The female stars of the NZ art market
Ten years of numbers that chart the steady rise of women’s art at auction
Over the past ten years, New Zealand’s leading female artists have carved out a strong presence in the auction market. What stands out is the balance between historic figures like Frances Hodgkins and Rita Angus, and contemporary names such as Gretchen Albrecht, Fiona Pardington, and Robin White. This week we look deeper at the artists achieving high prices in the New Zealand auction market.
Diving right into the details… the chart below shows who painted the top 20 auction results by NZ female artists each year between 2015 to 2024. eg. in 2015 Frances Hodgkins had the highest selling work, followed by Lois White, and then Gretchen Albrecht. There are 28 artists who make the list:
Market leaders: Gretchen Albrecht - 36; Frances Hodgkins - 33; Fiona Pardington - 26; Rita Angus - 16; Ann Robinson - 14
Established core: Robin White - 8; Lois White - 8; Seraphine Pick - 8; Judy Millar - 6; Louise Henderson - 6; Adele Younghusband - 5; Evelyn Page - 5; Liz Maw - 5; Rosalie Gascoigne - 4; Heather Straka - 4
Two appearances: Dorothy Kate Richmond; Doris Lusk; and Vera Cummings
Single appearance: Yvonne Todd; Lisa Reihana; Robyn Kahukiwa; Mary McIntyre; Tanya Ashken; Francis Upritchard; Jacqueline Fahey; Jane Evans; Jenny Dolezel; and Jude Rae
The Standouts
Frances Hodgkins is in a league of her own. She’s appeared nine out of ten years in the top 20, with 33 works in total and nearly $4 million in sales.
Frances Hodgkins Monastery Steps Gretchen Albrecht leads on volume, 36 appearances in this ranking, and has racked up $2.2 million at auction from those works.
Rita Angus doesn’t come up as often (16 appearances), but when she does, her prices are high, at an average of $151k and with some stand out results such as Storm, Hawke’s Bay that achieved $697k in 2018. She’s the second-highest by sales overall from this set of 200 works.
Fiona Pardington (26 works, $1.35 m) and Robin White (just 8 works, but $1.6 m at an average of $200k each) underline the strength of the more contemporary names.
Concentration
The top five women (Hodgkins, Albrecht, Angus, Pardington, and Robinson) make up about 63% of all female top 20 sales by volume. That’s almost identical to the men’s side at 65%.
But there’s not one dominant figure as there is with the men in Goldie. Hodgkins is the closet to a figurehead. But she’s closely followed by Angus and Albrecht in value of sales. Albrecht and Pardington are up there in volume of sales. And names such as Robin White, Lois White, Rosalie Gascoigne, and Evelyn Page can compete on individual impressive sales prices.
Since 2020 (and in particular in the last couple of years) the market has broadened. There have been fewer works by Angus and Hodgkins, though that’s more about scarcity than falling demand. And it’s been replaced with more diversity of works coming through by artists such as Robin White, Louise Henderson, and Evelyn Page.
Who’s Rising
Robin White went from just two works pre-2020 to six in the past five years. Her average price now sits at $200k.
Louise Henderson had no appearances before 2020, and now has six.
Evelyn Page grew from one to four works, averaging $127k each.
Fiona Pardington and Gretchen Albrecht kept asserting themselves through the 2020s.
Who’s Falling
Heather Straka and Judy Millar both had multiple works in the first half of the period analysed, but hardly any in the second.
Ann Robinson was absent during the pandemic years, perhaps because her glass works couldn’t keep pace with the spike in painting values. But she’s returned to the top 20 list in the last two years.
Even Frances Hodgkins, for all her dominance, has had fewer premium works at auction recently. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if more are moving in private sales instead.
Top-End Surprises
Lois White doesn’t appear as often, but when she does, she makes it count. Half of her works were the top or second-most expensive of their year, averaging $138k.
Rosalie Gascoigne is another one. Only four works, but an average of $235k: the highest average amongst this dataset of 200 works. However, look across to Australia and you’ll see her feature more frequently in the auction results.
Rita Angus is a house hold name, and, I think most would expect her to be the standout, like McCahon or Goldie. But her strongest paintings rarely come up, so it’s mostly her works on paper at auction. These works on paper do incredibly well for the medium but don’t quite crack the very top of auction results.
Ones to Watch
I tend to think the younger names still have the most room to grow: Fiona Pardington, Seraphine Pick, and Liz Maw are on my watch list. All of them have had more than one work in the top 20. I’m also excited by Lisa Reihana; Francis Upritchard; Jacqueline Fahey; Jenny Dolezel; and Jude Rae.
And don’t rule out rediscoveries. Vera Cummings, for example, didn’t appear at all before 2020, but she’s had a couple of works in the list since then. She could be considered a more affordable alternative to the Goldie trend.
Price Trends
The chart below maps out the prices achieved over the 10 years. Three particular things stand out for me:
The top ~5 works can often be outliers compared to the other works in the top 20 that are often clustered around similar results;
2016, 2021, and 2022 were exceptional years with multiple works achieving prices above (or near) $200k; and
Top 20 prices in 2023 and 2024 have settled at a higher baseline than pre-pandemic. You’re unlikely to find anything below $50k for the best works at auction.
Note: The graph doesn’t show Rita Angus’ Storm, Hawke’s Bay that achieved $697k in 2018 nor Rosalie Gascoigne’s Roadside that achieved $506k in 2024. I removed these outliers to better show the relative performance of the other works.
Final thoughts
The female side of the market doesn’t have a McCahon figure, but it does have depth. Hodgkins and Angus give it weight, Albrecht and Pardington provide consistency, and Robin White and others are pushing it forward. Since 2020, we’re seeing a broader set of names coming through. That makes the market feel healthier, and it’ll be interesting to see which of the next generation step up to become permanent fixtures in the years ahead.