A record price of S$2.02mil (RM6.5mil) has been set for a portray by Singaporean pioneer artist Georgette Chen (1906-1993) at auction. Titled Boats And Shophouses (circa 1963 to 1965), the portray of the Singapore River measuring 64.5cm by 81cm was bought by auction home Sotheby’s at its first auction in Singapore in 15 years.
Gallery proprietor Ho Sou Ping, who attended the auction held at the Regent Singapore lodge on Aug 28, stated that the room erupted into cheers when the hammer got here down on the ultimate bid.
He stated it was a “full home” and estimated there have been between 200 to 300 patrons attending in particular person. The auction was additionally held reside on Sotheby’s web site.
At the media preview for the auction final Thursday (Aug 25), Sotheby’s deputy director (Asia) Rishika Assomull stated it was anticipating bids in extra of US$1mil (RM4.5mil) for the portray as a result of the artist hardly ever painted Singapore River scenes.
Assomull additionally famous there was an rising shopping for pattern for feminine artists. “Collectors are trying again with new lenses,” she added.
Ho, who’s the founder of artcommune gallery, stated there may be rising curiosity in Singapore artists.
“A 12 months in the past, the identical work (by Georgette Chen) would have solely fetched a most of S$600,000 (RM1.9mil),” he stated.
He additionally attributed the curiosity within the portray to an exhibition of Chen’s works at the National Gallery Singapore, which resulted in September 2021.
Other works that crossed the S$2mil (RM6.4mil) mark at Sotheby’s auction embody a portray by Willem Gerard Hofker, which bought for S$2.27mil (RM7.3mil), and the auction spotlight by Walter Spies) which bought for S$4.03mil (RM13mil). Both works had been painted when the artists had been in Indonesia.
In December 2021, Georgette Chen’s Still Life, Mid Autumn Festival (circa Nineteen Sixties) bought for S$1.8mil (RM6mil) at an auction at Christie’s Hong Kong – greater than twice its pre-sale estimate and an auction record for the artist then. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
