The home and art collection of one of New Zealand’s greatest architects is up for grabs in a spectacular double auction next month.
The Auckland house built by the late Ron Sang and his wife Margaret has graced countless magazine covers and profiles, and will be seen by many as the ultimate art trophy home.
11 Glenfell Place, in Epsom, will be offered for sale at an auction conducted by Ray White NZ’s chief executive, Daniel Coulson. That sale will then be followed by an auction of Sang’s 200-strong collection of art, sculpture, ceramics and other objects by Ben Plumbly, Art+Object director and auctioneer.
This is round two for Plumbly, after a mid-2015 sale of some of Ron Sang’s legendary collection packed out the auction room and shifted $1.9 million of artworks. A Don Binney painting, Katoomba Fatbird sold for $260,000 – well more than its estimate of $200,000. Plumbly told OneRoof that today such a work would be worth twice that, after a phenomenal rise in prices in the last two to three years.
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“The sale barely touched the sides, we’ll never forget it. Ron’s collections had multiple works with connections to the artists,” he said. “It will bring interest from around the world.”
This time, Plumbly says, a 1975 Binney painting Fisherman’s Rock, Anawhata, has an estimate of $130,000 to $200,000.
Large sculptures in the house and garden of Glenfell Place will be auctioned immediately after the house goes under the hammer, as Plumbly anticipates that the new owner of the Sangs’ five-bedroom home may well want to retain the pieces in the settings they were created for.
Architect Ron Sang, who died in 2021, was a keen collector of art. Photo / Brett Phibbs
They include works by Michael Smither, Guy Ngan, Paul Dibble and Greer Twiss. Some of the artworks have estimates that goes up to $250,000, but there are other more modestly-priced pieces along with ceramics by Sang’s friends Len Castle, Graeme Storm and Peter Collis, and the rest of the architect’s collection of iconic 20th century chairs by the biggest names of design. In all, over 230 items are going under the hammer.
A huge glossy front door was a Ron Sang signature. Photo / Supplied
The much-photographed garden was designed by Ted Smythe. Photo / Supplied
The Glenfell Place house, which has a CV of $5.7m and is being marketed by Ray White agents George Erdos and Howard Sidnam, has all the things that mattered to the architect, who designed some 400 buildings and became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2000.
As well as collecting art, Sang published books on his favourite artists, many of them his good friends. Sang’s reputation was made early by the Japanese-style house he designed in Titirangi for photographer Brian Brake in 1976, an iconic house which now has a category 1 listing with Heritage New Zealand.
Margaret, who first worked in the Fairhead Sang Carnachan office in 1975, said that Sang designed their 429sqm, home on a 1010 sqm section – the last of six he’d built for his family – to suit the tree-filled site on a quiet street behind Government House. She told OneRoof it included his typical hallmarks – a giant red front door, a floor plan that divides the formal living from the family areas, with plenty of gallery walls and built-in niches to display their enormous collection.
The U-shaped kitchen and round dining room in Glenfell Place were important for Sang, who loved to cook and entertain. Photo / Supplied
The formal sitting room looks out to the Ted Smythe-designed pool and garden. Photo / Supplied
The house has a curved and an oblong block joined by a glass bridge. Photo / Supplied
Margaret said that the house, once famously crammed with art, pottery and objects, was looking a lot emptier as she prepared it for sale and a move – a destination unknown at this stage.
In typical Sang style, the house is split into a half circular block, which houses the formal living room and a bedroom on the ground floor, more bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs, and is linked to the more conventional square block for kitchen, informal living, garage and office by a glass gallery bridge. Clever window placement offers borrowed views of the pool and gardens, yet remain completely private from neighbours. The sculptural pool and spa area was designed by yet another friend, landscape architect Ted Smythe.
Margaret said the house included other Ron Sang favourite touches – a circular dining room and efficient U-shaped kitchen for the man who loved cooking and hosting friends, family and visiting artists.
“Ron’s clients became our friends,” said Margaret.
The Sangs' architecture studio could be a generous granny or teen flat. Photo / Supplied
The 2015 refurbishment updated kitchen appliances and doors, and included a re-clad and new double glazing. Her favourite spots are the sitting areas tucked around the lush garden, and the light that falls through the house.
“I like the light, the quiet peaceful street,” she said. “Gardening and listening to the birds, that’s what I’ll miss.”
Despite tailoring the house for his adored collections, Sang made it remarkably versatile for more conventional owners: the downstairs bedroom suite is private for guests, the office would function equally well as a self-contained granny, nanny or teen flat, the book room could convert back to a third garage slot.
Erdos said the masterfully-crafted house is a demonstration of all of Sang’s architectural talent.
“It’s a masterpiece, it brings together all the techniques he used on other properties. I’m proud and humbled that I was chosen as the agent,” he said.
In 2021, the first home Sang designed for his family in the 1970s in Hapua Street, Remuera, sold for $4m after an extensive refurbishment overseen by Darryl Sang. Other Sang houses in Remuera have sold for big numbers. A house on Arney Road restored by art collectors John and Rose Dunn sold for $8.1m in 2007, while another owned by yachting legend Chris Dickson sold for $3.445m in 2010.
- 11 Glenfell Place, in Epsom, Auckland, goes to auction on March 19
