[caption id="attachment_4147" align="alignleft" width="300"] Fisherman, Coogee Beach, by Elioth Gruner achieved $164,700 at Sotheby's on May 3. A sure sign of an improving market.[/caption]
It followed three earlier auctions which achieved buoyant results. Menzies' Melbourne sale on February 9 raised $6.87 million, including premium, with 83 per cent of its lots sold. Deutscher and Hackett's sale of art dealer Rob Gould's collection in Sydney on March 15 raised $7.68 million with 72 per cent sold and the Laverty Collection Part III on April 5 raised $2.62 million with 94 per cent sold.