Self-portrait sees Smart record fall
'JEFFREY Smart’s Self-Portrait at Papini’s last night became the second painting by the late painter to sell for more than $1 million at auction.
Melbourne art adviser Bernard Shafer bought the big canvas on behalf of a private client, paying a record $1.28m for the artist at Deutscher and Hackett’s Fine Art Auction in Sydney.
The three-hour sale attended by more than 120 people saw more than 80 per cent of the 142 works find buyers for a total $6.7m, the company’s best result since last August.
Damian Hackett said, “We had a tremendous night with a very active room and eight pages of telephone bids”.'
Michaella Boland, Self-portrait sees Smart record fall for a second million-dollar sale, The Australian, August 28, 2014