New Vision for Art Gallery of NSW - Introducing Sydney_Modern

In a major announcement Dr Michael Brand (Director of AGNSW) and Steven Lowy AM (Board of Trustees) have unveilled their strategic vision and masterplan to transform the Art Gallery of NSW into an art museum for the 21st century.



The AGNSW is soon to be incorperated into an ambitious new building

Major Announcement for Sydney. Introducing Sydney_Modern

During the announcement Dr Brand clearly defined the Gallery's purpose as being     "dedicated to serving the widest possible audience as a centre of excellence for the collection, preservation, interpretation and display of Australian and international art, and a forum for scholarship, art education and the exchange of ideas."

See the full announcement by Stephen Lowy and Dr Michael Brand by clicking on this video of announcement link.

A competition will be designed to attract an architect to interpret the Trustees' vision for an internationally recognisable building to significantly enhance the current gallery and to take advantage of the site which is perched high above Sydney harbour and the Royal Botanic Gardens. The expansion provides an opportunity to complement Sydney's existing architectural icons of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge with another internationally recognised architectural drawcard.



AW (Tony) Scott discusses Cezanne's "Bords de la Marne" at the AGNSW

 According to the AGNSW a major part of the plans is to double the size of the Gallery (the biggest physical expansion in its history) with a renewed  focus on serving a truly global audience. This significant expansion will allow for more spaces to display the richness of the collections including new art forms, it will allow it to better present major international and national exhibitions. Watch the announcement. 

Sothebys and Christies Increase Buyer's Premium

It has just been announced that Sotheby’s auction house  plans to increase its buyer’s premium significantly.

As of 15 March, 2013 Sotheby’s will charge 25% on the first $100,000/£50,000 of sale price, 20% on the portion of hammer price over $100,000/£50,000 up to and including $2m/£1m; and 12% on any remaining amount above $2m/£1m.

In addition to this Christies also recently announced an increase in their buyers premium. They have traditionally charged 25% on the first $50,000; 20% on the amount from $50,001 to $1 million, and 12% on the rest. However, as of March 11, 2013 Christies will charge 25% on the first $75,000; 20% on the next $75,001 to $1.5 million and 12% on the rest.

Australian artist and art consultant AW (Tony) Scott

While some sections of the art buying public are not happy with these increases there's nothing to prevent these two powerhouses of high-end art from making such commercial decisions. The fact that they both announced similar increases within such a short space of time has some pundits crying foul... and who said the economy was tight?