The Denis Savill Collection of Australian Art went under the hammer by Sotheby’s Australia on Tuesday evening followed by the Australian & International Art sale the following night. Savill’s collection was not exactly “fresh”. Around 90% of the works had been to auction over the last 20 years with many exposed in the past two years. The most successful lots were Sidney Nolan's River-Bank 1964 (Lot 40 ) which sold for $1.35 million hammer against estimates of $600,000 to $900,000 and Charles Blackman's The Ceremony (Lot 29 ) which made $500,000 (estimate $250,000 to $300,000). The collection grossed $5,355,678 or 86.7 per cent by volume and 183.8 per cent by value. Full Results

Sotheby's Important Australian & International Art realised an exceptional $8.87 million including buyer’s premium with 71.6% sold by volume and 121.6% sold by value.  The combined May sales realised a total $14.2 million, the highest auction result for Sotheby’s Australia since May 2007. The highlight of the evening was Fred Williams’ Hillside Landscape No. 1 (1966) selling for $1,830,000 (estimate $1 - $1.2million), the highest priced Australian painting sold at auction since 2014. John Brack's Two Running Girls 1959 raced to $1,647,000 (estimate $1,000,000-1,200,000) and Christmas Lilies 1955 bloomed with a result of $488,000 (estimate $200,000-300,000). Full Results

On the international stage, Christie's major sale of postwar and contemporary art at Rockefeller Center in New York scored $318.4 million on Tuesday evening, 10th May. The most expensive lot of the night was a large Untitled canvas by Jean-Michel Basquiat, dating from 1982 The final price was $57.3 million, a new record for the artist at auction. Full Results