934 - 2023). He is best known for his persona as Dame Edna, but he also painted, and the sale from his estate gave buyers a rare chance to bid. That celebratory status no doubt helped lift him to the top of the Australian list.

Sicilian Mountain set a new record for Dorrit Black (1891 - 1951) in 2025 and sold for $688k, well above its low estimate of $120k, which helped push her into second place on this list. But this was not just about one result. Her other works also sold well above estimate, which suggests broader demand.

Intense bidding at Smith & Singer’s November sale of Important Australian Art pushed works by Donald Friend (1915 - 1989) well above estimates. His Vale Festival, Toy Seller, Ceylon exceeded its low estimate by more than any other work in Australia in 2025 (a realised price of $56k vs a low estimate of $5k).

Works by Tom Roberts (1856 - 1931) appeared across a number of auctions and most comfortably cleared their estimates. As an example, Sherbroke (depicted below) sold for $538k against a low estimate of $200k.

There is a broader trend of collectors shifting away from Contemporary art and back towards Impressionist and earlier material, and Roberts may be benefiting from that in Australia. He was one of the leading members of the Heidelberg School that established impressionism in Australia.

Will Ashton (1881 - 1963) and Janet Cumbrae-Stewart (1883 - 1960) may have benefited from that same appetite for earlier Australian painting.

New Zealand

1. Ida Eise (3.52) Low Estimate: $3.3k | Realised Sales: $11.6k

2. Dorothy Kate Richmond (2.64) Low Estimate: $33k | Realised Sales: $86k

3. Jenny Dolezel (2.58) Low Estimate: $31k | Realised Sales: $80k

4. Emma Camden (2.37) Low Estimate: $7k | Realised Sales: $17k

5. Lois McIvor (2.06) Low Estimate: $18k | Realised Sales: $37k

6. John Edgar (2.06) Low Estimate: $11k | Realised Sales: $22k

7. William (Bill) Sutton (2.05) Low Estimate: $47k | Realised Sales: $96k

8. Peter Beadle (2.01) Low Estimate: $20k | Realised Sales: $39k

9. Barry Lett (1.98) Low Estimate: $20k | Realised Sales: $40k

10. Martin Poppelwell (1.94) Low Estimate: $13k | Realised Sales: $24k

Ida Eise (1894 - 1978) tops the New Zealand list. Most low estimates for her works were under $500, which tells you how accessible she still is. For collectors getting started, she is a very interesting artist to watch. Her works are in both Te Papa and Auckland Art Gallery.

I have previously covered the momentum of Jenny Dolezel (b. 1964) and Pauline Yearbury (1926 - 1977) (Yearbury sits just outside the top 10). This data reinforces that point. What makes it more noteworthy is that each artist had a healthy supply of works at auction in 2025 and that usually gives auction houses a chance to adjust estimates up, but those estimates continued to be exceeded.

I have not written much about decorative arts, but there was clearly good demand for glass works by Emma Camden (b. 1966). That may point to an opportunity for buyers priced out of collecting Ann Robinson.

Bill Sutton (1917 - 2000) makes the list largely because of strong bidding on Land and Sky VII at Dunbar Sloane. But it was not just that work. A Sutton print, Road From Cromwell, also sold for more than 10 times its low estimate also at Dunbar Sloane: $6,500 against an estimate of $500 - $1,000.

Lois McIvor (1930 - 2017) is one of the more interesting names here. She studied under Colin McCahon, but the soft pastel colours of her landscapes can feel surprisingly contemporary. Like Ida Eise, she could be a good artist for newer collectors to watch. Most estimates for her works were under $2,000.

Barry Lett (1940 - 2017) is probably best known for the Barry Lett Multiples series, through which he invited some of New Zealand’s now most famous artists to contribute. But in the auction room, it’s his bronze dogs that collectors seem unable to get enough of. An example of this demand is Watchdog that sold for $18,000 against an estimate of $8,000 - $12,000 at International Art Centre.

Methodology:
*I do not have reliable hammer-price data, so for this piece I have used realised prices instead, meaning hammer plus buyer’s premium. That pushes the number a little higher than a true hammer ratio, by a bit over 20 percent, but it still gives a useful indication of the same thing: whose work is consistently selling well above estimate.

Artists are only included if they achieved more than $10,000 in total sales in 2025 and had at least three works sold.

Results are from these auction houses:
Australia: Smith & Singer, Menzies, Deutscher & Hackett, Leonard Joel, and Art Leven
New Zealand: Art + Object, Webb’s, International Art Centre, Dunbar Sloane

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

As ANZAC Day approaches this coming weekend, I wanted to look at one particular expression of remembrance through art and how that project now shows up at auction.

The Art of Remembrance

The Art of Remembrance opened just before ANZAC Day in 2015 as one of the country’s most ambitious public artworks, installed on the exterior of St David’s Soldiers’ Memorial Church in Auckland.

Max Gimblett created 7,000 brass quatrefoils for the project, which was inspired by Paul Cummins’ sea of ceramic poppies in the moat around the Tower of London in 2014 to commemorate the centenary of WWI.

The quatrefoil was already central to Gimblett’s practice, but here it took on new associations: part poppy, part cross, part abstract sign of peace. Each piece was designed to be about the size of a soldier’s hand. In that context, the project offered buyers both a small Max Gimblett work and a personal act of remembrance.

Those 7,000 quatrefoil were installed across the church for three months, turning the building into a glimmering act of remembrance while also raising money to help save St David’s. The project ultimately raised over $1 million for the preservation of the church.

The Remembrance Auction Market

The individual works were originally sold for $100 each and featured one of seven designs. These quatrefoils have come up at auction around 250 times over the last 5 years. That probably makes them the most resold work in New Zealand art history. The highest price paid for an individual quatrefoil was a staggering $5,069, while a full set of seven sold for just under $20,000.

Below, I’ve dug into the numbers to examine how prices have evolved and what people are actually prepared to pay for one of these works.

Across the top 10 prices realised (all above $4,000), one design appears three times, while another two designs appear twice each. But it does not look as though collectors are gravitating decisively toward one design over the others. In my analysis, I’ve treated all seven quatrefoils as equal, and I haven’t factored in condition, surface variations, or imperfections between individual works.

Let’s start with average prices over time. The chart below shows the average hammer price (dark orange) against the average low estimate (light orange) by quarter.

A few things stand out:

1. Peak Prices: Prices peaked in 2021 and early 2022. In response, auction houses lifted estimates above $2,000, but sell-through then fell away, with more than half the lots in Q2 2022 failing to sell1. That suggests buyers thought expectations had run too high.

2. Market Stabilised: Average prices then stabilised through the rest of 2022, before lifting again in late 2024 and throughout 2025.

3. Conservative Estimates: Despite swings in hammer prices, low estimates have mostly remained in the $1,500 to $2,000 range. In other words, auction houses have stayed relatively disciplined in their expectations, and if anything were particularly conservative in 2025 relative to the actual hammer prices.

For those who want to go deeper into the numbers, the chart below shows the spread of individual prices, with the horizontal line inside each box marking the median. These prices include buyer’s premiums.

A few observations:

1. Peak Prices: This reinforces the strength of the market in 2021 and early 2022, with median prices above $3,000 for five consecutive quarters. and that buyers were willing to pay up to $5,000 for a quatrefoil in late 2021, a peak that has not since been matched.

2. Wide Spreads: Median prices then mostly sat in the $2,000 to $3,000 range until mid-2024 reinforcing what we saw with average hammer prices above, but what’s interesting is the wide spreads within individual quarters, with top and bottom prices sometimes more than $2,000 apart.

3. A bounce back? In late 2024 and 2025, there were three out of five quarters where median prices moved back above $3,000, with some individual sales again topping $4,000. Despite these promising recent price points, I think we’re more likely entering a phase of lower prices, read on to my conclusions to see why.

The sell-through on these Remembrance works is high. Across the 20 quarters of between 2021 - 2025, 11 of those quarters saw every lot sell. There were only 4 quarters were sell-through dropped below 90%, that was Q2 / Q3 2022, ie. the period noted above after the peak prices of early 2021, and Q4 2023 / Q1 2024 which came right after a brief rebound of prices in Q3 2023.

Interestingly, most of these quatrefoils have been sold at Webb’s. Over the last five years, around 63% of sales have gone through Webb’s, with Art+Object the next highest at 24%. Together, those two houses account for almost 90% of the market. Webb’s is not the biggest art auction house in New Zealand, but it certainly owns the secondary-market for these works. If you are in the market to buy one, that is the first place I would be looking.

My Conclusions

I don’t think these Remembrance works move in a neat cycle. But there is a pattern. Prices rise over a run of quarters, then cool as more works come back to auction, before prices lift again when supply tightens. The price drop is often followed by a quarter or two of poor sell-through rates.

What matters most here is supply. These works were made in an edition of 7,000, so scarcity is not really the story. When only a few appear, prices can jump. When more come up, prices tend to soften.

Where do prices go in 2026? Will see a repeat from mid-2022 with prices dropping further? Or is this more like early 2024 with prices building back up again?

My hunch is that it’s more like 2022 and we’re in the middle to late stages of another cycle of decreasing prices. With 7 works auctioned in Q1 2026 but only 2 of these selling ($2,868 and $2,681 including buyer’s premium), I expect we’ll see another quarter or two of prices staying flat or dropping a little further, before we see a rebound of prices in late 2026. Of course, with someone willing to pay over $4,000 in Q4 2025, don’t rule out seeing some high prices realised even while median prices continue to drop, but buyers look more price-sensitive than they did at the peak

Personally, I still would not buy one. At these levels, I think there are more interesting Max Gimblett works to spend that money on. Good unique works, particularly on paper, can come up at auction for around $5,000, and there are also a number of interesting screenprints available below that level.

But if I were buying one of the Remembrance quatrefoils, I would stay disciplined and wait for the right price: under $2,500 including buyer’s premium, and ideally under $2,000.

To me, this is a market where patience matters. In most quarters, you’ll find a work selling for these prices, you do not need to chase. There is nearly always another one coming.

Whatever you think of these Remembrance works, do remember the reason they were made in the first place.

As before, these are all artists who appear regularly at auction and whose average prices sit below $1,500, often well below that. Taken together, the two lists are a reminder that collecting New Zealand art does not need to begin with a five-figure budget.

I’ll also be sharing my collecting ideas at the $5,000 and $10,000 price points, so subscribe if you’d like future editions with more art market insights and collecting ideas.

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Here are 12 more artists for around $1,000 that are well worth considering:

Ida Carey (1891 - 1982)

Ida Carey belonged to an early generation of New Zealand artists and is best known for her portraits of Māori women. She undertook the remarkable project of painting every living woman with a moko, eventually completing more than 100 such works. That alone gives her an important place in New Zealand art history, but her still lifes and other portraits also have real appeal. They are colourful, direct, and often more striking than their prices suggest.

Shona McFarlane (1929 - 2001)

Shona McFarlane occupies an unusual place in New Zealand art because she was not just a painter, but a public figure as well. She wrote, taught, championed the arts, and later became widely known through television. But it is her still lifes that feel freshest to me. Her paintings of flowers, fruit, and vegetables have a looseness and immediacy that make them feel more contemporary than many people might expect.

Dick Frizzell (b. 1943)

Like Smither in the first list, this is cheating a bit. Dick Frizzell is one of New Zealand’s most recognisable contemporary artists, and his major works sell for far more than this. But his prints remain one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways into a hugely influential career. For me, the most iconic are still the tiki works, the Four Square man, and the classic New Zealand recipes such as Lisa’s Afghans. They are clever, familiar, and unmistakably local.

Philippa Blair (1945 - 2025)

Philippa Blair is one of the stronger abstract names in this group. She is now better known for her larger and more sculptural works, which reach higher prices, but more standard paintings still sell for around $1,000. If you like the energy of Jackson Pollock without the price tag, Blair is a strong option.

Claudia Pond Eyley (b. 1946)

Claudia Pond Eyley is both an artist and a filmmaker, and the more accessible entry point is through her prints. These appear regularly enough at auction to make this list. I am especially drawn to the bright, bold colour in her garden landscapes and flower pieces. They have an immediacy that makes them easy to live with, while still feeling distinctive.

Robert McLeod (b. 1948)

Robert McLeod helped open New Zealand painting up to a more international abstract direction at a time when regional realism still held a strong grip. That gives him a more important place in New Zealand art history than his auction prices might imply. Although his work is mainly abstract, some later paintings bring in a cartoonish, unruly energy that makes them feel unlike almost anything else in New Zealand art.

Pamela Wolfe (b. 1950)

Pamela Wolfe’s recent large oil paintings of flower arrangements can sell for around $10,000 at auction, but earlier works, especially prints, sell for much less. In fact, her prints often sell for between $100 and $500, making them one of the most affordable ways to buy into a well-established contemporary New Zealand artist. At those prices, they feel like a very easy yes.

Gavin Chilcott (b. 1950)

Gavin Chilcott belongs to the more playful and eclectic side of contemporary New Zealand art. Like Pamela Wolfe above, his best works can sell for more than $10,000, but his works on paper and prints often sell for between $100 and $500. They also tend to be a decent size, while also bringing colour, humour, and a certain visual busyness that can make a room feel more alive.

Eion Stevens (1952 - 2021)

Eion Stevens built a steady career from the late 1970s, exhibiting widely across New Zealand. His work often draws on literature and poetry while remaining abstract in feel. Later paintings became especially recognisable for their bold colours, repeated motifs, and shaped forms. He left behind over 2000 paintings with the stipulation that only 25 could be sold each year with the proceeds to donated to charities, so there will be buying opportunities for many years.

Anne Riethmaier (b. 1953)

Anne Riethmaier offers an accessible way into geometric abstraction. Her works are full of colour, with a palette that can feel slightly 1980s in the best way. She appears regularly at auction at approachable prices, making her a practical option for anyone wanting something fully non-representational without the Bridget Riley prices.

Jason Greig (b. 1963)

Jason Greig is one of the strongest printmakers on this list. Best known for monoprints, his work feels darker and stranger than most New Zealand art, drawing on gothic imagery, old masters, poetry and heavy metal in equal measure. He also has the kind of cult status that comes from being an artist other artists talk about. That makes his works on paper feel like a very good buy at these prices.

Emma Bass (b. 1967)

For anyone interested in photography, Emma Bass offers an interesting and affordable entry point. After a long career in commercial photography, she turned to her own practice, creating elaborate floral still lifes that draw on the symbolism and drama of historical painting while still feeling distinctly contemporary.

Taken together, these artists show just how much range still exists at the lower end of the market. You can buy into an early generation of New Zealand art through someone like Ida Carey, pick up strong contemporary prints by artists such as Dick Frizzell or Jason Greig, or go in a more abstract direction with Philippa Blair, Robert McLeod, or Anne Riethmaier.

My own favourites here are Shona McFarlane and Jason Greig. McFarlane’s still lifes feel fresher and more contemporary than many people might expect, while Greig’s monoprints carry a darker, more mythical charge than much else in New Zealand art.

The bigger point, though, is that good New Zealand art still exists at prices that feel manageable. You do not need to start at the top end of the market to start buying well.

This week I’m sharing 24 of my favourite artists who regularly appear at auction at accessible prices. They span a wide range of generations, from artists born in the 1890s through to the 1960s with women making up half the list.

Today’s first 12 are mostly landscape painters. Later this week I’ll share 12 more artists working across other subjects, including domestic life, portraiture, and abstract art.

Also in the future I’ll cover what I would buy at the $5,000 and $10,000 price points. So don’t forget to subscribe to receive Part 2 later this week along with future updates.

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Here is my list of 12 artists making landscape works at prices around $1,000 that are well worth considering:

William Henry Allen (1894 - 1988)

William Henry Allen was an early modern New Zealand artist and teacher who influenced younger painters, including Colin McCahon. His landscapes are bright and airy, sometimes almost pastel in colour. Some of his works have sold for close to $10,000, but good examples still turn up at much lower prices. I love this view of the New Zealand bush, which sold for under $1,000.

Kathleen Airini Vane (1891 - 1965)

Kathleen Airini Vane led an unusually varied life, serving as a nurse aide in France during the First World War before travelling extensively overseas. She had a particular love of trees, especially pōhutukawa, and became known as “The Pōhutukawa Lady”.

Ida Eise (1894 - 1978)

Ida Eise is often remembered as a long-serving Elam teacher, but she deserves more attention as a painter in her own right. She is best known for her New Zealand landscapes, which sit comfortably within the mainstream of mid-century painting and appear regularly at auction. Still life was another important part of her practice, and her flower paintings also turn up often. For the prices her work still achieves, she feels like a very solid buy.

Cedric Savage (1901 - 1969)

Cedric Savage sits within the broad mid-century tradition of New Zealand landscape painting. He brought bright colour, simplified shape, and a strong sense of structure to familiar subjects. He was not among the most radical modernists, but there is a lot to like in the clarity and confidence of his paintings.

Peggy Spicer (1908 - 1984)

Peggy Spicer worked largely in watercolour, and brought a neat, observant eye both to New Zealand suburban landscape. Her works now feel like a fly-on-the-wall record of New Zealand, especially Auckland, as suburbs spread and streetscapes evolved

Eric Lee Johnson (1908 - 1993)

Eric Lee Johnson is best known for the neo-romantic landscapes he painted in the 1940s and 1950s, making a distinctly New Zealand world out of back roads, weathered houses, scrubby hills and the worn edges of settlement. That gives his best works more atmosphere than a straightforward scenic painting.

William James Reed (1908 - 1996)

William James Reed studied alongside artists such as Rita Angus, Olivia Spencer Bower and Doris Lusk, and his paintings of places like St Bathans carry that same search for a local identity, though often with a starker, more desolate mood. His strongest works can sell for closer to $5,000, but you can still buy good examples for under $2,000, which makes him one of the more compelling artists on this list.

Annie Baird (1932 - 1999)

Annie Baird came to painting later in life and was influenced by Colin McCahon and Doris Lusk. She painted familiar places in a way that feels bright, clear and approachable, and became known for colourful views of urban and rural landscapes Otago, especially around Dunedin. I think her work is one of the more inviting entry points for collectors who want something recognisably New Zealand while steering away from the mid-century and regionalist works.

John Rundle (1933 - 2014)

John Rundle is best known for paintings of tramping huts and back-country landscapes. A self-taught artist and serious tramper, he captured a side of New Zealand that many trampers would instantly recognise. Many of his works feature the Tararuas and, as someone who grew up learning tramping in those hills, his work instantly resonates with me.

Marilynn Webb (1937 - 2021)

Marilynn Webb’s works edge closer to $2,000, but they still offer an accessible entry point to a significant contemporary artist. She is best known for her pastel landscapes of the South Island, but these are not just scenic views. They are shaped by deeper concerns about land, ownership, and the environment. That added weight gives her work a seriousness that goes beyond the purely picturesque.

Michael Smither (b. 1939)

This one is cheating a bit, because Smither’s paintings often sit far above this price level. But his prints remain one of the best affordable ways into a major New Zealand artist. Works such as Rocks, Tractor & Mountain and Alfred Road Bridge feature the hard-edged imagery he is known for, especially riverbed rocks and Mt Taranaki, and still sell around the $1,500 mark. For collectors wanting a recognisable name with lasting relevance, that is hard to ignore.

Tom Burnett (b. 1958)

Tom Burnett is another artist whose prints make him accessible to newer collectors. He is best known for images of Northland and coastal New Zealand, and the appeal is easy to understand. His works tap into a very local holiday sensibility: sun, beach, baches, and the easy rhythm of summer.

These are not trophy names, and that is partly the point. There is still plenty of satisfying, historically grounded New Zealand art available at prices that do not require deep pockets.

My own top three from this group are William Henry Allen, William James Reed, and Annie Baird. But all 12 are a reminder that you do not need a big budget to start buying art you genuinely like.

Stay tuned for Part 2 later this week.

Living artists are different. They are still making work, still building their careers, and still shaping how they will be understood in New Zealand art history. Below are the top 20 living artists by auction sales over the last five years (2021 to 2025).

Of course, this is a measure of secondary-market sales, not a verdict on artistic importance, but it does show where demand and money have been concentrated.

But first, a reminder to click the subscribe button to receive regular updates.

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#20 - #11 Ranking

First, as a lead in to the top 10, here are the artists ranked 20 to 11 by sales value at auction. One particular standout is Brent Wong at #12, whose place on the list comes from just 16 works sold. Nigel Brown gets there very differently. His highest price is only $32,000, but with more than 150 works sold over the last 5 years, that volume adds up. Also significant is Ann Robinson’s place in the top 20, demonstrating high demand from collectors for her glass works.

#20 Nigel Brown - Sales: $852,000 | Highest Price: $32,000 | Lots Sold: 153

#19 Stephen Bambury - Sales: $870,000 | Highest Price: $72,000 | Lots Sold: 44

#18 Raymond Ching - Sales: $930,000 | Highest Price: $176,000 | Lots Sold: 70

#17 Terry Stringer - Sales: $1,078,000 | Highest Price: $79,000 | Lots Sold: 102

#16 Seraphine Pick - Sales: $1,119,387 | Highest Price: $263,000 | Lots Sold: 73

#15 Andrew McLeod - Sales: $1,184,000 | Highest Price: $133,000 | Lots Sold: 53

#14 Ann Robinson - Sales: $1,249,504 | Highest Price: $91,388 | Lots Sold: 50

#13 Peter Stichbury - Sales: $1,325,000 | Highest Price: $255,000 | Lots Sold: 45

#12 Brent Wong - Sales: $1,513,000 | Highest Price: $472,000 | Lots Sold: 16

#11 Richard Killeen - Sales: $1,545,000 | Highest Price: $95,000 | Lots Sold: 174

Now, let’s look at the top 10 in more detail…

#10 Dick Frizzell

Total sales value: $1,615,000 | Highest Price: $134,540 | Lots Sold: 295
Works sold in excess of $100k: 1

Dick Frizzell is probably best recognised for his mix of Kiwi imagery and pop culture with his four square man and tiki works. But his work is broader than that, cutting across landscapes, art history references, baking recipes, and domestic scenes. The top end is not as deep as some others here, but the breadth of his screenprints alongside continuing demand, is what keeps his total so high.

#9 Grahame Sydney

Total sales value: $2,016,000 | Highest Price: $257,000 | Lots Sold: 95
Works sold in excess of $100k: 8

Grahame Sydney has made Central Otago unmistakably his own, and the market likes clarity. Buyers know what they are getting: hard light, empty roads, weathered buildings and a very particular sense of place. Eight works selling above $100,000 tell you collectors will pay up for his best works.

#8 Robin White

Total sales value: $2,504,000 | Highest Price: $406,300 | Lots Sold: 114
Works sold in excess of $100k: 6

Robin White’s work has stayed relevant across different generations of collectors. Her landscapes are bold and contemporary, while her works capturing ordinary people in ordinary places are distinctively hers. Her Pacific work has widened her appeal to collectors further. She does not need huge numbers of works at auction to perform well (though her print market has certainly helped). Every time one of her oil paintings has come to market in the last 5 years, they have been snapped up, always selling for over $100,000.

#7 Shane Cotton

Total sales value: $2,799,000 | Highest Price: $616,000 | Lots Sold: 91
Works sold in excess of $100k: 7

Shane Cotton has the highest price achieved for a painting by a living artist for Kaua E Raweke I Te Manu that sold for over $600,000 from the collection for Adrian Burr and Peter Tatham (though Michael Parekowhai’s piano sold for more). That sale, along with another 6 works that sold for over $100,000 each, propel Cotton into the top 10. But perhaps what makes his position all the more remarkable is the difficulty in pinning down his style unlike other artists in this list. Cotton’s works have evolved and that has created depth that collector’s have engaged with.

#6 Max Gimblett

Total sales value: $2,938,000 | Highest Price: $157,000 | Lots Sold: 349
Works sold in excess of $100k: 2

The number of Max Gimblett works is amongst the highest at auction, solely because of his Remembrance works that contributed around 250 works sold and $400,000 in sales. But interestingly, it has very little significance in achieving his place in the top 10 living artists (he would just swap places with Shane Cotton). Instead, it’s the consistency in establishing a buyer base that is willing to continuously pay 5 figure amounts for his distinctive quatrefoils.

#5 Karl Maughan

Total sales value: $3,063,000 | Highest Price: $191,305 | Lots Sold: 103
Works sold in excess of $100k: 4

Karl Maughan is one of the easier artists on this list for the market to read. The garden paintings are polished, distinctive and easy to recognise, which makes them attractive to buyers looking for contemporary works that still feel accessible. Art & Object set a new auction high for his work in 2025.

#4 Gretchen Albrecht

Total sales value: $3,161,000 | Highest Price: $198,000 | Lots Sold: 116
Works sold in excess of $100k: 6

Gretchen Albrecht’s results look like a real market, not a spiky one. There is no single outlier doing all the work; instead, strong prices keep turning up across multiple sales. That kind of repeat performance matters because it suggests lasting demand rather than a short burst of excitement.

Gretchen Albrecht’s results suggest depth rather than dependence on one headline sale. There is no single outlier carrying the total. Instead, strong prices keep appearing across different sales. That matters, because it points to steady demand rather than a brief burst of excitement.

#3 Fiona Pardington

Total sales value: $4,161,000 | Highest Price: $133,000 | Lots Sold: 172
Works sold in excess of $100k: 2

Fiona Pardington is one of the most striking names on this list. Photography rarely produces totals like this in New Zealand, yet collectors keep paying strongly for her bird photographs, especially the works of huia and the diptychs of native bird with their wings spread for flight. What makes the number even more impressive is that it has been built without one blockbuster result doing most of the lifting.

#2 Michael Parekowhai

Total sales value: $5,045,000 | Highest Price: $2,051,900 | Lots Sold: 76
Works sold in excess of $100k: 5

Michael Parekowhai’s, A peak in Darien, that sold for more than $2 million would be enough alone to earn him a place in the top 10. An additional 21 sales is all that it takes for Parekowhai to secure his number two placing, demonstrating that his market is driven by by major works, not regular traffic.

#1 Michael Smither

Total sales value: $5,949,000 | Highest Price: $517,000 | Lots Sold: 615
Works sold in excess of $100k: 16

Michael Smither achieves the top spot through a combination of high volume prints at affordable prices and high quality works selling for serious money. Few artists have such a busy secondary market, and even fewer combine that with so many six-figure results. His iconic depiction of rocks and stones as well as the domestic life of his family have made him one of the most recognisable names in New Zealand art.

Final Thoughts

In some ways, many of the names on this list are no surprise. They are well-established artists, often late in their careers, and familiar to collectors across New Zealand. What I like, though, is the breadth of it. The list includes photography (Pardington), decorative arts (Robinson), and sculpture (Parekowhai and Stringer), alongside painting in many different forms. It also spans a wide range of subjects and styles, from landscapes, birds and portraiture to abstraction, symbolism and surrealism. Taken together, it is a strong reflection of the depth and variety of art still being made in New Zealand.

There are a lot of public art galleries in New Zealand, but I have focused here on four of the biggest and most important. Some collections are easier to search than others, so I may well have missed a few acquisitions. Still, I think this gives a pretty good sense of what was added to major public collections in 2025.

Te Papa

Te Papa’s 2025 acquisitions included works by Cora-Allan Lafaiki Twiss, Constance Gordon-Cumming and Brent Harris, along with other additions of art books, drawings and decorative arts.

The acquisition that stands out most is Cora-Allan’s Mauri series, a set of bark cloth works made as part of her journey around New Zealand by boat, retracing the late eighteenth-century voyages of James Cook. Twiss talks about the works in her own words on the Te Papa website. Twiss also has wider institutional visibility at the moment with the Mauri series included in Te Papa’s Slow Burn exhibition as well as Twiss having a solo exhibition at City Gallery Wellington.

Te Papa also acquired four works by Constance Gordon-Cumming from the 1870s. Gordon-Cumming was a travel writer and painter whose work across the South Pacific still sits in an interesting place, part colonial record, part artistic document. It is notable that she appears here and in Auckland Art Gallery’s acquisitions as well.

Then there is Brent Harris’s I weep my mother’s breasts from 1996, acquired from the artist’s personal collection. Ray Edgar’s interview with Harris in the Sydney Morning Herald explores the psychologically charged backstory to this painting in greater detail.

Auckland Art Gallery

Auckland Art Gallery acquired a number of works in 2025, but there are three in particular that stand out.

The first is Judy Millar’s One-Two, acquired by the Patrons of Auckland Art Gallery. Millar is hardly an unknown quantity, with her previous representation of NZ at the Venice Biennale, along with numerous other accolades. Instead, it is a vote of confidence in her continuing practice. The painting is bold, energetic and unmistakably hers. It’s described as “the hovering of two dynamics… the world of the earth / the world of the painting”, and honestly, it reminds me of the inter-dimensional gate to the upside down in the tv show Stranger Things.

Alongside that sits Ruth Ige’s Queen from the 7th earth (part 2), also acquired by the Patrons. This feels like it could be one of the smartest acquisitions made anywhere in the country in 2025. The work has real authority. It is ethereal, theatrical and self-possessed, with a faceless central figure that holds the whole painting together. I can’t wait to see this in person.

The gallery also bought Dorothy Kate Richmond’s Outside the Pa at Dunbar Sloane in November. The work sold for a hammer price of $65,000 against a high estimate of $35,000, setting a new auction record for Richmond’s works. When a public institution elects to buy in at that level, it is effectively confirming Richmond’s place in the history of New Zealand art is being reassessed upward.

Auckland Art Gallery also acquired four works by Constance Gordon-Cumming, echoing Te Papa. Other additions included Elizabeth Newman, Amanda Watson, Ruth Cleland, Vivian Lynn, Milli Jannides, Brett Graham, Giovanni Intra, Angela Tiatia, Peata Larkin, Stewart Maclennan, Carl Sydow and John Hoyte, along with Aboriginal works by Aileen Napaljarri Long and Nola Campbell.

The gallery also extended its collection of photography with works by James Chapman-Taylor and Steve Rumsey. It also acquired works by Mark Adams, whose solo exhibition was on at Auckland Art Gallery last year and is now at Christchurch Art Gallery. Finally, it also acquired photographs by Victoria Ginn taken while she was imprisoned in Afghanistan.

Christchurch Art Gallery

Christchurch Art Gallery acquired Robyn Kahukiwa’s Girl in a Bush Shirt at Webb’s in March 2025, just before the artist’s death the following month. The work sold for $52,580 including premium, well above its high estimate of $28,000, and is now the second-highest auction result for Kahukiwa.

The gallery also acquired Raymond McIntyre’s Street in Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. McIntyre spent much of his life living and working in London. Just across the English Channel, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme was a popular spot for artists with Frances Hodgkins being based there around the same time as McIntyre. His works, especially quality ones, are relatively scarce.

Another notable move was the transfer of Buck Nin’s Green Valley from Christchurch City Libraries. Christchurch Art Gallery already owns the better The Mamakus, so this builds depth rather than simply adding a name that has been popular at auction in recent years.

Other acquisitions included works by Madison Kelly, Bev Moon, Andrew Hamilton, George Turner, Maud Winifred Sherwood, Betty Curnow, Allen Maddox, Carl Sydow, Leslie Greener, Emma Fitts, Rickard Tawhai, Louie Zalk-Neale, Leo Bensemann, Claudia Pond Eyley and Janine Randerson.

Dunedin Public Art Gallery

Dunedin Public Art Gallery acquired a work by Shona Rapira Davies, No not my son not cannon fodder, made in 1986. The description is of an oil on board in three panels, but it is yet to be digitised online, so it is still unclear exactly what it looks like. Even so, it catches the eye immediately because Rapira Davies is so strongly associated with sculpture. Until the image is published it is hard to say more, but it is one of the more intriguing acquisitions on this list.

Another acquisition is Michael Smither’s Joseph with Two Teeth, gifted by the actor Sam Neill in memory of his mother. It is a strong, warm, very human Smither, the kind of picture that reminds you how effective he can be at capturing domestic life without overplaying it.

There were also interesting acquisitions of contemporary works by Angela Tiatia and Kathryn Madill.

Jim and Mary Barr were major New Zealand art collectors. Many works from their collection were gifted to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in 2025 including works by Marie Shannon, Saskia Leek, Martin Creed and Box Codax, Dane Mitchell, Julian Dashper, Toss Woollaston, John Reynolds, Rohan Wealleans, Gillian Wearing, Francis Upritchard, August Ward, Ronnie van Hout, Merylyn Tweedie, Ali Senescall, Michael Smither, Peter Robinson, Barnard McIntyre, Peter Peryer and Jeffrey Harris.

What stands out

A few observations of who and what jumps out…

First, Cora-Allan and Mark Adams look like artists with real institutional momentum. In both cases, not only are they increasing their presence in public collections, but each also have solo exhibitions currently on display improving their wider visibility.

Second, Angela Tiatia appears in more than one public collection. That is the sort of repeat acquisition pattern worth noticing. It often marks the point where interest starts becoming consensus. But, some caution is needed, as artists working in video often struggle to translate institutional acclaim into commercial success.

Third, it is striking to see public galleries acquiring Robyn Kahukiwa and Dorothy Kate Richmond at the same time as their auction results move materially higher. The public and private markets do not always move together, but when they do, it usually means something.

And finally, my own picks: Peata Larkin and Ruth Ige. Their works resonate with me, and I would happily place either on my walls.

Australian Fine Art Auction 2026 Insights

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Year-on-year momentum is a useful lens for collectors because it shows where attention and money moved, often more clearly than headline totals. It highlights which artists gained visibility, saw stronger bidding, or benefited from a run of high-quality works coming to market. Many of these shifts are supply-driven, triggered by estate sales, single-owner collections, or one-off masterpieces, so treat the results as a 2025 map of where competition intensified, where it cooled, and where opportunities may still exist, rather than evidence of sustained market trends.

Australia Contemporary (born 1945+)

The largest momentum shift in 2025 was Howard Arkley, who became the highest-selling artist of the year. Arkley has been a strong auction performer for some time, but 2025 moved to a different level with over $10m in sales (versus less than $1m in 2024) with four works in the top ten prices. This wasn’t simply more lots, it was a step-change in pricing for major paintings.

Outside Arkley, several Contemporary artists also strengthened. Bruce Armstrong moved into six-figure annual sales and has shown strong sell-through over the past five years. Rick Amor, Ben Quilty, and Criss Canning, all already established in six-figure territory, each roughly doubled sales year-on-year, with Amor setting an auction record for The Waiter at Menzies and Canning also setting a record for Gum Blossom from Pootilla at Smith & Singer.

Australia Post War (born 1911 – 1944)

William Robinson, James Gleeson and Pro Hart stand out in the Post War category for year on year increases. Though the jump is best read in context that each artist’s works had comparatively weak sales in 2024.

Australia Impressionist & Modern (born 1851 - 1910)

Impressionist & Modern artists saw the broadest momentum lift across multiple blue-chip names. William Dobell, Grace Cossington Smith, Frederick McCubbin, Tom Roberts, and Ian Fairweather each recorded $1m+ in sales and materially higher than 2024. With earlier-period artists, this kind of volatility is common because supply is thinner. But there is also a global shift in demand back towards artists from the 1800s with proven scarcity, quality and value.

McCubbin and Cossington Smith both particularly benefited from standout works: McCubbin’s Lime Tree sold for $1.5m at Leonard Joel, while Cossington Smith’s The Reader sold at Deutscher and Hackett and Chair and Drapery sold at Smith & Singer were among the strongest results for women artists in 2025.

A number of single-owner or estate sales also shaped the year’s momentum tables. These included the estate-related supply of Barry Humphries works, a large number of John Passmore works, and the Tony & Indra Deigan collection of Arthur Boyd prints (that they produced in partnership with Boyd). Conversely, the large Wolfgang Sievers sale in 2024 helps explain the sharp drop in 2025 activity for that artist.

On the downside, Margaret Preston, Elioth Gruner, and Tim Storrier recorded large falls after each exceeding $1m of sales in 2024. For Preston and Storrier, the key driver appears to be lack of top-quality supply in 2025. For Gruner, the decline was compounded by two high-priced works failing to sell, which materially reduced realised value.

In 2026, the key question is whether these momentum shifts persist and turn into more sustained trends or that these are single year blips at auction.

Methodology: To reduce noise, momentum increases are limited to artists with more than four works sold and over $20,000 in sales in 2025; momentum decreases are limited to artists with more than four works sold and over $20,000 in sales in 2024.

Rather than review the exhibition itself, I wanted to profile the women and non-binary artists working with photography whose works regularly appear at auction. Some names, such as Ans Westra and Fiona Pardington, will likely already be familiar. Others are less well known outside art circles. What links them is that each has a recognisable presence on the secondary market, offering a useful snapshot of how photography is valued in New Zealand.

While a number of the works by these artists have achieved six-figure results, many more come to auction at far more affordable prices. That is reflected in the prices below, with most median prices sitting under $10,000 and many closer to $1,000.

Marti Friedlander (1928 - 2016)
Auction Record: $24,255 | Median Price: $6,006

Marti Friedlander is one of New Zealand’s most important photographers, celebrated for images that captured both the country’s cultural figures and everyday life with rare sensitivity. She is especially associated with her portraits of artists and writers, but her work ranged much more widely than that, with her most expensive photograph at auction capturing a sheep drive in Eglinton Valley.

Ans Westra (1936 - 2023)
Auction Record: $23,152 | Median Price: $3,585

Ans Westra was one of New Zealand’s best-known social documentary photographers, and Washday at the Pa remains one of the defining and most debated photographic projects made in this country. Her strongest photographs are black-and-white images of everyday life with an immediacy that has made them part of the visual history of New Zealand.

Adrienne Martyn (b. 1950)
Auction Record: $1,802 | Median Price: $913

Adrienne Martyn is best known for black-and-white portraits, particularly of New Zealand artists, along with pared-back studies of architecture and urban surfaces. She gained recognition for her intimate portraits of prominent New Zealand artists and her precise, high-contrast documentations of empty interiors, abandoned buildings, and textured surfaces.

Anne Noble (b. 1954)
Auction Record: $18,760 | Median Price: $2,426

Anne Noble’s practice moves across a wide range of subjects, from convent interiors to Antarctica to her photographs of her daughter Ruby, Noble often brings a mix of closeness, curiosity and strangeness to her photographs.

Christine Webster (b. 1958)
Auction Record: $6,843 | Median Price: $483

Christine Webster is known for staged colour photographs that feel theatrical, psychologically charged and slightly destabilising. Rather than using photography simply to record the world, she has long used it to build symbolic, emotionally loaded scenes that sit somewhere between performance, dream and unease.

Marie Shannon (b. 1960)
Auction Record: $4,780 | Median Price: $1,770

Marie Shannon has spent decades making intimate, thoughtful work out of domestic interiors, everyday objects and the creative lives around her. Frequently utilising large-format, black-and-white photography, much of her recent output involves cataloging the studio archive of her late partner, the artist Julian Dashper.

Fiona Pardington (b. 1961)
Auction Record: $133,338 | Median Price: $20,617

Fiona Pardington is one of New Zealand’s most prolific and commercially successful contemporary photographers, internationally recognised for her innovative and meticulously composed images. Her large scale still lifes primarily document native birds of New Zealand (particularly the extinct huia), as well Maori taonga and life casts. She has been selected to represent New Zealand at the 2026 Venice Biennale.

Lisa Reihana (b.1964)
Auction Record: $94,433 | Median Price: $17,082

Lisa Reihana is one of New Zealand’s most internationally recognised contemporary artists, working across photography, video, and sculpture to examine colonialism and questions of identity through a contemporary Māori and Pacific perspective. She is best known for her 26 metre-wide panoramic video in Pursuit of Venus [infected] that brings to life Joseph Dufour’s Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique.

Ava Seymour (b. 1967)
Auction Record: $9,731 | Median Price: $879

Ava Seymour is best known for photographs and photo-collages that poke at the myths of suburban New Zealand. Her best-known series, Health, Happiness and Housing, overlays surreal figures in front of drab state housing employing dark humour to critique the social structures and domestic life of the inhabitants. She was the recipient of the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship in 2001.

Ann Shelton (b. 1967)
Auction Record: $13,814 | Median Price: $7,845

Ann Shelton is a research-driven conceptual photographer whose works often draw on archives and overlooked histories. Her notable projects include jane says, a series documenting plants historically used by women to control fertility, and her earlier documentary work capturing Auckland's 1990s art scene.

Yvonne Todd (b. 1973)
Auction Record: $21,021 | Median Price: $2,408

Yvonne Todd first gained major attention after winning the inaugural Walters Prize in 2022. She has built one of the most distinctive photographic practices in New Zealand, creating highly staged portraits and still lifes that are glossy, awkward, and slightly unsettling.

Yuki Kihara (b. 1975)
Auction Record: $6,246 | Median Price: $1,880

Yuki Kihara is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans photography, performance, film, and sculpture to challenge dominant colonial narratives, gender narratives, and environmental crises. Accolades include a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and, more recently, representation of New Zealand at the 2022 Venice Biennale with Paradise Camp, a celebrated project that "upcycled" Paul Gauguin's paintings using Fa'afafine models to reclaim Pacific visual history.

Roberta Thornley (b. 1985)
Auction Record: $6,606 | Median Price: $1,625

Roberta Thornley’s practice encompasses portraiture, landscape, and still life. She is recognised for her precise control of lighting and tonal contrast to explore themes of time, narrative, and physical states. Her notable projects include documentary portraits in Rwanda, the "A Serious Girl" series focused on physical recovery during her residency at Tylee Cottage in Whanganui, and recent medical photography at Waikato Hospital. She was the winner of the Marti Friedlander Photographic Award in 2017.

Note: Highest price is based on all publicly available auction results. Median price is based on works sold over the past five years.

2025 New Zealand Market Report | 2025 Australia Market Report

Women artists remain underrepresented in both the Australian and New Zealand auction markets, but 2025 offered some meaningful signs of progress. In Australia, works by women accounted for 18.2% of total sales value, broadly flat relative to recent years. In New Zealand, female artists accounted for approximately 19% of total auction sales value, up from 14% in 2021. Record prices and stronger mid-market representation suggest momentum is building, even if from a relatively low base.

Note: Sales have not been adjusted for currency. In practical terms, that means Australian sales are even higher relative to New Zealand than what’s depicted in the graph.

Headline Results

Despite women’s relatively modest overall market share, 2025 still delivered several major record-setting results.

In Australia, Emily Kame Kngwarreye became just the fourth female artist to have a work sell for more than $1 million AUD at auction, when Untitled (Awelye) sold at Deutscher and Hackett, also setting a new record for the artist. A new auction record was also set for Grace Cossington Smith with The Reader (The School Cape), which sold for just under $1 million AUD, also at Deutscher and Hackett. Both works now sit among the ten most expensive auction results for works by Australian women artists. Another record result came from Dorrit Black, whose Sicilian Mountain sold for $687,500 AUD at Smith & Singer, setting a new record for the artist.

New Zealand also produced an important milestone with the sale of Rita Angus’ Before the Demolition, which achieved $621,435 NZD at Art & Object. It was the second-highest price of the year overall, and notably the second-highest auction result ever for a female artist in New Zealand, with Angus also holding the national record. The next-highest result for a New Zealand woman was Louise Henderson’s Setting Sun Indian Ocean, which sold for $143,400 NZD at Webb’s. That is a strong result by New Zealand standards, but it still ranked only 36th in the New Zealand market by price in 2025.

Taken together, these results underline an important point: record prices are being set, but progress at the top remains concentrated. A small number of exceptional works can create the impression of rapid change, even when the wider market structure remains much the same.

Better progress in the mid and lower tiers

The clearest gains were not at the very top of the market, but further down the price ladder.

In Australia, women have accounted for roughly 11% of sales value above $500,000 AUD over the past five years. That improved to 14% in 2025, helped by the headline results noted above, but still below the overall figure of 18.2%. Representation has been strongest in the $100,000–$300,000 AUD range, averaging around 26% over the past five years, though easing to 23% in 2025.

New Zealand shows a similar pattern. Representation above $100,000 NZD remains limited, with women accounting for around 8% of value in that tier over the past five years, with little change overall. By contrast, gains have been stronger below the six-figure level, where women accounted for 26% of sales under $100,000 in 2025, up from 19% in 2021. Sell-through rates for female artists also improved to approximately 68%, marginally above those for male artists.

That is perhaps the most encouraging part of the picture. While the very top end remains stubbornly male-dominated, women are gaining ground across much of the middle market, where depth of demand matters more than a handful of standout trophy works.

Stronger representation in Contemporary art

Women continue to be better represented in Contemporary art than in other categories, although even there progress is uneven.

In Australia, four of the top ten selling Contemporary artists in 2025 were women, although that falls to 28% across the top 50. New Zealand shows a similar pattern: women perform better in Contemporary art than in other categories, but only two of the top ten Contemporary artists were female, even though women made up 30% of the top 50. In other words, there’s still room at the top end for New Zealand to catch up with Australia.

Photography may also be emerging as an especially important female-led segment in New Zealand. Marti Friedlander continues to perform strongly at auction, while Fiona Pardington entered 2025 with major institutional momentum after being selected to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the 2026 Venice Biennale. That kind of institutional recognition does not always translate directly into auction results, but it can strengthen visibility, confidence, and long-term market attention.

Where some of that progress is coming from

In New Zealand, part of the improvement may reflect not only changing collector demand, but also a changing approach from auction houses, galleries and museums. International Art Centre’s dedicated Women in Art sales have helped bring greater visibility to female artists and have contributed to new records for artists including Star Gossage, Pauline Yearbury, Marti Friedlander, Flora Scales, Kushana Bush, and Evelyn Page.

That matters because markets do not shift only through demand; they also shift through curation, supply, and the confidence created when artists are deliberately foregrounded.

There have also been a revival in female focused exhibitions across public galleries, including Auckland Art Gallery’s significant exhibition of women artists with Modern Women: Flight of Time, as well as the Dunedin Public Art Gallery exhibition of Groundbreakers: Grace Joel, Frances Hodgkins and the new art of Ōtepoti, both in 2024.

This is worth emphasising because it suggests that auction representation is not just a passive reflection of the market. It can also be shaped by the way our auction houses, commercial and public museums choose to frame, group, and promote artists. In that sense, 2025 may point not only to stronger demand for women artists, but also to more active market-making around them.

Artists to watch

Beyond the headline records, several women artists continue to show increasing demand in the secondary market.

In Australia, Bronwyn Oliver, Margaret Olley, Criss Canning, Florence Fuller, Inge King, and Carol Jerrems all stand out. Some are benefiting from sustained collector demand, while others appear to be gaining ground through renewed historical attention and record-setting results. Olley set a new auction record in 2025, while Jerrems also saw a major record for her landmark photograph Vale Street.

In New Zealand, artists such as Robyn Kahukiwa, Jenny Doležel, Pauline Yearbury, Star Gossage, Lisa Reihana, Dorothy Kate Richmond, Marti Friedlander, Evelyn Page, Flora Scales, and Fiona Pardington are all worth watching. Some are already well established, while others are benefiting from more consistent auction visibility or a growing market reassessment of their importance.

Conclusion

Overall, 2025 reinforced a familiar pattern. Women artists are gaining visibility, setting new records, and improving their position across much of the middle market. But the structure of both auction markets remains largely unchanged. Progress is real, yet it is still concentrated, uneven, and far from complete.

At the top end especially, underrepresentation remains persistent. The more encouraging story lies below that level: a broader pool of women artists is finding support, sell-through rates are improving, and both institutional and commercial attention appear to be widening. That is not the same thing as parity, but it is how markets begin to change.

Note: Approximately 1% of Australian sales and 3% of New Zealand sales did not have artist gender recorded and have been excluded from this analysis.

Australian Fine Art Auction 2026 Insights

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This week, we look at the top-selling artists by total auction sales value in 2025. These rankings do more than highlight the biggest names. They show where demand is strongest, where momentum is building, and where the market may be starting to shift. For collectors of Australian art, the names on this list are worth watching closely, particularly when new artists appear, as that can signal a change in market attention and point to artists worth following more closely.

Headline prices can make these artists seem unattainable, but the broader auction results reveal more buying opportunities than may first appear. Many of these artists still have prints or works on paper trading at far more accessible levels. The median price for an Arthur Boyd was just $1,750, 16 works by Brett Whiteley sold for under $10,000, and Sidney Nolan had 379 works sell for under $5,000, with the median just over $1,000, helped by the sale of a significant collection of his prints.

Even where the median was higher, entry points still existed: Bessie Davidson, Cressida Campbell, Criss Canning and Del Kathryn Barton each had works selling for around $10,000 or less, as did Howard Arkley, Arthur Streeton and Jeffrey Smart.

Below are some of the more revealing results and observations behind the top 10 rankings for both male and female artists.

Male Artists in 2025

Howard Arkley was the standout performer of 2025, topping the market with $10.6 million in sales and reinforcing his position as Australia’s leading contemporary artist at auction. Contemporary Units sold for $2.5 million at Smith & Singer, setting a new auction record for Arkley as well as the highest Australian auction result of the year. Another three Arkley works sold between $1.8 million and $2.5 million. Arkley’s placement at the top was driven not by volume, but by an extraordinary concentration of value in just four paintings, which together generated almost $9 million.

Arthur Boyd’s result showed both depth and breadth. A collection of prints from Tony and Indra Deigan, who had collaborated with Boyd to produce them, added volume to the market, but it was the major works that drove his ranking. Bride in the Hibiscus Bush sold for $1.78 million at Smith & Singer, the second-highest price achieved for a Boyd work, while a further 20 works sold for more than $100,000. Boyd’s market has also shown consistent growth over the past six years, indicating continued interest from collectors.

John Peter Russell was the clearest example of how scarcity can still produce top-tier results. He was the only artist in the top group with fewer than 10 works sold, yet three significant works each achieved more than $1 million, securing his place among the top sellers. With supply so limited, Russell’s best works tend to command major prices whenever they appear. Though in 2024 three watercolours by him each sold for under $10,000 which presented an interesting buying opportunity.

Sidney Nolan, by contrast, reached the top 10 through volume rather than trophy prices. A significant group of works from his wife’s estate came to market, pushing the total number of Nolan works sold in 2025 to almost 400. Only five sold for more than $100,000, but the sheer quantity of works traded was enough to place him among the year’s top sellers.

Fred Williams and Charles Blackman help illustrate two different reasons an artist can fall back in the rankings. Williams, usually a top-three name, appears to have slipped largely because of supply: aside from some lower-value works, those that came to market sold well. Blackman’s result looks different. Buyer demand appeared softer, with three works estimated above $100,000 failing to sell, including Alice Amongst Flowers, which carried an estimate of $700,000–$900,000.

Overall, the familiar Post-War names still dominate the top male sellers. However, 2025 also hinted at a modest rebalancing, with more Impressionist & Modern artists taking a larger share, particularly when the lens is widened to the top 20.

Female Artists in 2025

Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Grace Cossington Smith were the standout female performers of 2025, and both would have made a combined top 10 ranking of Australian artists overall. At the same time, the results also underline a broader structural reality: women remain under-represented at the top tier of auction sales. That is why I have highlighted the top-selling female artists separately below.

Across the most bankable female artists, several auction records were set. Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Grace Cossington Smith, Margaret Olley, Dorrit Black and Criss Canning each achieved new record prices.

Sell-through rates reinforce that strength in demand. Smith, Canning and Black each recorded perfect sell-through rates, along with Bessie Davidson. In addition, Olley, Cressida Campbell and Bronwyn Oliver each had just one work fail to sell. Taken together, these results point to a market with strong buyer appetite whenever top works by women come to auction.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s major retrospective at Tate Modern opened in 2025, further strengthening the global recognition of her work and likely supporting the sale of Untitled (Awelye) for $1.2 million at Deutscher and Hackett.

Dorrit Black’s sale of Sicilian Mountain was one of the most striking results of the year. It achieved $687,500, far above its high estimate of $180,000, selling at Smith & Singer. The result was made even more significant by the fact that the work was acquired by the Art Gallery of South Australia and is included in the Dangerously Modern exhibition currently on at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Cressida Campbell’s absence from the very top of the rankings looks more like a supply story than a demand story. In recent years she has regularly ranked among the top two or three female artists, but the limited number of works coming to market this year clearly affected total sales. Margaret Preston offers a similar example as she is a regular top-10 presence, but without top-tier works appearing, she dropped out of the rankings.

In recent years, Cressida Campbell’s works have placed her among the top two or three female artists, but the lack of supply this year had a noticeable effect on total sales. Margaret Preston is also a regular name in the top 10, but a lack of top-tier works meant she did not appear this year.

Overall, there is strong demand for top-tier works by women, limited mainly by the supply of what comes to market.

Final observations and predictions

One striking pattern is the greater age diversity among female artists, with multiple artists represented across each generation. By contrast, almost all of the male artists in the top group were born within a narrow 20-year window (late 1910s to late 1930s). This is a similar pattern to New Zealand.

Breaking the top 10 by age segment adds another layer to that picture. Women show their strongest representation in the Contemporary category, making up four of the top 10: Bronwyn Oliver, Cressida Campbell, Criss Canning and Del Kathryn Barton. By contrast, women remain much less represented among the top-selling Impressionist & Modern and Post War artists. Supply is clearly part of the explanation, because, as noted above, many of these artists perform strongly when their works do come to auction.

Looking ahead to 2026, there is a global trend of interest shifting away from Contemporary artists and towards Impressionist & Modern and Old Master artists. In a more uncertain market, collectors are gravitating towards artists with finite supply, proven reputations and longer track records at auction. At the same time, softer demand for Contemporary art suggests some buyers believe prices in that segment had run ahead of fundamentals. I expect to see a similar trend in Australia, though much will depend on whether top works by these earlier artists come to market.

Methodology note: All prices include buyer’s premium. Where buyer’s premium was not published, it has been calculated using the auction house’s stated rate.

Australian Fine Art Auction 2026 Insights

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Market Summary
What shaped the auction market in 2025

The Australian fine art auction market delivered a record year with $121m in total sales (+15.3%) across six leading auction houses. Activity also strengthened with 3,572 lots offered (+4.0%) and 2,675 lots sold (+9.5%), lifting the sell-through rate to 75%, showing growth was supported by stronger clearance and volume, not just higher prices.

Sales distribution remained highly top-heavy. Works selling for more than $100k represented just 8.8% of lots sold but generated 73.2% of total value ($88.8m). At the other end, works selling for under $5k accounted for 48.5% of lots sold but contributed only ~2% of sales, reinforcing the market’s long-tail structure. The key change in 2025 was depth with the top price falling from $3.9m to $2.5m, yet total sales increased, consistent with growth being spread across more high-value transactions rather than on a few outlier trophy works.

2025 also marked a step-change year for Howard Arkley, confirming his position as Australia’s leading contemporary artist at auction. His works generated $10.6m in sales, including two $2.5m results (Contemporary Units sold at Smith & Singer and Neapolitan Delight at Deutscher and Hackett) and four of the year’s top ten prices. This is an exceptional concentration of value in a single artist, with results significantly exceeding estimates.

Post War art remained the market’s anchor by total dollars, but Impressionist & Modern and Contemporary gained share. Contemporary’s rise was heavily Arkley led, while Impressionist & Modern’s surge was broader-based with John Peter Russell the headline name, supported by Frederick McCubbin, Arthur Streeton, Grace Cossington Smith, and Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

Women artists remained structurally underrepresented. Works by women accounted for 18.2% of total sales, flat year-on-year and slightly below the five-year average. That said, 2025 delivered meaningful top-end signals with Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s Untitled (Awelye) exceeding $1m at Deutscher and Hackett and Grace Cossington Smith’s The Reader (The School Cape) coming in just shy of $1m, also at Deutscher and Hackett. These are both among the strongest results ever achieved by women artists at auction in Australia.

First Nations art strengthened again in 2025. Total sales reached $12.2m (+23% vs 2024), with results led by Kngwarreye, followed by Albert Namatjira and Lin Onus. Concentration was high with Kngwarreye alone representing 38% of sales, yet the market also retained meaningful entry points, with substantial volume continuing to transact at lower price tiers alongside trophy pricing.

Globally, 2025 also improved with Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips delivering $5.42bn in art auction sales, but remained well below the post-pandemic peak. The defining feature was timing: H2 sales of $3.24bn were 48% higher than H1’s $2.18bn, and the rebound was led by top-tier works coming to market. Australia broadly mirrored the global H2 lift, but with a firmer starting point, H1 held up relatively well to prior years, and with growth supported by higher clearance and deeper $100k+ activity rather than dependence on single trophy lot.

2025 rewarded both rare blue-chip artists and a wider pool of high-quality works from a broad base of Australian artists. The key question for 2026 is whether supply can remain strong enough to sustain momentum now that the market has reset to a higher level.

10 Key Takeaways
2025 by the numbers

$121m

Total value of fine art sold across six leading auction houses in 2025, setting a new record for sales.

75%

Sell-through rate rose in 2025, up from 71% in 2024.

$5,250

The median price in 2025, up 5% from $5,000 in 2024. The 1000^th most expensive art work sold for $11,046, up from $8,125.

236

Artworks sold for $100k+ representing just 8.8% of lots sold, but generating 73% of total sales ($88.8m).

16

Number of lots sold for $1m+ in 2025, (up from 14 in 2024). Their share of sales fell to 21% (from 25.0%), pointing to a less “trophy-dependent” year.

$2.5m

Highest price of the year, achieved by Howard Arkley’s Contemporary Units at Smith & Singer in August ($2.0m hammer price).

80/50

The top 50 artists captured 80% of 2025 sales value, while the top 10 captured 47% of sales value.

$42m

Sales attributed to Impressionist & Modern artists, up from $24m in 2024 (up 78% from 2024).

18%

Share of total sales attributable to women artists, unchanged from 2024.

804%

Largest over performance against estimate: Donald Friend’s Vel Festival, Toy Seller, Ceylon sold for $56,250 against an estimate of $5,000 - $7,000 at Smith & Singer.

New Zealand Auction Market 2025 Review

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How did different generations of New Zealand artists perform in 2025? Segmenting the market by birth year reveals interesting structural differences in demand, concentration, and volatility. Some categories remain anchors of stability. Others are narrower or still forming. I’ve loosely followed Artnet’s grouping of categories by birth year.

Postwar (1911–1944)

Postwar artists continued to be the most lucrative and consistent segment of the New Zealand auction market in 2025. The category generated just under $16 million in sales, a modest 2% increase on 2024, and has remained broadly stable over the past three years. This segment includes many of New Zealand’s most bankable artists including Colin McCahon, Don Binney, Ralph Hotere, Tony Fomison, and Gordon Walters, and accounted for seven of the ten most expensive works sold during the year. It also delivered the strongest sell-through performance, averaging around 72% over the past three years.

This consistency reflects depth. Collectors continue to return to recognisable, institutionally validated artists from this mid-century cohort. A number of significant figures sit just outside the strict date range, such as Rita Angus (1908) and Bill Hammond (1947), which only reinforces how structurally strong this broader Postwar segment remains.

Early New Zealand (pre-1911)

By contrast, the Early New Zealand category experienced a sharp decline in 2025. This contraction was driven almost entirely by Charles F. Goldie. While 2024 had been an exceptional year, with Goldie’s works generating nearly $12 million in sales, results in 2025 fell to under $1 million as the market absorbed that unusually strong prior year. Despite this volatility, sell-through rates for the category have remained relatively stable, averaging around 69% over the past three years.

The category’s challenge is concentration. A small number of artists drive the majority of value, with Goldie dominant alongside Gottfried Lindauer and Frances Hodgkins. Without results from these three artists, overall results are materially affected.

Contemporary (1945+)

Sales for Contemporary artists were broadly stable over the same period. In 2025, the category recorded a small uplift, supported by stronger results for artists including Karl Maughan, Shane Cotton, Grahame Sydney, and Brent Wong. However, Contemporary works remained underrepresented at the very top end of the market, with only two works appearing in the top 20 most expensive sales of the year. Sell-through rates for Contemporary art have been consistently lower than Postwar, averaging around 65% over the past three years.

Contemporary remains the most volatile segment, with total sales still less than half the 2021 pandemic spike. That is not necessarily a weakness. This is a market still forming. As new leaders emerge and price ceilings are tested, today’s contemporary artists may become tomorrow’s blue-chip anchors. For now, it remains the most dynamic and arguably the most interesting segment to watch.

Taken together, the data shows a market behaving differently across generations. Stability sits in the mid-century names, concentration defines the earliest works, and contemporary remains more fluid. Those distinctions help explain many of the year’s headline results.

Note: Approximately 3% of sales did not have an artist birth date recorded and have been excluded from this analysis.

New Zealand Auction Market 2025 Review

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Auction estimates are intended as pricing guides, but in some cases competitive bidding can push results well beyond expectations. The works listed below are the ten lots that exceeded their high estimates by the largest margins in 2025.

At the top of the list was Michael Smither’s Pā Site with Mount Taranaki, which sold at Webb’s for $27,485 against a high estimate of $6,000, a result more than four times expectations. While Mt Taranaki is a recurring motif in Smither’s work, this remains a striking outcome for a painting measuring just 15 × 15 cm, underscoring the strength of demand for the artist regardless of scale.

Raewyn Turner’s A Thousand Acres also significantly outperformed expectations, achieving $97,990 at Webb’s against a high estimate of $22,000. The work’s cultural significance as the cover image for Frenzy (1979) by Split Enz likely attracted interest beyond the traditional art-collecting audience, contributing to the competitive result.

Several other results reinforce the depth of demand below the very top end of the market. Jenny Dolezel’s The Art of Living sold at International Art Centre for more than three times its high estimate, confirming that despite reduced supply in 2025, appetite for her work remains strong following a highly active period in 2023 and 2024.

It is worth noting that percentage-based overperformance tends to favour lower-priced works. Achieving a threefold increase on a $10,000 estimate is materially easier than doing so on a six-figure painting. Even so, two of the most expensive works of 2025 achieved results close to double their high estimates. Jeffrey Harris’ Jillian and Brothers sold for $194,960 against a high estimate of $95,000 at Art & Object, while Peter Stichbury’s Savannah realised $254,678 against a high estimate of $130,000 at International Art Centre. Both sales set new auction records for these artists.

Were these prices justified?

Every bidder should have a view on what a work is worth before the auction begins. Not what it might reach in the heat of competition, but what it is worth to them based on context such as past prices, scale, rarity, quality, and broader market context. That view helps define where you should stop.

Of course, auctions are not purely rational environments. Sometimes something more primal takes over, the desire to win, to secure the work at any cost. That instinct is part of collecting. There is nothing wrong with giving in to it. But if you are going to override your own valuation, do so consciously and with context, rather than impulsively and without it.

From that perspective, $27,485 for a 15 × 15 cm Michael Smither feels ambitious. Similarly, $14,414 for a Pat Hanly print appears strong when two examples from the same edition achieved approximately $3,400 just a year earlier.

By contrast, the Robyn Kahukiwa work was widely described as exceptional and sometimes quality justifies deviation from precedent. Meanwhile, the near-doubling of high estimates for Jeffrey Harris and Peter Stichbury may represent something more structural: a potential re-rating of where these two artists rank amongst New Zealand’s best.

These results may mark a genuine shift in what the market is willing to pay for certain artists. Or they may prove to be outliers. Only time will tell which proves true.

New Zealand Art Auction Market 2025 Insights

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Market Summary
What shaped the auction market in 2025

New Zealand’s art auction market cooled in 2025 compared with the exceptional highs of 2021–2022 and the Goldie-driven spike of 2024. Total auction sales fell to approximately $32.6 million, a decline of around 24% year-on-year. This pullback was driven primarily by the absence of ultra-high-value works rather than a broad-based fall in demand. Even so, 2025 remains among the five strongest years in New Zealand’s auction history, indicating a market that has softened rather than weakened structurally.

The highest price achieved in 2025 was $660,660 for Don Binney’s Fatbird II at International Art Centre. By contrast, 2024 was defined by the record-breaking $3.75 million sale of Charles F. Goldie’s Thoughts of a Tohunga, the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction in New Zealand. No artwork reached the million-dollar mark in 2025, the first time in five years, and sales above $500,000 were rare.

Despite weaker headline numbers, the underlying market showed resilience. Sell-through rates improved to ~66%, and pricing across the middle of the market remained relatively stable. The contraction was concentrated at the very top, while activity below six figures remained active and competitive, particularly in the second half of the year.

These dynamics broadly echoed patterns seen internationally, where caution at the top end was offset by selective confidence in well-priced, high-quality works later in the year. While the New Zealand market operates at a very different scale, similar behaviour was evident across comparable price brackets.

Momentum within New Zealand shifted toward postwar and contemporary artists. Postwar works generated nearly $16 million in sales and accounted for seven of the ten highest-priced works of the year. Sales by contemporary artists increased despite the overall market contraction, lifting their share of total sales value to roughly one-third of the market. By contrast, early New Zealand artists experienced a sharp pullback following the exceptional Goldie-led results of 2024, compounded by several significant works failing to sell in 2025.

Women artists continued to gain ground. Their share of total sales value rose to 19%, the highest level across the five years analysed. Works by female artists recorded stronger sell-through rates across much of the market. Rita Angus’s Before the Demolition, sold at Art & Object for $621,435, became the second-highest auction price ever achieved by a female artist in New Zealand, reinforcing growing recognition of her work at the top end. This also reflects Angus’ high quality works being tightly held by institutions and leading collectors.

Overall, 2025 reflects a period of adjustment shaped by broader economic uncertainty, particularly in the first half of the year. Fewer trophy works came to market, buyers were more selective at the top end, yet the auction market remained historically strong, liquid across the middle tiers, and increasingly balanced as it enters 2026.

10 Key Takeaways
2025 by the numbers

$32.6m

Total value of fine art sold at NZ auction in 2025, down 24% from 2024.

80%

Increase in sales in the second half of 2025 ($21.0m) compared with the first half ($11.7m). This followed a similar trend to global markets, where H2 sales were also significantly up.

66%

Sell-through rate in 2025, up slightly from 64% in 2024.

$660,660

Highest price of the year (including buyer’s premium), achieved by Don Binney’s Fatbird II at International Art Centre in July (hammer price $550,000).

3

Only three artworks sold above $500,000 (down from 12 in 2024), representing an 86% decline in sales value at that level. For the first time in five years, no artwork reached the million-dollar mark. By contrast, 52 works sold for more than $100,000, broadly unchanged from 2024.

-$11m

Largest single-artist decline: Charles F. Goldie sales fell 94% year-on-year, following the exceptional sale of Neil Graham’s collection in 2024 and reverting to below long-term average levels.

$6,320

Average realised price per work, down 13% from 2024, reflecting fewer top-tier sales.

19%

Share of total sales value attributable to women artists, continuing an upward trend from 13% in 2021. Though only 11 women featured among the top 50 selling artists in 2025 (down from 13 in 2024).

$54,833

Price of the 100th most expensive artwork in 2025, about 40% lower than 2021.

358%

Largest over-performance against estimate: Michael Smither’s Pā Site with Mount Taranaki at Webb’s.

There are plenty of thoughtful voices writing about technique, theory, and art history. What interests me more is how the art market behaves in practice: what prices are being paid, what collectors are buying, and what the data tells us about artists, categories, and trends.

What follows is a more refined version of the vision for this newsletter and the thinking behind its new name.

For Collectors

The Underbidder is written for collectors, particularly those early in their collecting journey, who want clearer, more practical insight into the market. Each edition aims to make the art market more accessible by explaining artists and their work in plain language, exploring price points and momentum, sharing market-level trends drawn from auction data, and offering buying ideas across subject, style, and period.

For the Industry

Alongside this, the newsletter provides independent, data-driven analysis of the secondary market, combining results across leading auction houses. The goal is to offer an unbiased view of how the market is evolving that is useful to collectors and industry participants alike. While many publications cover the global art market, there remains relatively limited analysis focused specifically on New Zealand and Australia.

Why The Underbidder

The name change comes from the idea of the underbidder: the collector who understands value, knows when enthusiasm is justified, and knows when to stop bidding. In a market that can often feel opaque or emotional, The Underbidder is about clearly understanding the value of art before the hammer falls.

You can always find this Substack by navigating to www.theunderbidder.net wherever you browse the internet.

Next week, I’ll be publishing a comprehensive review of the New Zealand art auction market in 2025. If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to subscribe so you don’t miss it.

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The criticisms raised by The Listener feel fair to me. A national museum like Te Papa should be showing the 20 - 30 best New Zealand artworks prominently and permanently. On my last visit, it felt like only a very small slice of the collection was actually on display. The Listener suggests one problem is indecision about what should be shown. If that’s the case, then a clearer curatorial position is needed. What follows is a starting point.

Much of Te Papa’s collection can already be seen online, even if only a fraction has been fully digitised. Working within that constraint, I’ve selected 14 works by 14 different artists that should be on display the next time I visit. Te Papa already owns every one of them. They are not lost, disputed, or unavailable. They are simply waiting to be brought out of storage.

Rita Angus

Rutu (1951)

Rutu is a landmark work in Rita Angus’ career, expressing her hope for a calmer, fairer world by bringing different cultures together in a single imagined figure. If I had my way, it would be on permanent display, afforded something closer to the reverence given to the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.

Colin McCahon

Scared (1976)

Colin McCahon believed art should say something important, even if it made people uncomfortable. In Scared, the stark words “I am scared / I STAND UP” turn private doubt into a call for courage and responsibility. If art history is being dropped from high schools, perhaps the answer is not less exposure to art, but more, starting with a postcard-sized version of this work in the hands of every Year 9 (Form 3) student, supported by the original on permanent display at Te Papa.

Don Binney

Puketōtara, twice shy (1976)

Don Binney is best known for bold paintings of birds and landscapes that helped shape ideas of New Zealand identity in the 1960s and 70s. Puketōtara, twice shy sits at a turning point in his career, using the bird in flight to explore freedom, place, and his uneasy fit with a changing art world.

Robin White

Glenda at Tahakopa (1978)

In Glenda at Tahakopa, Robin White places her friend in front of a small rural railway station, turning an ordinary building and a familiar face into a clear statement about place, belief, and small-town New Zealand. Te Papa bought this work at auction in 2022 for around $400,000, but I’m not sure it’s ever been on display. I’m supportive of public money buying artwork, but only if it’s publicly displayed.

Gordon Walters

Genealogy III (1971)

Gordon Walters was one of the first New Zealand artists to fully commit to abstraction. In Genealogy III, he turns the koru into a stark black-and-white pattern, showing how Māori forms could be reworked within a modern abstract language. It’s also available as a print that frequently comes up at auction.

Tony Fomison

Te Puhi o te Tai Haruru (1984-85)

In Te Puhi o te Tai Haruru, Tony Fomison imagines the Taranaki coast as a place watched over by ancestors. The landscape becomes a reminder that memory, knowledge, and responsibility are passed down through generations.

Michael Smither

Railway Station bridge and old step (1967)

I’m a big fan of Michael Smither’s everyday scenes and nearly chose Toys’ Tea Party. Instead, I went with Railway Station bridge and old step because it’s a great example of his distinctive way of painting rocks: solid, carefully observed, and with a real sense of presence.

Michael Parekowhai

He Kōrero Pūrākau mo Te Awanui o Te Motu (2011)

One of Michael Parekowhai’s pianos ranks amongst the most expensive works sold at auction in New Zealand, but this one is in public hands. In He Kōrero Pūrākau mo Te Awanui o Te Motu, he turns a grand piano into both sculpture and instrument, flipping the usual story so New Zealand, not Europe, becomes the starting point. It also feels like the perfect excuse to let a talented young New Zealand pianist actually play it.

Gretchen Albrecht

Indian Summer (1974)

Gretchen Albrecht is best known for her hemisphere paintings, but I’m especially drawn to her mid-1970s rectangular works. In Indian Summer, she pours and stains paint to suggest sky and sea at sunset, turning a familiar New Zealand scene into something calm and immersive.

Louise Henderson

Les deux amies (The two friends) (1953)

Louise Henderson brought European modern ideas back to New Zealand at a time when the local art scene was very conservative. In Les deux amies, she uses cubist forms to show two women as strong, intimate equals, making it a quietly radical image for 1950s New Zealand.

Seraphine Pick

Love School (1999)

Seraphine Pick is one of New Zealand’s leading contemporary paintings, known for dense, dreamlike paintings that feel overloaded, uneasy, and emotionally charged.
In Love School, she brings together fragments from memory, pop culture, and art history to create a private scene that feels more like a mental state than a narrative.

Philip Clairmont

The scarred couch: the Auckland experience (1978)

Philip Clairmont painted ordinary interiors in a raw, confrontational way, using intense colour and distortion. In The Scarred Couch, a damaged sofa fills the canvas, acting as a blunt stand-in for the artist’s frustration and mental state in 1970s Auckland.

Frances Hodgkins

Double Portrait No. 2 (Katharine and Anthony West) (1937)

Frances Hodgkins began with Impressionist painting but gradually moved toward a looser, more abstract style. Painted late in her career, Double Portrait No. 2 keeps the sitters recognisable while focusing less on likeness and more on mood and structure.

Bill Hammond

Traffic Cop Bay (2003)

In Traffic Cop Bay, Bill Hammond’s bird-headed figures move through a strange, dreamlike landscape that hints at environmental loss and human impact. To Te Papa’s credit, this work was on display when I visited in 2021. Please keep it there. There’s always something new to notice in this artwork.

There are many more important works hidden away in Te Papa’s storage. I’d encourage anyone to browse the collection online and see what’s waiting in the wings. What would you want to see brought out and put on the walls?

For collectors of New Zealand art, these are artists worth watching closely. They continue to attract the strongest demand at auction. Although the top results can make these artists appear unattainable, many of them have prints or works on paper that trade at much lower price points. Notably, the median price for a Michael Smither or a Louise Henderson work was just over $1,000, Robyn Kahukiwa and Seraphine Pick both had median prices under $5,000, and the median prices for Don Binney, Gordon Walters, and Robin White were under $10,000 while Bill Hammond was just over.

Below are some of the more interesting results and observations behind the top 10 rankings for both male and female artists.

Male Artists in 2025

The top selling artist of 2025 was Don Binney. His position was driven by the year’s highest-priced work, Fatbird II ($661k at International Art Centre), alongside several other major sales including Summer Fernbird III ($445k at Art & Object), Two Aspects of Tokatoa ($390k at Webb’s), and Pipiwharauroa – Shining Cuckoo ($364k at International Art Centre).

A new auction record was set for Ralph Hotere with I can hear you making small holes in the silence ($402k at Art & Object). That result also helped propel him to second place by total sales for the year.

Michael Smither was the most prolific seller by number of lots. This reflects his extensive body of screenprints, which trade at relatively accessible price points. At the same time, he ranked fifth overall by value, supported by strong results for works including Untitled, Rock Pools ($267k at International Art Centre) and Back Beach ($215k at Webb’s).

Karl Maughan is the youngest artist in this top 10. Demand for his garden landscapes remains strong, with a new auction record set by Landscape with Pool ($191k at Art & Object). Another work, Ashhurst, achieved his second-highest price ($163k also at Art & Object).

Bill Hammond is best known for his paintings, but before he fully embarked on his art career, he worked as a toy maker. These works have usually attracted limited bidding. That changed in 2025, when Untitled (Bird Man) sold for $10k at Webb’s, four times its $2,500 high estimate. It may mark the early stages of renewed interest in this lesser-known part of Hammond’s practice.

Amongst his paintings, Cornwall Road Cave achieved the top price ($358k at Webb’s) for Hammond’s work in 2025 placing it within the top 10 most expensive paintings in 2025.

One notable omission from the top 10 is Charles F Goldie. Despite recording the third-highest individual sale of the year, Ho Koora Te Cigaretti, Portrait of Kapi Kapi ($505k at International Art Centre), he finished in 11th place overall. This appears to be the first time in at least a decade that Goldie has not featured in the top 10. Given that his works achieved nearly $12m at auction in 2024, this may reflect a natural correction following an exceptional year, compounded by a softer first half in which fewer trophy works were sold.

Female Artists in 2025

No women featured in the overall top 10 by total sales in 2025. Fiona Pardington and Rita Angus came closest, finishing 12th and 13th respectively. For that reason, I’ve highlighted the top selling female artists separately below.

Fiona Pardington continues to attract strong demand for her huia photographs. Interest may strengthen further following her representation of New Zealand at the Venice Biennale this year. Her top result, Lovers, Timaru, South Canterbury Museum, sold for $65k at Webb’s, significantly exceeding its $35k high estimate.

The second-highest female sale of 2025 was Rita Angus’s Before the Demolition ($621k at Art & Object). Major oil works by Angus are rare at auction, and this single sale was sufficient to propel her to near the top of the annual rankings.

Louise Henderson set a new auction record with Setting Sun Indian Ocean ($143k at Webb’s). This was the second highest price achieved by female artists in 2025.

Robyn Kahukiwa, who passed away in April, recorded her most significant sale in March with Girl in a Bush Shirt ($53k at Webb’s), the second-highest price for her work. Several strong results later in the year consolidated her position among the top female artists of 2025.

A new record was also set for Jude Rae with SI 203 ($54k at Webb’s). Another work, SL 366, sold for $43k at Art & Object, well above its $26k high estimate.

Just outside the top 10 sits Raewyn Turner. Her work A Thousand Acres was the third-highest selling work by a woman in 2025, selling at Webb’s for $98k against a $22k high estimate. Turner rarely appears at auction and does not typically achieve such prices, but this work holds particular cultural significance as the cover art for Frenzy (1979) by Split Enz. It is easy to imagine multiple passionate music collectors competing for this unique piece of New Zealand cultural history.

Final observations and predictions

One striking pattern is the greater age diversity among female artists with multiple artists being represented across each generation. By contrast, almost all male artists in the top group were born within a narrow 30-year window (1918–1948).

I looked at the top 10 results by age segments and had expected stronger gender diversity among contemporary artists1, but the data suggests otherwise. Instead, the most pronounced diversity appears among artists born in 1910 or earlier, including Rita Angus, Louise Henderson, Frances Hodgkins, and Lois White featuring strongly.

Looking ahead to 2026, I expect many of the male names in the current top 10 are likely to reappear. Charles F Goldie also seems a strong candidate to return. By contrast, there is often greater fluctuation among the top female artists. Fiona Pardington, Gretchen Albrecht, and Robin White are perennial favourites and appear well placed to feature again. For others, outcomes will likely depend more on opportunity, specifically, whether major or exceptional works are offered at auction.

Methodology note: All prices include buyer’s premium. Where buyer’s premium was not published, it has been calculated using the auction house’s stated rate. One exception is Mrkusich’s Achromatic with Red, which is included at hammer price.