KUALA LUMPUR: The Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers Malaysian and Southeast Asian Art Auction March 2021 edition on Sunday recorded RM4 million in sales.
Held both virtually and on site at Galeri Prima, Balai Berita, the outcome was regarded as encouraging for the local art scene.
The organiser recorded a high successful selling rate of 73 per cent or 113 lots (works) out of the 155 lots on offer had been sold.
Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers director, Sim Polenn said the sales was a pleasant surprise considering the sluggish economic atmosphere amidst the pandemic. It also reflected a sustained interest in high quality masterpieces.
"The last time we achieved RM4 million sales, it was way back in 2012, when the art market was at its peak.
"The clients know it is 'Buyer's Market' now, thus they take the opportunity to buy quality artworks at reasonable and attractive prices. Good decision!
"We sincerely appreciate the continuous support from the buyers and art collectors," he said in a statement.
The sale's top lots were Datuk Ibrahim Hussein's 2006 masterpiece 'Untitled', which was sold pre-auction within the RM1.3 million to RM1.8 million range.
Another notable work was Latiff Mohidin's 'Voyage Rimbaud II', which was painted between 2003 and 2004 and sold for RM320,000.
Awang Damit Ahmad's 1992 masterpiece 'Apa Khabar Ledang', which is from the most sought-after 'Esssence of Culture' (EOC) series which was sold for RM224,000.
Noor Mahnun Mohamed's 'A Song For Two' sparked a prolonged bidding battle in the sale room, with the first bid starting at RM90,000, and was eventually sold for RM156,800.
Other highlights of the auction was a work from Yusof Ghani's 'Wayang' series which was sold for RM145,600 or three times its starting bid of RM50,000.
Senior artist Yeoh Jin Leng's rare 1966 masterpiece featuring soothing blue hues titled 'Storm Clouds' was sold for RM100,800; while Khalil Ibrahim's 'Reflections (IX)' from 1980 was sold for RM106,400.
Datuk Chuah Thean Teng's masterpiece 'Bestowment' achieved RM47,040, while another piece by the same artist titled 'Kampung Life' achieved RM17,920.
Contemporary artists were well represented with Ahmad Zakii Anwar's 'Incognito' being sold for RM50,400, Nadiah Bamadhaj's 'No Really I'm Fine' sold for RM47,040, and Zulkifli Yusoff's 1995 masterpiece sold for RM44,800.
Batik works also featured prominently in the auction with works by Datuk Chuah Thean Teng, who is known as the Father of Batik Art, Datuk Tay Mo Leong, Lee Kian Seng and M. Sukri Derahman.
Sim said in the span of 11 years, Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers recorded art auction sales of RM62 million, selling more than 2,600 pieces of artworks, in which 90 per cent are Malaysian art.
"We are glad this auction reflects a widening of interest for works from the region, and participation of new and young collectors.
"The collectors pool is growing, and there is still much room to further expand the pool. This is the first auction of the year, and it gives the company a good start. We hope to achieve greater heights in sales by the year of the end. This is possible with the tremendous, continuous support from art lovers," he said.
