Looking back on 2024 — A note from our Managing Director
Tēnā koutou katoa and season’s greetings,
As we approach the end of the year, the entire Webb’s team wishes to express our sincere gratitude for your continued trust and partnership, and to extend our warmest wishes for the upcoming holidays.
Reflecting on the past 12 months, it is clear this has been a challenging period for our world, our country, and its diverse communities, and we wish everyone a new year full of hope and a steady momentum toward your goals and aspirations.
Through it all, Webb’s has continued to adapt and draw on our strengths to facilitate the exchange of objects of significant historical, cultural or craft value and thus ensure their longevity and the sustainable ethos that underpins the secondary market.
Our purpose is to preserve the stories behind these treasures, honouring the makers, the context in which they exist, and the people who have cared for them; to be there as one chapter of guardianship closes and another begins. This year, we’ve felt the deeply interconnected nature of our work more than ever, and we are indebted to you for trusting us with items that often entail inter-generational ownership, significant emotional and monetary value or national relevance.
One of the highlights of this year was the launch of our partnership with the Colin McCahon Legacy Project. Webb’s has a long and illustrious history with Colin McCahon, and after many decades of handling some of his most significant artworks, it is our privilege and pleasure to be entrusted with bringing to market a limited edition run of Clouds 3, 1975 (2024) prints. These prints offer supporters a unique opportunity to own a piece of McCahon’s legacy while directly contributing to the preservation of his work.
We were also honoured to have been entrusted with the collection of Genevieve and David Becroft; revered arts patrons who were integral to Auckland’s North Shore arts institutions and events. The viewing, hosted at their architecturally significant family home of over 50 years, and supported by a comprehensive marketing strategy, garnered huge national interest. Over 95% of the collection found new homes, underscoring the unique narrative and appeal of single-owner collections.
Likewise, the wider business has enjoyed several notable achievements that we are particularly proud of. Among them are: The sale of a single huia feather that drew significant international attention for breaking the previous world record by an astounding 450%; our car team deftly handled the transaction of a Rolls Royce once used to transport Queen Elizabeth II during two separate tours of New Zealand; while the wine team was entrusted with managing the cellar of the iconic Wellington restaurant, Hippopotamus, resulting in a white-glove sale.
Our fortnightly online auction, The Estate, continues to flourish, championing the enduring appeal of timeless, well-designed objects, and our luxury accessories department has achieved some of its most successful sales to date, delivering exceptional results for their clients.
Of course, we could not have reached these results for our patrons without the friendship and working relationships with the wider arts and culture communities in Aotearoa. As such, we this year continued to lend our ongoing support to charitable and arts initiatives such as the NZSO Charity Auction, the IHC Charity Auction, the Te Papa Foundation Spring Soiree auction, and the Eden Arts Art Schools Award. In 2025 we look forward to using our resources and expertise to continue meaningful and strategic collaborations with the vibrant communities we are fortunate to be part of.
We have also enjoyed deepening our connection with the visual arts sector across the country, including cementing our presence within the South Island. Our Wellington gallery continues to provide important representation in the capital, with an exhibition highlight being Vademecum II, a significant suite of work from one of Aotearoa’s most esteemed artists: Julia Morison.
Through all of this our clients remain at the heart of what we do, and we are truly grateful for the ongoing trust you place in us in telling the stories of your precious items and collections.
Have a safe and restful festive season, and we look forward to reconnecting in 2025.
Ngā mihi nui,
Paul Evans
Managing Director
paul@webbs.co.nz
+64 21 866 000
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