Media Coverage - Dwyer Fine Art Sets Australian Record Price

Mystery buyer sets Old Time art record - The Australian - Corrie Perkin - May 8, 2007

The result shatters the previous strongest result, set in 2000 at Christie's $15.9 million sale of the Mertz Collection.

Sotheby's much-anticipated auction, attended by more than 500 people with dozens more linked on telephone, also set a record for an Australian painting at auction - John Brack's The Old Time fetched $3.36 million. The painting was bought by Melbourne art consultant Jon Dwyer on behalf of private clients. Mr Dwyer, a former director at Christie's who recently set up his own art consultancy, declined to name the new owners but said the painting would be "in excellent company ... it fits in very well with the rest of their collection".

"I'm thrilled for the new owners, and to be entrusted to purchase such a wonderful painting, it's a milestone for me as well," he said. The price, which includes the buyer's premium paid to the auction house, eclipses the previous Australian record, set last year when Brack's The Bar sold for $3.12 million at the April Sotheby's auction.

Brack's 'Old Time' sells for $3.36m - The Age - Russell Skelton - May 8, 2007

THE elegant John Brack masterpiece The Old Time shattered the record for the most money paid for an Australian painting when it fetched $3.36 million, including commissions, at auction last night. This passed the previous record of $3.12 million set last year for The Bar, also by Brack.

The Old Time, which depicts two dancers frozen in mid stride, was purchased for an undisclosed client by John Dwyer, of the Melbourne-based Dwyer Fine Art. Mr Dwyer told The Age: "The painting is going to a very, very good home." Asked if it was a Melbourne home, Mr Dwyer declined to say, although that seems likely. "It a very good painting, the finest in the catalogue," he added.

It was a night when Sydney's top end threw away caution for the biggest spending spree on Australian art in a single sitting. Proceeds from the Sotheby's auction, held in the old Paddington Town Hall, soared to over $22 million. The previous highest figure was $15.9 million achieved by Christie's seven years ago. The bidding for the Brack, which has been in a private collection since 1969, was intense. In less than a minute the bids jumped from $500,000 to over $1.5 million.

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