Legacy and Momentum: Who’s Dominating in NZ’s Auction Market
An in-depth look at the male artists behind the top auction results across a decade of New Zealand art sales
We’ve previously looked at the top 10 auction results in New Zealand art. This week, we’re widening the scope and tracking the top 20 results by male New Zealand artists across the past decade. 200 artworks achieving some of the highest prices at auction gives us a richer dataset to go beyond Goldie, McCahon, and Binney to see who else is up there in achieving six figure results. The top female artists will follow next week.
Also, from this week onwards, I’ll be adding my auction picks if there’s any interesting upcoming auctions. Read to the bottom to see a few of my favourites.
Let me explain the table below: it shows artists ranked from 1–20 by price achieved, eg. in 2015, Horace Moore-Jones had the most expensive work, Don Binney had the second most expensive, and Goldie had the third most expensive. An artist can appear multiple times in a year if their works warranted it but I’ve removed non-New Zealanders to focus on the local market. I’ve added some colour coding to help identify the more frequently reoccurring artists.
There are 26 artists who make this list:
Market leaders: Charles Frederick Goldie - 45; Colin McCahon - 36; Don Binney - 23; Bill Hammond - 14; Ralph Hotere - 12; Tony Fomison - 11.
Established core: Michael Smither - 8; Michael Parekowhai - 6; Gordon Walters - 5; Gottfried Lindauer - 4; Toss Woollaston - 4; Pat Hanly - 4; Paul Dibble - 4; Michael Illingworth - 3; Philip Clairmont - 3.
Two appearances: Charles Blomfield, Horace Moore-Jones, Milan Mrkusich, Brent Wong, and Shane Cotton.
One appearance: William Hodges, Raymond McIntyre, Theo Schoon, Guy Ngan, Raymond Ching, and Grahame Sydney.
The Standouts & Market Concentration
The 2010s were dominated by Charles Goldie, Colin McCahon, and Don Binney. Together, they accounted for a significant share of the top 20 results each year, both in volume and value.
Since 2020, however, the picture has shifted. The market has broadened, with a wider set of artists breaking into the top 20. Figures such as Bill Hammond, Ralph Hotere, and Paul Dibble now contribute more consistently to the the top results.
2024 stood out as an anomaly. The sale of Neil Graham’s collection contributed significantly to Goldie accounting for half of that year’s top 20, pushing out other artists. This was balanced by 2023, when works by Goldie, McCahon, and Binney were relatively absent.
Top 10 dynamics continue to show consolidation. Although the market in the top 20 has broadened, the very top still remains skewed towards Charles Goldie, Colin McCahon, Don Binney, and Gordon Walters, where they are disproportionately represented in the top 10. In contrast, Ralph Hotere, Bill Hammond, and Michael Smither skew more towards the lower half of the list.
Who’s Rising
Bill Hammond is a standout. He went from just one work pre-2020, to 13 in the past five years. His death in 2021 is likely a big contributor to this.
Bill Hammond Signal Box: A Convocation of Eagles, Cave Painting No. 7 - Top 20 in 2021
Ralph Hotere doubled his appearances going from 4 to 8 works between the time periods. Unlike Hammond, this is unlikely related to his death, which was was further back in 2013.
Paul Dibble didn’t feature in the top 20 before 2020, but has had 4 works since then, possibly linked to renewed interest following his death in 2023.
Gordon Walters is surprisingly lacking in appearances given the high prices his top works achieve (including two in the top 10 prices of all time). We saw a burst of activity in more recent years, particularly 2021/2022. A lack of supply of premium works may be holding back more activity, though we did see strong performance in H1 this year.
Who’s Falling
Colin McCahon and Don Binney appear about half as often since 2020. However, their prices remain strong and and continue to appear in the top 10, so this is more likely linked to scarcity of premium works. Perhaps selling privately? As I mentioned in my McCahon deep dive, Gow Langsford has had both Colin McCahon and Don Binney exhibitions recently.
Meanwhile, Toss Woollaston was a frequent presence in the 2010s, but has disappeared from the list since 2020.
Ones to Watch
I believe the ‘younger’ artists have the most room to grow, amongst those, I think Philip Clairmont, Grahame Sydney and Shane Cotton are the most interesting. And they all provide accessible buying opportunities for collectors.
Meanwhile, don’t rule out some of the older but reliable performers, such as Ralph Hotere, Michael Smither, Paul Dibble, and Pat Hanly. They aren’t quite in the same tier as Goldie, McCahon, or Binney.
Finally, Michael Parekowhai, he’s amongst the youngest of the 28 artists on this list. Yet, he’s already achieved the rarefied tier of artists with works selling for over $1 million. His body of work feels eclectic and doesn’t conform to the standard painted canvas. But there’s no doubt he’s made his mark on the New Zealand art scene, now, can he cement his legacy alongside Goldie, McCahon and Binney? There are a few of his works in upcoming auctions, read on to the end for my auction picks.
Price Trends
I haven’t directly gone into prices, but the chart below gives you an overview of the prices achieved. A few observations on prices:
Prior to 2020, only the top work (or maybe the second) was really an outlier. In addition, very rarely did top artworks sell for more than $500k
Since 2021, we’re seeing a wider spectrum of prices for top artworks, with more selling both above $500k and $1 million tiers.
We see a pandemic spike in top 20 prices across the board in 2021 and 2022. This comes back down in 2023 and 2024 but still at a higher baseline than before the pandemic.
Note: Goldie’s Thoughts of a Tohunga: Wharekauri Tahuna a Chieftain of the Tūhoe Tribe that sold in 2024 for $3.75m is excluded in the chart above to give better perspective on the other results.
Big Picture
The market is no longer defined by just three names. While Goldie, McCahon, and Binney remain the pillars, the 2020s are showing a clear broadening, especially with Hammond, Hotere, and Dibble climbing the ranks.
Also worth watching are the “younger” artists in the mix including Brent Wong (1945), Bill Hammond (1947), Grahame Sydney (1948), Philip Clairmont (1949), Shane Cotton (1964), and Michael Parekowhai (1968). Some, like Hammond, have already cemented their legacy, while the others potentially have even further to rise.
Auction Picks of the Week
This week Art & Object holds its “a (im) possible relevance” : The Collection of Mal and Lizzie Brow auction. Here’s a few that I would happily own.
Lot 11: Kushana Bush Murmuring Est. $7,500 - $15,000
Lot 22: Michael Parekōwhai Roebuck Jones and the Cuniculus Kid Est. $35,000 - $70,000
