Millionaires Art Fair at Scuderia Graziani

Brainchild of a Sydney author, art investor and philanthropist Dr Greg Nazvanov, the silent auction was designed to raise money for the Fred Hollows Foundation through a percentage of sales and a work by Judy Watson Napangardi, valued at $12,500, being donated by Greg and auctioned off for the charity.

The event was sponsored by Brokenwood Wines. At nearly 40 years young, Brokenwood Wines, in the heart of the Hunter Valley, can lay claim to not only an iconic vineyard with the Graveyard Vineyard but to the preservation of a wine fraternity that proudly has as its mission statement, 'to make great wine and have fun'.The original land that was to become the Cricket Pitch Vineyard was purchased in 1970 and planted immediately to Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Graveyard Vineyard, planted to Shiraz in 1968, was bought in 1978 and by the mid 1980s was producing a premium Single Vineyard wine. The first Langton's Classification of Premium Australian Wine was launched in 1993 and the Graveyard Shiraz was then, and remains, the highest-placed Hunter Valley Shiraz.

If you missed out on your order at the event, you can order these amazing wines here:  https://www.brokenwood.com.au/sales/direct/default.asp

The room presented a surreal aspect with Top Gear star-cars by Ferrari, Aston Martin, $2.2m Koenigg, and an impossibly sexy yellow Pagani Zonda, priced at $1.75m, sitting sleekly among a room full of Aboriginal art, testimony to the historical investment performance of the art.

Smoke from Dr Nazvanov’s private label cigars, Grecka & Duval, mingled with fresh eucalypt burnt in a smoking ceremony enacted by entertainers from Sydney’s Koomurri group.

Also on sale were bronze sculptures from Greg’s private collection by Matisse, Picasso and Henry Moore, together with rarities like a copy of Guttenberg's Biblia Sacra.

They were originally acquired as part of his self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) after he exited the stock market in early November 2007, a move  hailed by investors stung in the ensuing financial meltdown.  In Greg's view the global markets are heading for the second leg of a financial armageddon, where the GFC has just started and the economic recovery pritched by banks is only an elusion.  He feels the Australian Indigenous art may offer investors a peace of mind where the value of their investments cannot go down to zero like shares in Ansett, Pasminco, Babcock or OneTel.

Fred Hollows CEO Brian Doolan was there, mingling with around 150 of Sydney’s movers and bankers from the High-Net-Worth (HNW) set. Many expressed interest in donating to the Fred Hollows Foundation. While some thousands of dollars were raised on the night, Dr Nazvanov was cagey about actual amount, saying post-auction appeals would multiply the figure. The Fred Hollows Foundation is an international development organisation, focussing on blindness prevention and Australian Indigenous health.  carry on the work of the late Professor Fred Hollows (1929-1993). Fred was an eye doctor, a skilled surgeon of international renown, a champion of the right of all people to good health and a strong advocate for social justice.  Since 1992 The Fred Hollows Foundation has worked in collaboration with local blindness prevention and other health organisations in more than 38 countries throughout Africa, Asia (South and South East), Australia and the Pacific.  There are many ways to get involved with The Foundation's work in disadvantaged communities around the world. 

A favourite at the fair was a large work by Lily Kelly Napangardi, part of her Tali-Sandhills Dreaming series which expresses the wave patterns found in desert sand though dots and dashes of graduating size and position.

The event comes during a campaign by art investors opposing a recommendation by the Cooper Review to ban investment in art by SMSFs.

Dr Nazvanov estimates that 20 per cent of sales from commercial art galleries go to SMSFs. While the totals are a tiny proportion of SMSF investments, they loom large in the art world.  Director of The Cross Art Prjects Gallery, Jo Holder, said “No matter what happens to the market, investors still hold the art on canvas. It’s a form of real estate that cannot evaporate, unlike some stock market investments.”  Would you like to find out how to invest in Art?  Are you considering Australian Aboriginal Art specifically? Dr Nazvanov recenmtly published a unique book that had been written specifically to help you navigate this amazing investment opportunity. 

 The Australian Aboriginal art market is difficult to predict but armed with a tool, such as this handbook, banks, portfolio managers, investors, collectors and art market observers can navigate their way through the art market with the confidence assured by this insightful analysis. The section on the Australian Aboriginal art market contains the history of indigenous art, the interpretation of art works, a ranking of the best artists, and a list of records set to date.  You  will also read about art investing, art funds and art market trends, learn how to start your own art investment portfolio, what to look for  and what to avoid.  The book will further explain a development and application of a specialist Australian Aboriginal Art index designed to predict the market performance and timing, making art investment both strategic and tactical plays.