Select, June 2022 by Webb's Auction House

21.06.22 Select

0643 Auction Catalogue June 2022 Contemporary, Modern and Historical Art

Saskia Leek Pointer

Webb's

June

We are pleased to present the next edition of Select, our special addition to the Art to Date catalogue. Select presents a bold offering of groupings of works that have been handpicked from the Art to Date consignments by our team of specialists. This selection showcases a range of varied practices, from the beautiful early-1900s portraits by Vera Cummings to the three very contemporary abstract works by Martin Basher.

Our beautiful cover work, Pointer, is one of two candy-coloured paintings by Christchurch-born Saskia Leek. The two works here are in the artists signature prism-like abstracted style, emphasising the lines of the building and dolphin in a delectable palette. Another intriguing pairing is the ceramic-topped earthenware jug by Frances Upritchard, which is paired with Muffin No. 3 by Hany Armanious. Both artists are known for their exploratory use of unique materials, and the textures here are almost visceral – smooth, clean ceramic against textured expanding foam. Works by Upritchard and Armanious rarely come to market, so these lots present a wonderful opportunity to acquire objects from these two incredible artists. Trees, by Rita Angus, is paired here with a watercolour work on paper by Toss Woollaston. These two works showcase the versatility of the of the medium through different treatments of similar subject matter. Woollaston’s landscape scene is fluid and languid, while Angus’s work is intricate and delicate, creating a wonderful contrast between the two. It has been a joy for our team to curate these works and to now finally present them to you. We hope you enjoy perusing this selection. Webb's

2022

Bill Hammond’s works from the 1980s are populated with energetic characters inhabiting wild and chaotic dystopian scenes. These paintings are electrified by clashing custard yellows, alarming reds, and pine greens – overlaid with complex gothic sketches. Hammond’s more recent work is comparatively sombre. Deep, dripping emerald with washes of blue and gold render remote temperate rainforests and seasides of indefinite dreamscapes. These desolate lands are occupied by mythical watchers and guardians, anthropomorphised in a halted state of evolution. These godlike creatures resemble the kin of endangered or extinct indigenous bird species of Aotearoa. Once these birdlands were filled with ten thousand deafening calls; now they are silenced, a stark reminder of loss. Hammond’s Bone Eagle C, 2007 and Bone Eagle B, 2007 Webb's

June

are etchings that explore similar themes to his paintings. Like much of his work, these prints invite narrative speculation. In stark monochromatic contrast, an eagle clutches a bone. The avian figure raises the osseous matter, as if in protest at devastating historic events. The remains could be the only scant evidence surviving of allies or ancestors lost in cataclysm or conflict. Bill Hammond is one of New Zealand’s most esteemed contemporary artists. During his career he lived in Lyttelton – the quiet port suburb of Christchurch. He attended the Canterbury University School of Fine Art in the 1960s, and subsequently forged a remarkable career. His works are highly sought after; many are held in major public and private collections both locally and internationally. 02

Bill Hammond Bone Eagle C 2007 etching on paper, 8/25 signed, dated and title inscribed 285 × 380mm

est

Webb's

Bill Hammond Bone Eagle B 2007 etching on paper, 8/25 signed, dated and title inscribed 285 × 380mm

$1,500 — $3,000

2022

$1,500 — $3,000

Tony de Lautour is often described as one of the pencil-case painters – a generation of artists who trained at Ilam School of Fine Arts whose work is unified by asking questions of identity and personal expression. Other artists linked to this include Saskia Leek, Séraphine Pick, and Shane Cotton. De Lautour is an Arts Foundation Laureate and his work often combines symbols from popular culture with the language and techniques of fine art. De Lautour's work explores a number of motifs, which the Arts Foundation describes as, “drawn from amateur tattoosspiders' webs guns, knives, teardrops, chains, lightning bolts, and syringes.” These images are often stylised, and painted with a highly finessed technique. Some of his paintings feature landscape imagery rendered like a type of topographical map. Webb's

June

This pair of works contrast two different modalities of de Lautour’s painting practice. In Landscape, the viewer is presented with a stark landscape of pointed hills beneath a dark, empty sky. The numbers 58 and 52 painted above the hills, markers of some obscure system of measurement. The work is tightly composed, visually restrained, and monochromatic. In Holding Back, a cartoonish lion-person holds a model aeroplane in one hand and a snake with a human skull for a head in the other. A gnarled tree in the background appears to mimic the pose of the lion-headed creature. The painting is darkly humorous, the creatures like something from a medieval bestiary though with the aeroplane adding a strange contemporary twist. Together, the two works showcase the skillset and visual language of a celebrated New Zealand painter. 04

Tony de Lautour Landscape c2001 oil, acrylic and coloured pencil on canvas signed and title inscribed 300 × 500mm

est

Webb's

$4,000 — $8,000

2022

Tony de Lautour Holding Back 2005 acrylic on board signed, dated and title inscribed 430 × 550mm $5,000 — $8,000

The pairing of André Hemer and Rohan Wealleans is a conversation between two approaches to abstraction. Both artists explore nonrepresentational painting through colour, light, and layering. In a sense, both approach the painted object as sculptural – engaging paint as a physical, three-dimensional material. In each instance, the contrast between physical tactility and the innate illusionistic properties of paint are considered. Hemer and Wealleans both engage in deliberate, repetitious applications of paint that morph and bleed across many layers, creating uncanny effects. Wealleans is known for carving into thick layers of paint, creating imagistic patterns and contrasting layers of colour. In the case of A Moveable Hole, this signature approach has been used to create a central anemone-like structure. With outlying tendril-like patterns and a tropical colour scheme this is highly reminiscent of aquatic life. Webb's

June

Hemer’s practice employs both the analogue and the digital, capturing paint layers and scrapes through a scanner, and using prints derived from these scans as a basis for painting. He then works over these scan collages with oil and acrylic paint. In the case of Big Node #37, he has combined digital material with acrylic paint in a thick impasto. The effect is visually uncanny, blurring the lines between digital and physical, and creating a sumptuous visual spectacle. Both artists are decorated, established practitioners. Wealleans holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Auckland obtained in 2003 and was the winner of the 15th Annual Wallace Trust Award in 2006. Hemer has a PhD in painting from the University of Sydney and has held residencies in various parts of the world, including Korea and Germany.

Rohan Wealleans A Moveable Hole 2008 oil on canvas blind 1255 × 1220mm est

André Hemer Big Node #37 2016 acrylic and pigment on canvas signed, dated and title inscribed 1200 × 900mm

$5,000 — $10,000 est

Webb's

2022

$12,000 — $18,000

Born in Thames in 1891, Vera Cummings was a painter of Scottish and Irish descent. Her parents immigrated to New Zealand as settlers in the 1860s – a defining era of history. Conflict had broken out between colonisers and Māori on account of treaty disputes and land confiscations. War and imported disease contributed to Māori population decline, and this was evident during Cummings’ youth. Cummings received a scholarship to attend the Elam School of Fine Art at the surprisingly young age of 11. There, she learnt how to paint under the tutelage of Charles Frederick Goldie, New Zealand’s leading painter of the time. Goldie was known for his portraits of venerable Māori sitters; his subjects often looked wistfully out of the picture frame, averting eye Webb's

June

contact. Cummings often painted with Goldie, capturing the same subjects. Goldie depicted Harata Rewiri Tarapata in 1903 and 1904. Cummings has adeptly responded to her mentor’s pictorial style. The framing and subject matter are consistent with Goldie’s, though she brings her own unique touches to the medium. Cummings retains some areas of paintwork in a stylised fashion, in contrast to areas of higher detail. She captures excellent likenesses of the sitters, while paying close attention the female and male variations of the moko. Both images articulate Māori architecture and material culture. The hei-tiki and shark tooth earrings of the sitters further establish their significance and status within the Māori world. 08

Vera Cummings Harata Rewiri Tarapata oil on canvas signed 305 × 255mm

est

Webb's

Vera Cummings untitled oil on canvas signed 495 × 395mm

$7,000 — $14,000

2022

$15,000 — $25,000

The late Bill Hammond is one of New Zealand’s all-time greats. His work showcases a unique mastery of painting, which evolved over the course of his life. The paintings he produced from the late 1960s through to his final years always demonstrated a strong graphic sensibility and sophisticated understanding of paint and image making. While his widely celebrated bird paintings came about in the 1990s, his work from the 1980s is highly distinctive in its own right. This pair of oil paintings on copper were painted in 1986. The two images feature the jarring angles, dark palettes, and biomorphic structures often explored in Hammond’s work of this era. Both set gold structures against black, void-like backgrounds, with a number of enigmatic objects comprising the subject matter. In Hard Work, a dynamic, hard-edged spiral dominates the composition. This mysterious structure creates visual space, Webb's

June

both receding into the background and advancing to the fore. What could be a torrent of liquid pours from an end. Another element could almost be a tree stump, with strangely rectangular branches and roots. Though this reading doesn’t hold and the image content remains abstract. In Wake Up, the image content is less obscure. One can discern a rodent-faced caricature to the right of the picture plane. Another creature prances in the background between two angular, plank-like objects. Pools of indiscernible liquid seep from under each of these planks. In some areas, the artist has scratched into the paintwork to add detail. In each of these paintings, Hammond has kept the subject matter minimal, and to some degree inscrutable. Though it is also the case that each demonstrates his unique vision and mastery of composition. 10

Bill Hammond Hard Work 1986 oil on copper signed, dated and title inscribed 300 × 400mm

Bill Hammond Wake Up 1986 oil on copper signed, dated and title inscribed 255 × 400mm

est

Webb's

$25,000 — $35,000

2022

$25,000 — $35,000

Laurence Aberhart has been among the standout photographic artists in the country since the late 1970s, and has produced a remarkable and compelling body of work over decades. His striking black and white photographs capture a powerful essence of New Zealand’s environment and culture. While he is particularly well-known for his depictions of austere landscapes and buildings, portraiture is also a strong feature of his work. The two works presented here were taken in the late 1970s. Both are ostensibly portraits, though both also set their subjects in dramatic contexts. Kamla and Magdalena, Mornington, Dunedin shows the two subjects named in the title, a pair of children, standing next to a monument or memorial structure. The Dunedin suburb of Mornington stretches out behind them. The image is framed by a pronounced vignette effect in the top corners. Taken in Webb's

June

1978, this image has the same essential qualities as Aberhart’s remarkably evocative architectural photographs, with the added element of the youthful subjects. Charlotte and Amila, Hamner features many of the same elements as the image it is paired with – two children, a similar composition, and the same vignette effect. In this instance, the backdrop is rural landscape rather than suburbia. The face of the child on the left of the image is blurred. This contrasts with the sharply defined boughs of the trees behind, a dynamic effect that breathes life and movement into the image. Together, these two images show another aspect of the remarkably accomplished career of one of New Zealand’s greatest photographic artists.

Laurence Aberhart Kamla and Magdalena, Mornington, Dunedin 1978 gelatin silver print 195 × 245mm

est

Webb's

$2,000 — $4,000

2022

Laurence Aberhart Charlotte and Amila, Hamner 1979 gelatin silver print 195 × 245mm $2,000 — $4,000

Michael Smither is known for his distinctive, often brightly coloured paintings, especially those that depict domestic life and seaside landscapes. He has also created abstract paintings, composed music, and worked as an environmentalist. Some of Smither’s most well-known paintings have come to be among the most widely recognised and celebrated in the country, for instance his distinctive work Rocks with Mountain held in the collection of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. The two paintings presented in this selection show the two most distinctive sides of Smither’s practice – portraiture and landscape. They also feature different approaches to working with paint. The untitled portrait shows a seated woman, gazing out of the picture plane. Possibly, as the direction of light suggests, she is peering through a window that is out of the Webb's

June

compositional frame. The image is captured in a wonderfully expressive application of acrylic paint. Brush marks have been intentionally left visible, creating a vigorous sense of movement and energy in the work. The simply titled Landscape was painted in 1969. This work shows another dimension of Smither’s practice, and a different means of paint application. The work, like its title, is relatively unadorned. Rolling hills and a distant rocky mountain are set against a clear blue sky. In this instance, the artist appears to have laid the support flat and let some of the paintwork pool – particularly the lighter tones in the mountains. This is contrasted with flowing brush marks in the foreground hills, setting up a fascinating contrast of painting methods within one resolved image.

Michael Smither untitled acrylic on board signed 906 × 753mm est

Michael Smither Landscape 1969 acrylic on paper on board signed and dated 420 × 620mm

$10,000 — $15,000 est

Webb's

2022

$10,000 — $15,000

The art of Gordon Walters is so deeply embedded in the New Zealand cultural psyche that it is familiar to just about everyone. The adoption of his distinctive koru motifs by various organisations and agencies, notably the New Zealand Film Commission, speaks to their effectiveness as means of visual communication. This is a consequence of both the meaning some have attached to them – as symbolic of biculturalism – and of the strikingly successful visual potency of the images. The two screenprints presented here have been released by the Walters Estate, and both are based on well-known Walters paintings. They are highly compelling and distinctive works by a master of style. Painting No. 7 is a key Walters work held by Te Papa Tongarewa. This limited edition print perfectly captures the Webb's

June

exquisitely balanced composition and colour that make this one of the artist’s finest pieces. Many of his koru works were painted in black and white – a bare, elemental exploration of the optical resonance of the image. Though in this instance, pale red and blue koru motifs feature as well. The overall effect is entrancing, yet warm. Tiki II is another Walters masterpiece. This work makes use of the koru motif in deep reds and blues. The optical effect of the design is endlessly captivating. Rather than a symmetrical, centre-oriented composition, the layout of Tiki II is asymmetrical. Koru forms are spread across the breadth and depth of the image without a discernible repetition of pattern. Though this is far from disjointed; the image is remarkably balanced. 16

Gordon Walters Painting No. 7 2016 screenprint on paper, edition of 100 indented with Walters Estate blindstamp 510 × 385mm

est

Webb's

$6,000 — $8,000

2022

Gordon Walters Tiki II 1966. printed 2022 screenprint on paper indented with Walters Estate blindstamp 1055 × 805mm $10,000 — $15,000

This selection brings together an unlikely pairing – Peter Stitchbury and Milan Mrkusich. While both artists have created highly regarded artwork, there are few parallels in their respective fields of practice. The late Mrkusich was one of Aotearoa’s foremost pioneers of abstract painting. His work is some of the most widely collected and discussed non-figurative painting in the country. Stitchbury’s work, on the other hand, is characterised by cartoonish portraits of wide-eyed subjects. With dramatic lighting over vacant expressions, some of his images bear a resemblance to digital animation models. What makes these two works hum as a pair is the uncomplicated directness of the imagery and the monochromatic palettes that both artists use. Mrkusich’s untitled work was created in 1977. Painted in a cool grey over blue, The painting is set up by a simple square grid in the lower picture plane. The work is satisfyingly restrained, Webb's

June

presenting the viewer with minimal elements, and a pronounced absence of pictorial devices. One can detect a certain depth, however, in the muted grey-over-blue colour field. This could be interpreted as a meditative expanse. Stitchbury painted Neonmeister in 1996. The work is painted in a red-orange monochrome, with a cropped face taking up nearly all of the image composition. The subject’s gaze is directed upward, fixed on something out of view. As the title suggests the work is a portrait of legendary neon artist Paul Hartigan. Captured in a luminescent red glow, perhaps another reference to the light of Hartigan's neon works.

Peter Stichbury Neonmeister 1996 oil on board signed, dated and title inscribed 505 × 425mm

Milan Mrkusich untitled 1977 acrylic on paper signed and dated 410 × 330mm

est

Webb's

$8,000 — $12,000

2022

$12,000 — $22,000

This intriguing pairing brings together work by two artists of different generations. Reuben Paterson is a contemporary artist of Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe, and Tūhourangi descent. He is well-known for his incredible, kaleidoscopic glitter paintings and striking public sculptures. The late Robert Ellis was born in England in 1929 and migrated to Aotearoa in 1957. He taught at Elam for decades and created a unique artistic language that sat somewhere between abstraction and representational painting. Exploring the parallels between the two works in this selection is revealing of the artistic skill of both artists. Paterson’s You’re a Gay Late is a work from 2003. It has a composition that negates visual depth – the artist has not used perspectival techniques, so the picture plane reads as flat. Webb's

June

Yet, this is counterbalanced by the optical effect of the intersecting shapes and the glittering material on the surface. Korowai by Ellis has a similar flat-reading picture plane. Though in this case, an optical effect is set up by the concentric lines in the work. This gives the work an appearance not unlike an aerial view of land and bodies of water. The colour range is very restrained – though this highlights the brilliance of the turquoise at the top of the image. In both of these works, the artists have relied on their own unique approaches to image-making. Each has a specific aesthetic and approach to material and composition. Together, they reveal the satisfaction that can arise from bringing works from different eras into a single collection. 20

Reuben Paterson You're a Gay Late 2003 glitter on canvas signed, dated and title inscribed 760 × 760mm

est

Webb's

Robert Ellis Korowai 1968 watercolour, ink and charcoal on paper signed, dated and title inscribed 725 × 540mm

$15,000 — $20,000

2022

$6,000 — $9,000

New Zealand-American artist Martin Basher was born in Wellington and moved to Rockland County, New York, as a teenager. He holds a BA and MFA from Columbia University, has exhibited across the globe, and has work in numerous public and private collections. Basher trades in the visual language and seductive colour found in advertising. He distils the glossy pages and digital pantheon of contemporary culture into abstract conceptualisations – the consumer aesthetic, rendered in stripes and gradients. Hawaiian Tropic, Dual Stripe offers a glimpse of a sunny beach. The landscape is native to travel agency promotions, trafficking in desire and escapism. Basher transcribes this scene into a painting – monochromatic, photo-realistic double presented vertically. Devoid of its retail context and titled on its side, the vista appears both familiar and uneasy – its ultraWebb's

June

saturated colours seep out of the scenery, coagulating on the surface in two orderly lines of Photoshop-perfect gradient. The hyper-pigmented palette supplants the realist landscape altogether in Untitled (2014); inky twilight tugs at the last rays of the sun as it dips below the horizon line. In the darkness, Basher ignites a space of psychological desire fabricated from images linked to luxury, indulgence and consumption. He takes this experiment in stylistic refinement to its natural conclusion in Untitled (2017). The tropic at dusk is extracted, processed and reduced to reveal its essence: a simmering interplay of light and dark. The resulting composition is a beguiling optical experience, one that invokes unspoken drives and our immense capacity for consumption.

Martin Basher Untitled 2014 acrylic on canvas signed, dated and title inscribed 1010 × 765mm

Martin Basher Untitled 2017 acrylic on canvas signed, dated and title inscribed 1780 × 1400mm

est

Webb's

$10,000 — $16,000

2022

$8,000 — $12,000

Martin Basher Hawaiian Tropic, Dual Stripe 2014 acrylic on canvas signed, dated and title inscribed 1000 × 700mm $15,000 — $25,000

English-born painter Allen Maddox migrated to New Zealand as a teenager. He studied at Ilam for a short time before pursuing a career in advertising. Joining Philip Clairmont and Tony Fomison, Maddox returned to painting and formed the 'Militant Artists Union', an unruly trio known to party hard and paint harder. Maddox produced the first of his signature cross paintings around 1975 when, he slashed an 'x' of paint across the surface of a work. This incident produced a totem, a cross matrix as seen in untitled that resisted any singular interpretation. Maddox compulsively reworked throughout this motif throughout his long painting career. Paired with Maddox is a painting by Ian Scott. Born in Bradford, Scott moved to West Auckland to escape post-war Webb's

June

England. He demonstrated a penchant for painting in his high school art classes, which were taught by Garth Tapper and Rex Head. He joined Colin McCahon's illustrious night classes before attending Elam alongside Richard Killeen and Michael Dunn. In the same period as Maddox's exploration of the 'X', Scott produced the first of his extensive Lattice series. Typified by Lattice No. 164, each matrix features diagonally overlapping bands on a square canvas. Scott reworked this motif consistently throughout his life. Akin to American Pop artists, Scott would remove all evidence of his brushwork and use masking tape to create clean edges. A master colourist, he threads colours that advance and recede into space, generating the illusion of threedimensional space. 24

Allen Maddox untitled c1980s oil on paper 420 × 355mm est

Ian Scott Lattice No. 164 1989 acrylic on canvas signed, dated and title inscribed 1070 × 1070mm

$3,500 — $5,500 est

Webb's

2022

$25,000 — $35,000

This pairing brings together work by two distinguished New Zealand artists. The late Para Matchitt was a sculptor and painter, who created a unique combination of traditional Māori art and modernism. His work has been extensively exhibited and collected throughout the country. Andy Leleisi’uao is an Auckland artist of Samoan heritage. His distinctive paintings bring together a wide range of visual references, including rock art, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Samoan tapa cloth, pop culture and comic books. He is an award winning, senior Pacific artist and his work is exhibited internationally. Matchitt’s Te Pakanga XXIV - Kei Te Tino Pouri Te Iwi. Me Pēhea Rātou Ka Ora was created in 1974. The work is striking in its geometric precision and symmetry. Tight weaves of lines Webb's

June

accentuate the structures that comprise the image. Dark black ink sits in contrast to the white paper and thin red lines. One can detect elements that recur in his sculptural practice, such as circles and semi-circles against hard rectangular and triangular shapes. This drawing neatly captures the rigorous aesthetic of Matchitt’s practice. Leleisi’uao painted Waking up to the Obscurity People in 2014. It is immediately more colourful than Matchitt’s work, and the silhouetted figures sit in contrast to the non-representational geometry of the other work. Though one can detect similarities in the use of negative space in the composition of both. Waking up to the Obscurity People makes use of a white background to define the procession of figures across the picture plane. 26

Andy Leleisi'uao Waking up to the Obscurity People 2014 acrylic on canvas 770 × 1525mm est

Para Matchitt Te Pakanga XXIV - Kei Te Tino Pouri Te Iwi. Me Pēhea Rātou Ka Ora 1974 ink on paper 480 × 670mm

$7,500 — $8,500 est

Webb's

2022

$6,000 — $8,000

Joe Sheehan is a contemporary sculptor who often works with locally sourced materials, including pounamu. One aspect of his practice is recreating day-to-day objects in stone, sometimes with an eerie likeness to the referential object. Through remarkably honed workshop techniques, Sheehan breathes life into his materials. He gives stone the appearance of malleability, shaping it with an apparent ease that belies the level of skill involved. Three of Sheehan’s pounamu works are presented here. Each of them is based on easily identifiable objects – two keys and a one-pound weight. In the case of the keys, these works take commonplace, functional objects and render them into something elevated and materially covetable. Both are domestic door keys – means to access private spaces. Their translation into pounamu Webb's

June

sculptures objects shifts their meaning, making them sacred. The material also speaks to a past at odds with the contemporary subject matter. This intentional anachronistic effect is a vein that runs through Sheehan’s practice. In the case of 1lb, the object has the appearance of an old-fashioned scale weight. The imperial measurement adds to the depth of meaning. Pounamu carries associations of tangata whenua and the pre-colonial era. In the beguiling simplicity of this object, there is a layered historical reading. For all the possible layered and serious readings, there is a playful quality to these works. They invite us to view everyday items from a new perspective, appreciating the functional simplicity of their forms. 28

Joe Sheehan Key 2007 pounamu signed 75 × 23mm (widest points)

Joe Sheehan Key 2007 pounamu signed 55 × 25mm (widest points)

est

Webb's

$900 — $1,800

2022

$900 — $1,800

Joe Sheehan 1lb 2007 pounamu signed and dated 95 × 95 × 30mm (widest points) $4,000 — $7,000

Saskia Leek is a Christchurch-born, Dunedin-based painter who has exhibited widely. Her work features diverse subject matter, and is often painted with a soft-focus effect. She is often mentioned in relation to the pencil-case painters – a group of artists who came through Ilam School of Fine Arts in the 1980s and 1990s, creating idiosyncratic works that engaged with identity. Other names associated with this group include Séraphine Pick, Shane Cotton, Peter Robinson, and Tony de Lautour. Pointer from 2005 is an acrylic work that shows Leek’s characteristic soft focus and pastel colours. It portrays a building, most likely a church, set against a soft grey background. The painting features an intriguing contrast between spatial Webb's

June

depth and deliberate flatness. The former is evidenced by the structural lines of the building and the receding background, whereas the latter can be seen in the path leading up to the door. It does not feature linear perspective. This sets up a dynamic where depth is created and negated at the same time. The other work in this pairing is an untitled painting from 2001. This is a pared-back work with a light application of paint. It depicts a dolphin leaping out of the water, neatly framing the setting sun behind it. The use of washes and visible brush marks in this work is a painting style that sits in contrast to the more highly rendered Pointer. Yet, in each work, the aesthetic sensibility of the artist clearly shines through – both are distinctively Leek’s paintings. 30

Saskia Leek Pointer 2005 acrylic on board signed and dated 350 × 270mm

est

Webb's

Saskia Leek untitled 2001 acrylic on board signed and dated 200 × 240mm

$2,000 — $5,000

2022

$1,000 — $2,000

Andrew McLeod and Max Gimblett are two artists of different generations and their work explores very different subject matter. Though the works in this pairing reveal some interesting parallels between the two artists. McLeod is known for creating dazzling paintings which riff off aspects of the history of New Zealand and international art. He cleverly intertwines visual themes from historic art movements into his works, creating composite images that offer multiple readings. While many of McLeod’s paintings combine abstract and figurative elements, this untitled work is entirely abstract. The panel on the left features a tight arrangement of geometric shapes, while that on the right is more sweeping and gestural. The frame features painted rectangles and contrasting Webb's

June

textures. In this work, one can detect nods to the history of modernist abstraction – Bauhaus, Constructivism, Colour field painting and the formalism of Mondrian all at once. Gimblett is known for his distinctive quatrefoil paintings and his engagement with Eastern and Western spirituality. This work, Hive, makes use of the quatrefoil form, though rather than featuring one of his distinctive splashes, the surface presents a series of near-rectangular forms that slip in and out of view. Like many of Gimblett’s works, Hive is readily engaged in modernist discourse around abstraction and the absence of illusory depth. This knowing engagement with historic themes of abstraction is a common thread that connects the two works. 32

Andrew McLeod untitled acrylic on canvas, wood signed 110 × 160mm est

Max Gimblett Hive 1997-8 acrylic and metallic pigments signed, dated and title inscribed 380 × 380mm (widest points)

$2,500 — $5,000 est

Webb's

2022

$15,000 — $20,000

This pairing brings together the work of two remarkable sculptors – Francis Upritchard and Hany Armanious. Both have exhibited at the Venice Biennale, Upritchard representing New Zealand in 2009 and Armanious representing Australia in 2011. The two works shown here are both quirky, and humourous. Upritchard’s untitled work combines a found earthenware jug with a ceramic bird head. This method of repurposing a found object by combining it with something she has made is a recurring element of her practice. The resulting piece is playful and arresting. The contrast between the functional finish of the earthenware and the artistically shaped bird-head creates a satisfying and slightly unnerving piece. Muffin No.3 by Armanious has a similar uncanny effect. As the title suggests, the work resembles a muffin. Though the material is expanding foam and paper – very far from being Webb's

June

edible. Armanious is engaged with transformative processes in art making, often elevating the forms of the everyday into artworks. In this instance, he has created a sculptural work in the form of a commonly enjoyed baked treat. This is a two-fold transformation; it raises the humble muffin to be an art object, and transforms building material into a likeness of food. Seeing the two works together demonstrates how this pair of artists are able to take everyday items and shape them into artworks. This is a remarkable characteristic enjoyed by a pair of brilliant artists who have both won considerable international acclaim.

Francis Upritchard untitled ceramic and found earthenware jug 240 × 120 × 150mm (widest points) est

Hany Armanious Muffin No. 3 2003 expanding foam, pigment and paper 310 × 430 × 430mm (widest points)

$5,000 — $8,000 est

Webb's

2022

$1,000 — $2,000

Terry Stringer is an award winning sculptor. Born in England in 1946, he migrated to New Zealand as a child in 1952. He studied at Elam in the 1960s, and has produced a prolific body of work in the decades since. This has included both public commissions and private shows. He was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sculpture in the New Year’s Honours in 2003. The two works presented here capture different facets of Stringer’s practice. Life Like, produced in 1998, is an aesthetically distorted figurative work. In keeping with Stringer’s signature approach, the work is contorted and stylised, though readily identifiable as depicting a human face. The work is cast in bronze, Webb's

June

and the metal shows a subtle patina. The word ‘Life’ stands out on a cheek. The face and underlying base appear to twist, bringing vigour and energy into the work Pourer is an earlier work, created in 1981. This enamel painted object sits in an interesting locus of painting and sculpture. In one reading, it mimics a functional object, much like the kind of historic artefacts that combine aesthetic and function. In another reading, it employs the properties of paint to create illusionistic depth, which are combined with the physical dimensions of the object to create an uncanny combination of real and illusory space. Together, Life Like and Pourer show some of the versatility and skill of one of New Zealand’s most collected sculptors. 36

bronze signed, dated and title inscribed 230 × 110 × 110mm (widest points)

Terry Stringer Pourer 1981 enamel on aluminium signed and dated 320 × 208 × 80mm (widest points)

est

Webb's

Terry Stringer Life Like 1998

$4,000 — $6,000

2022

$3,500 — $5,500

Toss Woollaston was one of the most influential New Zealand artists of the 20th Century. His expressive renderings of the New Zealand landscape are distinctive, immediately recognisable, and widely sought-after by collectors. His work is held in public and private collections throughout the country. These two Woollaston paintings are truly a pair. Both painted in 1967, they are titled Left of the Mountain and Right of the Mountain respectively. Each captures a view of a mountain and river, possibly located on the west coast of the South Island where the artist resided at the time. Woollaston has captured energy and movement in both works through his expressive brush work. The paintings give the viewer clear impressions of landscape, replete with mountain, river, and vegetation, though Webb's

June

with broad, impressionistic strokes. Both works eschew detail in favour of loose, suggestive applications of paint. For all their similarities, the works feature some intriguing differences. Right of the Mountain has a somewhat brighter palette. This is noticeable in the reddish tones in the slopes of the mountain and the yellow hues of the field below. It also shows up in turquoise notes in the sky. Left of the Mountain employs more dark browns and blues, and the sky is a more uniformly grey. These two paintings were created at a time when the notable artist was at the height of his powers. The expressiveness of the paintwork looks effortless , though it is a sign of tremendous skill. The works capture a compelling vision of New Zealand rural landscape by a great name of New Zealand art. 38

Toss Woollaston Left of The Mountain 1967 oil on board signed, dated and title inscribed 510 × 390mm

est

Webb's

Toss Woollaston Right of The Mountain 1967 oil on board signed, dated and title inscribed 510 × 390mm

$20,000 — $30,000

2022

$20,000 — $30,000

Sir Peter Siddell’s finessed and highly technical approach to painting won him many admirers and considerable acclaim; he was only the second New Zealand artist after Sir Toss Woollaston to receive a knighthood. His paintings depict landscapes that are based on real locations, though they are often imaginative depictions rather than mimetic reproductions. His works are devoid of people, even when depicting urban environments. The two works presented here are both untitled. The work from 1975 depicts a monument on a craggy, snowcovered hillside. The background sky is dominated by billowing cloud, similar in appearance to the snow. The monument is familiar in appearance, like many war memorials around the Webb's

June

country, solemn reminders of the harrowing losses of wartime. The monument in the painting is captured in contrasting light and shadow. A decade later, Siddell painted the other work in this pairing. This work shows a harbourside suburb, filled with quaint buildings and deserted streets. This work touches on key themes of Siddell’s oeuvre, referencing works produced over many years. The artist once stated, “I don’t paint chronologically in series but rather on a sort of thematic spiral where the related paintings are often years apart.” Regardless of theme or chronology, Siddell’s paintings capture light and create atmospheric effects through skilled draftsmanship, artistic vision, and captivating attention to detail. 40

Peter Siddell untitled 1975 oil on board signed and dated 265 × 215mm

est

Webb's

Peter Siddell untitled 1985 oil on board signed and dated 328 × 497mm

$4,000 — $6,000

2022

$6,000 — $12,000

Séraphine Pick and Shane Cotton both trained at Ilam School of Fine Arts in the 1980s, and both graduated in 1988. In the decades since, both artists have enjoyed prolific and widely celebrated careers. Pick is known for her dreamlike figurative paintings, powerful symbology, and engagement with contemporary media platforms in developing image content. Cotton’s work engages with questions of identity, the legacies of colonialism, and Māori spirituality. His work often includes text and other recurring motifs. Pick’s untitled diptych is painted with gestural expressiveness. One of the panels is predominantly black and the other white. Each has had thin lines cut back into the surface of the paint, creating a sketch-like effect. One can discern two arms meeting in embraced hands, with a soft, peachy glow above them. Webb's

June

Cotton’s Table Top was painted in 1993. The work is oil on paper, monochromatic and, and it makes use of a restrained set of pictorial elements. A rectangular wash of paint dominates much of the surface. Painted with a gestural flair, this sets the stage for the remaining elements – a fence line, a pair of flagpole-like staffs, and an amphora or vessel. Much of the paper is left unpainted, creating a kind of frame within a frame effect. These two artworks neatly encapsulate the widely celebrated painting practices of their creators – two of Aotearoa’s best.

Séraphine Pick untitled 1995 acrylic on board signed and dated 150 × 100mm; 150 × 100mm

est

Webb's

Shane Cotton Table Top 1993 oil on paper signed and dated 190 × 280mm

$2,000 — $4,000

2022

$3,000 — $5,000

This selection presents watercolour works by two of New Zealand’s all-time greats – Rita Angus and Toss Woollaston. The two artists are among the country’s most esteemed painters of the 20th Century. Angus created a highly stylised painting vernacular that focussed on landscapes and portraiture. Her work has continued to enthral audiences into the present day. Woollaston’s painting, by contrast, are more impressionistic, creating gestural depictions of New Zealand countryside, particularly in the South Island. Angus painted Trees in 1957. At this time, she was living in Wellington, often painting scenes from the capital. Trees provides no obvious cues on its setting, focussing entirely on the detail and richness of the arboreal subjects. The stunning green of the Webb's

June

foliage sets off against the more muted tones of the trunks and the neutral sky. Angus was a master of watercolour. Even though she combined watercolour with pastel in this work, her skill in the medium is amply demonstrated. Woollaston’s work presents a rural landscape – his enduring subject matter. In this work, detail is minimal. The rolling hills and plains below are captured in loose washes of watercolour. The work presents just enough information to portray its subject, with detail left to the mind of the viewer. Together, these paintings show the differing approaches to a single medium by two great New Zealand painters.

Rita Angus Trees 1957 watercolour and pastel on paper signed and dated 360 × 540mm

Toss Woollaston untitled watercolour on paper signed 240 × 345mm est

est

Webb's

$4,000 — $8,000

$25,000 — $40,000

2022

Peter McIntyre was a highly regarded painter who rose to prominence as the New Zealand Army’s official war artist during World War Two. In that capacity, he produced a number of wellknown paintings of military engagements in the European theatre of war. After the war had concluded, McIntyre returned to New Zealand and worked as a professional artist, with a prolific output over the course of his life. The two works in this pairing are both urban landscapes, though showcase the artist’s versatility in media, technique, and style. The untitled view of Piazza Navona, Rome, captures the ornate fountain, with it's figurative sculptures clustered around its edges. The square unfolds behind it with Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers appearing at the far end. McIntyre Webb's

June

has captured the scene in delicate in lines and thinly applied watercolour. The work retains a suggestive quality, not delving too deeply into exacting detail, though the artist has expertly captured the essence of the environment. McIntyre painted The City from Mt Tinakori in 1987. The painting shows a striking view of Wellington Harbour, capturing a full sweep of the downtown area through to Oriental Bay. The work is painted in oil, and the sublime blending qualities of the medium have been used to sumptuous effect. Comparatively speaking, the work is highly detailed. This selection showcases McIntyre’s mastery of both oil paint and watercolour. His ability to create compelling artworks through both evocative and detailed paint work is plain to see.

Peter McIntyre untitled watercolour and ink on paper signed 520 × 740mm est

Peter McIntyre The City From Mt Tinakori 1987 oil on board signed 770 × 1200mm

$15,000 — $25,000 est

Webb's

2022

$25,000 — $30,000

Art to Date Programme

Auckland Evening Preview Wednesday 15 June

6pm - 8pm

Auckland Viewing Thursday 16 June – Friday 17 June

10am - 5pm

Saturday 18 June – Sunday 18 June

10am - 4pm

Monday 20 June

10am - 5pm

Auction & Viewing Location auckland 33a Normanby Rd Mount Eden Auckland 1024 wellington 23 Marion Street Te Aro Wellington 6011

Auction Monday 20 June

6pm

33a Normanby Rd Mount Eden Auckland 1024 New Zealand 23 Marion St Te Aro Wellington 6011 New Zealand webbs.co.nz