‘Everyone wants a piece of Barry': Humphries' art hits auction highs
Some 98 objects, mostly packed up from Barry Humphries' Sydney home, went under the hammer on Monday night in an Australian auction of his personal art which exceeded auction house Leonard Joel's most optimistic sale expectations. All up the Australian sale netted $477,112 including buyers' premium.
'He'd be saying, 'I told you I was good!', and he'd be planning an exhibition,' said son Oscar, from London as he watched the auction live.
With his share of the proceeds, Oscar Humphries said he would frame works he held by his father and raised the idea of funding a comedy prize in Melbourne 'for people who are actually funny'.
In 2019, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival stripped Barry Humphries's name from the festival's biggest award, following furore over the performer's comments about transgender people.
'If someone wants to match me we could talk,' said Oscar. 'We could recreate the Barry awards. I'm good for $50,000, but I have got to find a partner.'
The opening lot at the auction was a framed watercolour and pen likeness by Humphries of his comic creation Dame Edna. It signalled the excitable buyer interest that was to come for works by the comic, selling for $17,000 under the hammer or $21,250 with buyers' premium. It had a top estimate before auction of $3000.
Caricatures penned by Humphries while on the road in Australia, the US, Greece and elsewhere fetched several thousand dollars a piece.
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