An extremely rare piece of fine art, a Jeffrey Smart painting has broken auction records, selling under the hammer at Lloyds Auctions for $210k late last week, setting a new benchmark for Australian artists.
Jeffrey Smart is an iconic Australian realist painter, and his work has been on show in museums around Australia and abroad with a current exhibition of his works right now being held in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra until May.
The rare painting that went under the hammer was the ‘Second Study for Railway Bridge, 1996’ an original oil painting on canvas, which is in excellent condition and was exhibited in Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane.
“This is a very important and iconic piece of artwork, and we were honoured to be able to deliver it to its new custodians who we hope will display and enjoy the artwork for many years to come,” said Ms. Amanda Benson, Head of Fine Art & Antiquities for Lloyds Auctions.
The painting itself displays a range of techniques of colours and shapes and is signed by Jeffrey Smart in the lower left corner.
“It’s rare that these pieces surface for public auction so we probably won’t find another piece of art quite like this representing a period of Australian history,” said Ms. Benson.
“Artwork is something we are seeing our clients treat as a longer-term investment that they can actually enjoy and seeing prices continuing to strengthen gives them the ability to enjoy the asset whilst its appreciating in value,” said Ms. Benson.
The strong prices achieved for Australian art is bringing some incredible pieces forward to auction.
