Earlier this year, Bill Hammond’s Zoomorphic Lounge III sold at Webb’s for $1.6 million including buyer’s premium. The 1999 painting came from a private collection and carried an estimate of $1.4 million to $1.8 million. The result was the second-highest price paid at auction for Hammond and one of the ten highest for a New Zealand artwork.1
That end of Hammond’s market is obviously available to very few collectors. But Hammond was also a prolific print maker for which there is now an active and deep market. This provides a great hunting ground for collectors to find recognisable Hammond works that can still be bought for under $20,000 and with most under $10,000.
The advantage of prints is that the same images come back to auction repeatedly, giving us many more data points for understanding how they are valued. Below, I’ve picked five series and individual works that appear most frequently at auction. I’ve looked at how their prices have changed and, most importantly, considered what I would be prepared to pay for one.
The Underbidder is an independent newsletter providing art market and collecting insights across Australia and New Zealand. Click the button below to become a free subscriber and receive weekly updates including my regular Collector Guides series.
The market has already been through a cycle
Hammond’s death in 2021 coincided with an unusually strong period for New Zealand art during the pandemic, and the response in his print market was immediate.
The median price for a Hammond print increased from $2,400 in 2021 to $6,600 in 2022 and then even higher to almost $9,300 in 2023.2 It seemed that collectors couldn’t get enough of Hammond and that was also reflected in the sell-through rate with 94% of prints selling between 2021 and 2023.
But that changed sharply in 2024 with only a little over 50% of the prints offered finding buyers. And that trend continued into 2025 with a similar sell-through rate. The median sale price did recover somewhat, but that number needs to be treated carefully because it only includes the lots that did sell. Many of the unsuccessful lots also carried low estimates that buyers were prepared to reject, suggesting that demand had narrowed considerably.
Those low estimates become good reference points for what we might be prepared to pay. The most useful examples are those where a print is passed in, returns with a lower estimate and then sells. In those cases we can watch the market gradually discover a price.
What I would pay
For those who want the short version, the table below shows what I would currently be comfortable paying for each. But continue reading below to see why I’m recommending those ranges and which would be my preferred buys. There are also a number of other prints that I’ve referenced at the end that are also worth exploring. But with fewer auction results for those works, it’s harder to give an estimate and collectors will likely wait longer to see them at auction.
Singer Songwriter: the best overall
If I were buying one Hammond print and budget were not the main constraint, I would probably choose one of the three Singer Songwriter lithographs.
All three were produced in 2001 and are substantial works, measuring approximately 69 by 84cm, but even larger when framed. Each was produced in an edition of 100. These are particularly appealing prints containing a high concentration of the bird-human figures that run through Hammond’s most sought after work.
Before 2021, the median auction result across Singer Songwriter I, II and III was approximately $4,300. The market then moved decisively higher with the median increasing to about $18,000 through 2021 - 2023. The highest result was $29,875 for Singer Songwriter II in November 2023. In the same Webb’s sale, I sold for $20,315 and III for $23,900.
What makes the series particularly interesting is that most of those gains have held. Since the beginning of 2024, the median has remained above $17,000. That distinguishes Singer Songwriter from several other Hammond prints that rose quickly during 2021–23 and have since given back much of those increases.
The most recent sales have ranged between $17,000 and $21,000 for Singer Songwriter II. But there was one instance earlier this year of Singer Songwriter III selling for just $14,000, also tellingly, a number of these Singer Songwriter prints failed to sell in 2025 carrying a low estimate of $15,000.
What I would pay: I would be interested at $14,000 to $16,000 including buyer’s premium. Stretching to around $17,500 for the image I preferred, in excellent condition, would still be defensible. But these prints appear often enough that there is little reason to chase one much beyond that. And recent results show that they can still be bought well below the 2023 highs.
Limbo Bay: an attractive alternative
Limbo Bay is a name linked to some of Hammond’s strongest paintings. The print series of the same name shares many of the aesthetics of his more expensive paintings. It’s also appealing as its edition size is less than half of Singer Songwriter. Limbo Bay II is probably my favourite of the series, but has only appeared at auction once, while Limbo Bay I and III have appeared more frequently. These prints were made in 2001, the same year as Singer Songwriter.
Limbo Bay I
Limbo Bay I is a landscape work with a relatively sparse number of his bird-human creatures appearing in silhouette. It was produced in an edition of 45.
A good example of how crazy the auction market went for Hammond is that one of these prints carried an estimate of just $1,500 - $2,500 in 2021 but sold for almost $10,000. The price seems to have stabilised there with one selling in May 2025 for just under $11,000.
However later in 2025, that same impression (9/45), sold for about $8,000 despite carrying an estimate of $10,000 - $15,000. Given that the work was being sold so soon after its acquisition and at a deep discount to the earlier purchase price, I expect there were unique circumstances in play. But it does demonstrate that bargains can be found.
What I would pay: $10,000 would be acceptable. And if I had the opportunity to buy at $8,000 as one collector did, I would jump on that opportunity.
Limbo Bay III
Limbo Bay III is quite different visually. It is a taller, portrait-format lithograph measuring approximately 74 by 58cm and was produced in an edition of 48. I prefer it to Limbo Bay I, and the recent market results appear to agree.
An example numbered 15/48 was offered in 2025 with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000 and failed to sell. The same impression subsequently returned and sold for $13,708. Another example sold in March 2026 for $14,220.
If we looked only at those two successful sales, it would be tempting to describe Limbo Bay III as a $14,000 print. The failed auction makes me more cautious. Buyers had already been given the opportunity to acquire that same impression at a level that would have translated to somewhere around the low $12,000s including premium, and they declined.
What I would pay: I would become interested at $11,000 to $12,000. Given recent results, a price up to $14,000 could be justified for a particularly good example, though my approach would be to wait for a lower price.
The Limbo Bay and Singer Songwriter series are both great examples of Hammond’s work, though I would try to stretch my budget the extra ~$5,000 for a Singer Songwriter work over Limbo Bay. But I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed in Limbo Bay on my wall if I couldn’t stretch that extra bit.
Seamless, Gutless, Spotless: the best below $10,000
This untitled print has been referred to in multiple ways, but the most common form seems to be by the first three words in the work: Seamless, Gutless, Spotless. It is a 2006 lithograph, approximately 59 by 43cm, produced in an edition of 100.
The relatively large single figure gives the print considerably more visual presence than many Hammond editions at this price. The bird creature is particularly strong, with Hammond’s decorative world replacing its feathers and a second head emerging from the first. Combined with the text running through the image, it is one of his more distinctive prints.
During the pandemic, examples repeatedly reached five figures with the market peaking around $15,500 throughout 2021 and 2022.
The auction market has been less enthusiastic recently and those prices have not held. Since 2024, the print has struggled repeatedly, and the progression of estimates shows sellers gradually adjusting to a weaker market. Examples have failed with low estimates of $10,000, then $6,000 and, most recently $5,000 in June this year, despite a successful sale a month later for around $12,000.
That higher result shows competition can still push an individual example well above the prevailing level, but with so many recent failures (a sell-through rate of just 33% in 2025 and 2026), I would treat it as an outlier rather than a new benchmark.
If most buyers were unwilling to transact at an effective all-in cost around $6,000, I see little reason to bid materially beyond that level in the next auction. At the same time, I do not think the deterioration in auction demand makes it a less interesting print. If anything, it makes the collecting proposition better.
What I would pay: $5,000 to $6,000 would be attractive. I certainly wouldn’t go over $7,000, despite some sales going well above this.
Fish Finder: consistent resale
Fish Finder 1, 2 and 3 form a coherent group of lithographs from 2003. Each was produced in an edition of 45 and measures roughly 56 by 44cm.
These have held up reasonably well. Between 2021 and 2023, most of these works sold in the range of $9,000 to $9,500.
The most useful recent evidence comes from Fish Finder 3. One example was offered in early 2025 with an estimate of $7,000 to $9,000 and failed. When it returned with a lower estimate, it sold for $6,274 including premium. Fish Finder 2 produced a similar result in 2024, selling just above $6,500.
Those sales give us a reasonably clear picture of where the current market sits. Expectations around the old $9,000 level were too high whereas the low $6,000s are finding buyers.
What I would pay: $6,000 to $6,500 seems reasonable based on recent sales, though I would struggle to justify going higher. My personal preference is for 1, although all three are strong images and I would be happy with any of them.
That price recommendation for a Fish Finder print is very similar to Seamless, Gutless, Spotless. Sell-through would certainly indicate Fish Finder is the safer choice for those thinking about resale, but I would lean towards Seamless as the impactful work and the one I would choose.
There are also two prints called Fish Finder 4 and 5. These later prints are different images and the recent auction market has treated them very differently. Based on recent results, I wouldn’t pay more than $3,500 for either of them.
Bone Eagle: the affordable entry option
At the lower end of the market, Bone Eagle is a Hammond print worth considering. Bone Eagle A, B and C date from 2007 and were produced as etchings in editions of 25, measuring about 28 cm x 38 cm.
The series is particularly interesting because it connects Hammond’s familiar bird-human figures with his later interest in the extinct giant New Zealand eagle, or pouākai, and the wider themes of extinction that run through those works.
Individual works peaked at just under $4,500 in 2022, but have settled at around $2,500-$3,000 more recently. That also aligns with a sale of a set of 3 for just under $8,000 in Q3 2024. There haven’t been any sales of individual works since the end of 2023, but I would expect prices to have stayed around the 2023 levels.
What I’d pay: $2,500 to $3,000 for an individual print, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see higher sales prices after the long period with none offered at auction. Any higher than $3,000 and I would be more tempted to stretch a little further for Seamless, Gutless, Spotless.
Other prints worth watching
These are not the only Hammond prints I would consider.
Pretty 1, 2, and 3 appear frequently and I would be okay paying between $5,000 to $6,000 for a single work. Picnic I and II appear infrequently but are appealing and each feature a lone bird-human figure. Untitled (Bird Bath) is another worth watching, it recently saw competitive bidding push the sale price above $16,000, though I wouldn’t pay anywhere near that.
Proto and Drinking, Eating, Smoking both appear at auction with some regularity and are good examples of Hammond’s earlier style.
Aside from the Pretty series, it’s harder to give solid price recommendations because there are simply fewer recent comparable results, which makes me less comfortable assigning them the same sort of buying ranges. But that doesn’t make these works necessarily less desirable or appealing.
What I would buy
Above $10,000 I would try to stretch for Singer Songwriter. It has the strongest combination of scale, recognisability and proven demand, and it is the Hammond print series where the post-2021 increase in value has held most convincingly. They also appear often enough that patience can be rewarded with a better price. But Limbo Bay would be a good runner up, it still has the strength of Hammond’s bird-human figures, and the smaller edition size may be rewarded with time.
At around $6,000, I think Seamless, Gutless, Spotless offers a great buying opportunity and I would take that over a Fish Finder work. If I was considering Bone Eagle, I would see if my budget could stretch to Seamless, Gutless, Spotless instead. But both Fish Finder and Bone Eagle have their appeal so don’t discount them completely.
The broader lesson from Hammond’s prints is that collectors now have considerably more leverage than they did a few years ago. That is not particularly good news for somebody who bought at the top of the market and needs to sell. But for somebody looking to buy, it offers potentially rewarding bargains.
What’s important to note is that the same editions come back to auction regularly. There is usually another opportunity not far in the future. For the prints that appear regularly, I see very little reason to chase in a competitive bidding war.
Choose the image you actually want, decide what you think it is worth, and wait for the auction market to come to you.
The auction record for Bill Hammond is for Melting Moments I that sold for $1.7 million back in 2023, also at Webb’s.
All results include buyers premium unless otherwise stated. If only hammer price has been recorded by the auction house, I have added buyers premium based on the premium in auction catalogue / website.