An artwork from one of the country's most influential contemporary artists could set a new record for the most expensive piece of art sold at auction in New Zealand.
Melting Moments I (1999) from the late artist Bill Hammond is set to be auctioned at Webb's Auction House on Monday, August 28, with estimates putting the piece between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.
The current record for the priciest piece of art is held by Colin's McCahon's 1982 painting — Is there anything of which one can say look this is new? — which sold for $2.45 million in 2021.
Webb's director of art Charles Ninow said Hammond's work is hugely significant to New Zealand's art sector.
"The work comes from his really coveted period, the late 1990s. And this is the most major work from that era that's ever been presented to the market."
Hammond was born in Christchurch in 1947 and attended the Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury during the mid 1960s.
Though he didn't begin exhibiting until the 1980s, he soon gained recognition — during his lifetime becoming one of New Zealand's most well-known and widely celebrated artists.
Webb's art manager Tasha Jenkins said the artist's post-colonial Gothic style is still having an impact on New Zealand art today.
"A lot of artists were influenced by the style, the drippy paint, it was something different than what people had seen before. It's something that even people in art school look to as inspiration."
Hammond died in 2021 at the age of 73.
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