Going, going, gone for the masters' works

Going, going, gone for the masters' works

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): The auction scene continues to be the main
indicator of the Indonesian art boom. Sotheby's and Christie's
had their art auctions in Singapore in March, featuring four
works by the 19th century Indonesian artist Raden Saleh.

Both auctions saw a general trend in that most of the
paintings with Indonesian subjects sold rather poorly, except for
a few extraordinary pieces which fetched high prices.

At Sotheby's sale, Lee Man Fong's Bali Life, which was placed
on the cover of the catalog, failed to sell.

However, a fabulous landscape by Walter Spies broke another
record for the Russian-born German artist's works, being sold at
a hammer price of S$1 million.

A work by the 19th century painter Raden Saleh, Fighting
Animals, was sold for S$700,000, well over its estimate, to a
phone bidder from Indonesia.

The highlight of Christie's sale the next day was certainly
Raden Saleh's Lion and Snake Fighting Outside a Grotto in a
Tropical Landscape, sold at the hammer price of S$1.8 million.

In Christie's auction during the same auction season last
year, Raden Saleh's Deer Hunt set a record price of S$2.8
million.

The artist's painting of a European Water-Mill was sold for a
modest S$80,000. In this sale, Spies' Animal Fable also sold for
S$750,000.

In Amsterdam in April, the auctions of Indonesian paintings
showed that interest in Indonesian paintings continued to level
out and stabilize.

The Van Lier auction shows that Indonesian tribal art is
gaining strong interest, particularly from dealers or private
collectors in Europe and the United States.

Local auctions included the Indonesian Art Foundation's third
Indonesian Art Bourse in May.

Following a tremendously successful sale reaching Rp 2.6
billion the previous year, this year's sales only managed to sell
a little over 50 percent of the total number of paintings,
drawing about Rp 1.45 billion in revenue.

The highlights included the sale of Srihadi Soedarsono's
Menunggu Upacara (Waiting for the Ceremony) for Rp 84 million,
Sri Warso Wahono's Wanita Berkain Sutra (Woman in Silk Sarong)
for Rp 43 million, and Hardi's Pak Harto Nabuh Bedug (Pak Harto
Beats the Drum) for Rp 35 million.

During the one-day exhibition in August of the works by noted
ceramic artist Adi Munardi, an auction was conducted for the
charitable benefits.

Record

The AIDS foundation held its auction in October at the Grand
Hyatt, which continued at the Shangri-La.

After 50 out of 80 paintings were sold at the Grand Hyatt,
seven of the best pieces were auctioned.

Srihadi's Doa dan Harapan (Prayers and Hope), listed at Rp 85
million, sold for Rp 100 million, while the other six paintings
did not exceed much further than the submitted bids.

Amid the currency crisis and the problem of haze smothering
the region, a series of not two but three auctions of Southeast
Asian paintings were once again held in Singapore over three
consecutive days at the end of September.

Sotheby's offered 261 paintings, Christie's 318, and Glerum
361, brings the total of art works to a record 940 in a single
auction season; 550 of which were Indonesian in subject matter.

The highlights of Sotheby's auction included the sale of a
work by Walter Spies at a hammer price of S$850,000. A mediocre
painting of a Legong dancer by Dullah, estimated at S$20,000 to
S$25,000, was finally sold at S$78,000 to an English woman after
a fierce battle with an American.

The surprise at Christie's was the sale of the Sudjojono cover
piece, which attracted a record S$110,000, or well over five
times its estimate of S$15,000 to S$20,000.

Glerum's highlights included the sale of Isaac Israels'
paintings. The artist's portrait of R. M. Djodjana fetched a
surprising S$220,000, while another painting of a gamelan managed
to reach an astronomical price of S$300,000.

The greatest surprise at Glerum was the sale of Lee Man Fong's
Man with a Cockerel and a Child, which fetched an unbelievable
S$240,000. Many thought that this was the craziest purchase of
the auction season.

Glerum boasted a result of S$4.2 million, Sotheby's booked
sales of S$3.7 million, while Christie's reported a modest S$3.4
million, bringing the season total to a mere S$11.3 million for
almost 1,000 paintings, just a little above Christie's March 1995
sale, which only offered 170 paintings.

This was a clear indication that the boom was leveling out.

In December, the intrepid Glerum held another sale, this time
of works by contemporary Indonesian artists.

Although the auctioneer's efforts in promoting Indonesian art
deserves commendation, his selection of works is rather weak and
the sale ill-timed. Yet, the low prices of the works manages to
attract Singaporean buyers.

The auctions, whether they be in Amsterdam, Singapore, or
Jakarta, indicate a saturation of the market. As a residue of the
art boom, the amount of paintings appearing on the market
increases, while prices are dropping.