Webb’s auction house has a unique New Zealand heritage, which was instigated by its founder, Peter Webb, a key art dealer of his time. He befriended Colin McCahon when the artist first moved to Auckland in the early 1950s, and was the first to exhibit his work in the city. Recently, a McCahon painting, part of the sell-out BNZ collection at Webb’s, broke through the $2 million price ceiling and reached a staggering $2.45 million. That’s the highest sum ever paid for a New Zealand artist’s work on the secondary market.

Webb’s has moved into Uptown and Suzanne McNamara catches up with two of their directors.

Peter Webb initiated auctions of New Zealand contemporary art back in 1976. Since then, Webb’s has presented regular auctions of fine wine and whisky, jewellery, handbags, motorbikes, cars and decorative art items – essentially all forms of valuable collectables. Mid-century art and furniture is sold via online auctions called “The Estate”. These auctions are wildly popular as mid-century chic continues to be desirable and New Zealand applied artists from that time are now recognised and have become collectable.

Peter Webb built a prestigious brand and now, almost 50 years later, two of his prodigies are behind the business’ continuing success. Charles Ninow, Director of Art, and Ben Erren, Director of Decorative Arts, are both trusted advisors and auctioneers and have risen to the top of the business. They both started at Webb’s as interns and, under the close eye of Peter Webb, they learned how to problem-solve their way to success. Both are relatively young – Charles is 35 and Ben 32 – and Webb’s new owners have given them free rein to push the boundaries on how they acquire, market and sell art.

When it comes to buying art, it can be hard to figure out where to start. Charles and Ben offer similar advice for starting or expanding an art collection: buy something that challenges you and start by looking – a lot. That includes dealer galleries and auctions. Auctions are where you will pay the market rate for something; in some cases, that may be less than you would pay at a gallery.

“It’s a challenge if you are in it for investment only, because some artworks increase in value and some don’t,” says Charles, who says he doesn’t buy for investment at all. “What you really should buy and collect art for is to enrich your life.”

“It’s really nice living with artwork. Every day you wake up and interact in some way with the art you have around you. Every great artwork results from a great idea, so you are surrounded by great ideas. And if you buy good artworks that are challenging, your relationship with them will constantly change over time.”

He adds that it’s got to be something that appeals to you. “For me, it’s got to interest me and do a little more. It’s got to unsettle me, or maybe I don’t quite get it – it’s got to challenge me in some way.”

And he says there is always a way to find something affordable. “You don’t have to spend huge amounts of money. You can build a collection from relatively modest amounts of money, but you have got to really look a lot.”

Ben adds another way to build art knowledge is to “find people that know more about art than you do, people with opinions you trust and listen to what they have to say”.

The Estate complements the fine art auctions and is where collectors can pick up Scandinavian hand-blown glass for $40 or a handmade mid-century couch for around $1200. Ben, who runs this department, says applied arts are exploding in Aotearoa. “People are recognising the ceramic artists, like Len Castle and Barry Brickell, who sat along- side their painting contemporaries such as Ralph Hotere and Colin McCahon, who were flourishing during the same period.”

These people, he says, hold their own with international ceramicists. “Now that their work is coming through The Estate, it’s really nice to see a bunch of new collectors getting into that market and really