The million-dollar list: Australia's top lots since August 2025

ARTWATCH DATA · AUSTRALIA

ARTWATCH has logged every lot offered at Deutscher and Hackett and Smith & Singer's major sales since August 2025: 676 lots across ten sales, of which 574 sold. Deutscher and Hackett sold 88 per cent of what it offered for A$55.2 million; Smith & Singer sold 81 per cent for A$47.1 million. All prices below include buyer's premium.

The top of the table belongs to Brett Whiteley. Woman on the Beach Reading an Art Catalogue (1980) made A$3.68 million at Smith & Singer in Sydney on 28 April 2026, within its A$3–4 million estimate. Whiteley accounts for A$14.7 million across all his lots in the period, almost double the next artist, Jeffrey Smart at A$7.4 million.

The top ten

1. Brett Whiteley, Woman on the Beach Reading an Art Catalogue, 1980. Smith & Singer, 28 April 2026. A$3,681,818

2. Russell Drysdale, Drovers on the Barkly's, 1957. Smith & Singer, 28 April 2026. A$2,319,545

3. John Peter Russell, Portrait of Dodge Macknight, 1888. Deutscher and Hackett, 26 November 2025. A$2,270,455

4. Howard Arkley, New room, 1993. Deutscher and Hackett, 27 August 2025. A$2,025,000

5. Howard Arkley, The freeway, 1999. Deutscher and Hackett, 26 November 2025. A$1,840,909

6. John Peter Russell, Meules de Blé à Monte Cassino, 1889. Deutscher and Hackett, 29 April 2026. A$1,595,455

7. Jeffrey Smart, Night stop, Bombay, 1981. Deutscher and Hackett, 26 November 2025. A$1,595,455

8. Eugene von Guérard, The Mitre Rock and lake from Mt Arapiles, 1874. Deutscher and Hackett, 26 August 2026. A$1,472,727

9. Brett Whiteley, San Gimignano, Tuscany, 1989. Smith & Singer, 25 August 2026. A$1,392,955

10. Fred Williams, Two green clouds, 1967. Deutscher and Hackett, 26 August 2026. A$1,227,273

Two things stand out. Russell Drysdale's Drovers on the Barkly's beat its A$1–1.5 million estimate by a wide margin, and John Peter Russell placed two French-period canvases in the top six. Against that, Howard Arkley's The freeway sold under its A$1.5 million low estimate even with premium, and a 1963 Whiteley Woman in a bath 5 made A$1.2 million against an A$1.5 million low.

What it means for collectors: the A$1 million-plus tier is a market of perhaps 15 lots a year, dominated by a short list of names. Estimates there are being met, not beaten, unless the work is fresh, early or museum-quality.

Source: ARTWATCH database, compiled from the houses' published results. Scope is Deutscher and Hackett and Smith & Singer; Leonard Joel (hammer prices) and Menzies are in the database but not in this list.