Brett Whiteley’s “Balmoral” sold for A$990,000 ($642,000) at an art auction in Melbourne last night.

The painting of misshapen bodies sunning themselves on Balmoral Beach was sold by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, along with John Perceval’s “Pleasure Craft,” which fetched A$198,000. The works were sold by the gallery to raise funds for its September A$16.2 million purchase of Paul Cezanne’s “Bords de la Marne.” Auction prices include commission.

The Whiteley and Perceval were among A$2.8 million of art sold by New York-based Sotheby’s, which said 60.8 percent of the works offered found buyers. Of the pieces sold, 85 percent fetched prices above their low estimates, said Georgina Pemberton, head of Australian Painting at Sotheby’s.

“We are very pleased with this result in the current economic climate,” she said, in a statement. “Our clients continue to pursue works that they love with passion, and there was competition for works of good provenance with appropriate expectations for the current market.”