Whitely painting fetches record price at Sotheby’s auction
Published August 28th, 2006
One of Brett Whiteley’s largest works has fetched $2.04 million at auction – a record price for the Australian artist.
The four-metre-long Hummingbird and Frangipani, painted by the late Whiteley in 1988, sold to a private Victorian collector at the Sotheby’s auction in Sydney.
Craig Ruddy’s controversial Archibald-winning portrait of Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil also went under the hammer, fetching $312,000.
Kate Dezarnaulds from Sotheby’s said Whiteley’s painting, which features a bird and frangipani as its main motifs, achieved the third highest price ever paid for an Australian painting at auction.
