MELBOURNE.- Ned Kelly was, quite fittingly, the star of Bonhams’ auction last night of Important Later Works from the Estate of Sir Sidney Nolan, as images of Australia’s most famous bushranger achieved the top three prices in the sale.

It was standing room only at Melbourne’s Como House as keen bidders battled it out for 119 works consigned by the artist’s widow, Lady Mary Nolan, who lives in Herefordshire, in the UK.

Attracting the highest price in the sale was Nolan’s last-ever work, Shot, 1991, which sold for $176,900 including buyer’s premium, almost three times its low estimate. The painting is the dramatic finale to Nolan’s iconic Kelly series and shows the outlaw defiantly brandishing his guns as he is riddled with bullets.

An intense and unsettling portrait, Kelly, 1964, achieved the second-highest price at $122,000, while Armour in Landscape (Kelly), 1956, brought the third-highest price at $97,600.

Two Ned Kelly oils on paper with low estimates of $5000 also attracted strong bidding and far exceeded expectations: Kelly on Horseback, c.1962 achieved $51,240, while Kelly and Policeman, also from 1962, brought $21,960.

Strong prices were also achieved for works from key series such as Gallipoli Soldiers and Adelaide Women, as well as Rite of Spring ballet images and some rare bird and flower paintings, several of which tripled or quadrupled their lower estimates.

Bonhams Australia chairman Mark Fraser said the success of the sale re-confirmed Bonhams’ position as the market leader in Australia of single-vendor art auctions.

“Bonhams is delighted to have achieved this outstanding result on behalf of Lady Nolan, and it comes after successfully selling no less than nine major Australian collections in the past three years,” he said.

The auction made $2,376,194, with 99% sold by value and 98% sold by lot.