A former Inverell artist has had one of her art pieces sold for over $1 million in Sydney this week by auction house Smith & Singer
The Guardian Australia reports the late Bronwyn Oliver broke the sales record for Australia sculpture, with her monumental 2000 work ‘Tide’ fetching $1m at auction, or $1.25m with buyer’s premium.
Announcing the sale in late October, Geoffrey Singer, chair of Smith & Singer predicted “a frenzy of bidding”, noting how rarely Oliver’s work came to auction.
It had been estimated prior to the auction that the work would sell for between $1m to $1.5m, making it the most valuable Australian sculpture ever offered for auction in Australia.
The copper sculpture, measuring 4 metres, was a prominent feature of high-end Sydney restaurant Quay for more than two decades.
Ms Oliver passed away in 2006 but her profile has grown after exhibitions in Victoria and the ABC documentary in 2021 called Bronwyn Oliver: The Shadows Within.
