Canberra family gets $7 million but loses 28 pictures in 'bliss bomb' sale

Who is the mystery seller who has traded an art collection for a cool few millions? Artwork by mixed artists.

Boy, we're just thrilled that the art market has this kind of bliss bomb.

- Deutscher and Hackett's Damian Hackett

A collection of pictures owned by a mystery Canberra collector has sold for $8,518,500 in what the auction house called a "bliss bomb". After fees and taxes have been taken out, the Canberra seller is likely to get around $7 million for 28 pictures.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

or signup to continue reading

Nearly all of the works by Australian artists sold on the night, in the auction itself, but the auctioneers were confident that deals could be done with buyers for the remainder.

The one picture which depicts a Canberra scene - the Sydney and Melbourne Buildings in the 1940s - is to stay in Canberra - but exactly where also remains a mystery, whether on the wall of a grand private house or in a vault or even (less likely) on public display.

The seller is also unknown, though it was an individual and not an estate, according to Deutscher and Hackett director Damian Hackett.

Highlights from the 28 works of art auctioned at Deutscher and Hackett's Sydney gallery. Pictures Deutscher and Hackett

Either way, he was cock-a-hoop about the sale: "Boy, we're just thrilled that the art market has this kind of bliss bomb," he said.

"Anyone would be jumping for joy."

The auction house director said interest came from all over Australia and from abroad, and in the auction room in Sydney itself and online. Galleries bought some of the works.

The auction house was coy about how much of the $$8,518,500 would go to the seller after taxes and its own commission was taken out. But a good stab would be around $7 million.

There has been some speculation about who the seller might be.

The auction house gave only one thin clue. "The collection started in the early 2000s, when the owners, who knew a very important and celebrated architect named John Andrews, and they did a deal, or Mr Andrews did a deal with them to acquire a few works," Mr Hackett said.

Might that hint point towards either of two of Canberra's most prominent property developers, each with more than enough cash to buy a serious art collection?

Businessman and philanthropist John Hindmarsh died last year. He was a great patron of the arts and friend of the National Gallery of Australia. The year before, Terry Snow who developed Canberra Airport also died.

But the word from the auctioneers was that the owner was an individual and not an estate - which leaves the puzzle wide open.

There's clearly money in Canberra but why would someone suddenly sell a beloved collection of first-rate pictures by Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Brett Whitely and a raft of other top Australian artists? Has someone suddenly fallen on what they might see as hard times?

For the public, the auction doesn't change very much. The works weren't on show in Canberra before, except perhaps to the diners at some select private dinner party. And they certainly won't be on show to the public now after they have been sold and dispersed.

But the bank balance of someone in Canberra will be around $7 million heavier - but their walls will be substantially emptier.

More from Entertainment