Art
Our Art Auctions
Our art department offers three auction categories:
Works of Art — Select — Art Online
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Works of Art is our premiere live art auction. This catalogue showcases a curated selection of museum quality artworks by New Zealand’s most celebrated artists as well as works by notable international practitioners. -
Select: This online art auction presents strong examples of collectible work by significant artists that have been hand-picked by our team of specialists. -
Art Online: This online auction offers a wide range of artworks spanning all mediums, from historic to very contemporary. A great way to build upon or start a collection with works available at a variety of affordable price-points.
Select
Online Auction | 8—22 June
—Bidding Open
Select , Webb's curated online art auction, presents a diverse group of New Zealand and international artists.
Highlights include a strong presence of Māori artists spanning generations: Hira Anderson-Mita, Sandy Adsett, Shane Cotton, Star Gossage, Aroha Gossage, Ralph Hotere, Emily Karaka, Fiona Pardington, Reuben Paterson, Peter Robinson, and Robin White.
This hand-picked catalogue also features an early and unique oil painting by the late Philip Trusttum, conceptual works including pieces from the Estate of L. Budd, and American artist Terry Fox, a key figure in West Coast conceptual art of the late 60s and early 70s, among many others.
Highlights are exhibited in Wellington ahead of a full catalogue show at Webb's Mount Eden Gallery, with all bidding taking place online.
Wellington Viewing
10—13 June
Wellington Event
Friday 12 June, from 5.30pm
Mark Hutchins-Pond
Senior Specialist, Art, Wellington
[email protected]
+64 022 095 5610
23 Marion St, Te Aro, Wellington
Auckland Viewing
16—22 June
Auckland Event
Saturday 20 June, 11am—12pm
Georgina Brett
Specialist, Select
[email protected]
+64 27 929 5609
33a Normanby Road, Mount Eden
Zoomorphic Lounge: A Private Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art
Single Owner Live Auction | 28.07.26
—Catalogue Coming Soon
Webb's presents Zoomorphic Lounge, a single-owner collection and live auction of modern and contemporary art.
Formed over several decades, this body of work reflects the singular vision of a collector with an exacting focus on quality. An attentive and considered connoisseur, the owner acquired the majority of pieces within the Wellington region, assembling a distinctive collection with exceptional depth and coherence. The upcoming July live auction features major works by Bill Hammond, Shane Cotton, Liz Maw, Max Gimblett, Paul Dibble, and Jacqueline Fraser.
At its centre is this titular painting, Zoomorphic Lounge III (1999), a substantial work by Bill Hammond that exemplifies the artist at his most assured. Characteristic avian figures are set within a richly imagined landscape, in a composition of rare scale and presence. Formerly held in the artist's personal collection and loaned to public institutions, it ranks among Hammond's most important paintings to have appeared at auction.
Highlights from the collection will tour Christchurch and Wellington prior to the public viewing and live auction in Auckland, which takes place on Tuesday 28 July, 6.30pm.
Auckland
Megan Shaw, PhD
Manager, Art
[email protected]
+64 22 301 8259
Wellington
Mark Hutchins-Pond
Senior Specialist, Art [email protected]
+64 22 095 5610
Christchurch
Sean Duxfield
Senior Specialist, Art
[email protected]
+64 21 053 6504
Works of Art
Live Auction | Monday 24 August
—Entries Invited
Webb’s is pleased to invite entries into our upcoming August Works of Art Live Auction.
Early consignments reveal a catalogue of considerable depth and range, from Philip Clairmont’s monumental The Folding Chair and Milan Mrkusich’s early modernist abstraction, to works by Karl Maughan, Max Gimblett, Fiona Pardington and Ann Robinson.
Works of Art is Webb’s premier live art auction, presenting a curated selection of museum‑quality, investment‑level artworks by leading New Zealand and international artists, supported by nationwide exhibitions and events.
The March Works of Art sale reaffirmed demand at the upper end of the market, led by Bill Hammond’s Wishbone Ash Stash 2, Cornwall Road selling for $525,800, alongside major works by Tony Fomison such as John the Baptist, from Caravaggio's St John with Ram that achieved $310,700, and Floodgate I by Colin McCahon realising a price of $274,850.
The auction also included works from the collection of Sir Miles Warren, achieving a 90% sell‑through rate and raising $500,000 in support of Ōhinetahi’s ongoing artistic and cultural legacy.
Those considering inclusion in the August catalogue are invited to speak with our specialist team for a complimentary, confidential appraisal.
Auckland
Megan Shaw, PhD
Manager, Art
[email protected]
+64 22 301 8259
Wellington
Mark Hutchins-Pond
Senior Specialist, Art [email protected]
+64 22 095 5610
Christchurch
Sean Duxfield
Senior Specialist, Art
[email protected]
+64 21 053 6504
Art Online
Online Auction | 17—22 July
—Entries Invited
Lily McCowan
Specialist, Art Online
[email protected]
+64 22 068 4932
Colin McCahon, Clouds 3, 1975 (2024), screenprint on 640gsm Hahnemühle cold pressed paper, edition of 100, 1035 × 700mm.
PRICE $12,000+GST (unframed)
A limited edition opportunity—
The Colin McCahon Legacy Project
Introducing a limited-edition reproduction of one of McCahon's artworks, crafted to support the Colin McCahon Legacy Project, an interactive digital platform that will showcase the artist’s remarkable life and works. In partnership with Webb’s, the Project has made these prints available for purchase—giving supporters a chance to own a piece of McCahon’s legacy, while contributing to the preservation of his work.
Read more about the Colin McCahon legacy project and Webb’s long and illustrious history with Colin McCahon on our website article here.
For expressions of interest please contact our specialist team. The work can be viewed in our Auckland and Wellington Galleries.
Georgina Brett
Specialist, Select
[email protected]
+64 27 929 5609
The Art Department
Webb’s Art Department offers excellence in expertise and service. We are always interested in discussing your artworks or wider collection and what we can do for you.
Our specialist team are able to provide market-based information for those wishing to consign or seeking acquisition advice, no-obligation appraisals, and valuations for market and insurance purposes. The department offer a number of live and online Art auctions throughout the year. Our auctions feature a range of artworks from museum-quality investment paintings to more affordable works tailored to new collectors.
Please contact our Art department to discuss any works in our upcoming Art auctions or to learn more about the benefits of selling at auction.
Emily Gardener
Director of Art (Maternity Leave)
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A highly skilled contemporary arts specialist, Emily arrives at Webb’s with twenty years experience working in world-class Development and Sales departments within leading public and commercial arts institutions.
Emily spent over a decade living and working in London, where she gained a Master's in Contemporary Art at Sotheby's Institute and held roles at prestigious galleries such as the Serpentine Galleries, The Photographers’ Gallery and White Cube. She later moved to Sydney and took up the role of Head of Development at the Biennale of Sydney, followed by a position as Head of Philanthropy at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. More recently Emily has worked as the Director of Development at Objectspace in Aotearoa.
Emily has experience working with a broad range of artists, curators, patrons, and international delegates, and will bring to this role a confident and well-informed understanding of the local and international arts sectors, as well as a creative and entrepreneurial flare and keen eye for detail.
Dr. Megan Shaw
Manager, Art
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Megan Shaw brings deep experience in contemporary art and philanthropy, shaped by six years with the Chartwell Collection Trust.
She is an art historian with a PhD from the University of Auckland, has published widely, co-authored a book marking Chartwell’s 50th anniversary, served in governance roles across galleries and academia, and held research fellowships with the Paul Mellon Centre and Oxford University.
Sean Duxfield
Senior Specialist, Art
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Sean has over three decades’ experience within the arts sector in a wide range of roles.He has honed his technical and leadership skills at organisations such as the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Dowse Art Museum and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and developed significant experience in his own private capacity.
Sean’s long association with the Venice Biennale — providing exhibition support services to participants in both art and architecture disciplines — resulted in him receiving a President’s Award from the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 2018. Sean is also co-chair of the Canterbury Society of the Arts/CoCA board in Christchurch and a Trustee of the Bill and Pip Culbert Trust.
Through these roles, he has developed an invaluable understanding of the arts ecosystem of the South Island as well as its wider importance and significant investment potential nationally.
Mark Hutchins-Pond
Senior Specialist, Art
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Mark Hutchins-Pond is our Senior Art Specialist based in Wellington. He has extensive art sector expertise from over three decades of working with and writing about art in Aotearoa.
Mark’s previous appointments include leading the Pātaka Art+Museum curatorial team and successfully running his own dealer gallery for nine years. He has written for and edited various art publications and is a respected speaker of our country’s most exceptional art.
Kelly Carmichael
Senior Specialist, Art
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Kelly Carmichael is a Senior Specialist, Art. She brings a wealth of experience across curatorial practice and arts leadership with a background spanning both the public and independent sectors.
Director of Starkwhite Queenstown for five years, Kelly is also an independent curator whose practice moves between the gallery and public art contexts. She has previously held positions at City Gallery Wellington, Sculpture on the Gulf, and Artspace. Since 2013 she has been the regional representative for the International Award for Public Art (IAPA) based at the University of Shanghai and participates in regular academic conferences.
Before returning to New Zealand, Kelly worked for a variety of cultural organisations including galleries, biennials, commissioning agencies, and intergovernmental organisations in the UK, Europe, and the Middle East. She writes regularly for art publications and is co-chair of the Arrowtown Creative Art Society.
Georgina Brett
Specialist, Select
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Georgina Brett brings a broad wealth of experience and knowledge from working in a range of positions within the arts sector. Prior to working for Webb’s, Georgina Brett was the Exhibitions Production Manager for Artspace Aotearoa for four years.Georgina is a sound and visual artist and holds an MFA from the Elam School of Fine Arts, Tāmaki Makaurau. Since graduating she has exhibited both locally and internationally.
She credits her father, Graeme Brett, for much of her knowledge of New Zealand art. Many of the artists whose work passes through Webb’s either studied alongside or were tutored by her father during his time at Elam.
Lily McCowan
Specialist, Art Online
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Lily McCowan is Webb’s new art specialist with a focus on our Art Online auctions. She brings experience from Dunbar Sloane and McLeavey Gallery, and holds a BA (First Class Honours) in History and Art History from Victoria University of Wellington. A 2024 Parkin Scholar with the Wellington Club, she also completed a guest curatorship at Katherine Mansfield House and Garden. As Specialist for Webb’s Art Online, Lily curates high-quality works across accessible price points and collaborates with consignors to connect their art with engaged collectors.
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