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Two Circles, oil on canvas, John Drawbridge, 1969. From the art collection of David Carson-Parker gifted to the Arts Foundation
David Carson-Parker
Arts Foundation Governor David Carson-Parker generously gifted artworks to the Arts Foundation when he died in 2016, as a way of providing ongoing financial support and assistance to the New Zealand arts community.
His extensive art collection was auctioned at Dunbar Sloane in Wellington, raising $200,000. Dunbar Sloane's Director of Fine and Applied Arts, Helena Walker, was delighted with the positive response to the sale, saying: "All three sections of the sale were strong, especially the applied arts and studio ceramics section, which was David’s great love and passion."
A number of items broke sale price records for the artists involved, including Juliet Peter, whose watercolour Easter Moon was expected to reach a figure between $3,000-$6,000 and sold for $20,300, $17,000 higher than her previous highest price at auction. John Drawbridge’s oil on canvas work Two Circles also outshone expectations, achieving $38,250, topping the artist’s previous highest sale price of $20,000. John Middleditch's copper sculpture Icarus also sold for a career high of $7,170.
David's partner Jeremy Commons generously supported the auction by painstakingly documenting David's art collection and allowing it to be sold during his lifetime. You can browse the auction catalogue here.
