Gore's ArtSouth gallery was one of only three outlets in New Zealand that sold limited-edition prints, bronze statues and limitededition books belonging to the Lonely Dog collection, gallery director Bob Martin said.
Mr Martin began selling the collection when he launched his new print gallery in July 2006.
Not only had the collection impressed local people, but in the past few months overseas clients had also flocked to the outlet to buy their slice of Lonely Dog, Mr Martin said.
Clients from Jerusalem, Scotland and Washington had been among those keen to buy the Queenstown artist's wares from ArtSouth, Mr Martin said.
Now an announcement has been made that Warner Bros has acquired the screen rights to Alveridgea and the Legend of The Lonely Dog, the demand for the artworks is expected to reach new heights.
‘‘It's just going to get more intense,'' Mr Martin said.
All the new Lonely Dog prints for 2009 which were being pre-sold before release were selling extremely well, with one print already sold out, Mr Martin said.
The six new releases had close-off dates for pre-release sales spread through the year.
‘‘We never know which part of the world our next visitors will come from. We are continually surprised - it's selling all around the world,'' Mr Martin said.
The global financial recession had not hit ArtSouth, he said.
While art could be termed as a luxury item, it gave a lot of people a lot of pleasure, he said.
Clarke, who had made his name painting landscapes, created the orphaned dachshund Arthur Snout as a character for his children.
‘‘It started as a fun thing and it has really grown into something special,'' Mr Martin said.
Since the dog's debut, Clarke had linked up with businesses partners Graham Burt and Garry Phipps and author Stu Duval.
‘‘He's [Clarke] really made his name doing these,'' Mr Martin said.
The first time Mr Martin, who is a friend of Clarke's, saw the Lonely Dog character, he thought it was ‘‘awesome''.
A gallery in Wellington, Clarke's Queenstown outlet and ArtSouth were the only establishments in New Zealand selling the artworks, which included high-quality reproductions, Mr Martin said.
The Lonely Dog series had been gathered together in a hand-made book, The Almalogue, one of which is displayed at ArtSouth.
There were only 95 signed copies of the book made, with 70 released for sale. All 70 had sold, with two reselling for $65,000, Mr Martin said.
There was also a print version of the book, he said.
Earlier this week, Clarke said Mr Martin had ‘‘done a great job''.
Weta Workshop's Richard Taylor had collaborated with Clarke to create some limitededition collectable bronzes of the characters, with some being for sale at ArtSouth.
The bronzes ranged in price from $7500 to $60,000 plus, he said.
‘‘It started with a bang and I had no idea what I'd got myself into,'' Clarke said.
‘‘We have been amazed at the worldwide interest in the project,'' he said.
Clarke has also signed a worldwide publishing deal with Atlantic Books in London.
ATLANTIC Books editor-in-chief Ravi Mirchandani has confirmed the company has acquired the rights of the book The Legend of the Lonely Dog.
Atlantic Books plans to retain much of the artwork of the original edition in a repackaged form for general readers, which will be published in the summer of 2010.
‘‘I am delighted to be publishing The Legend of the Lonely Dog, a children's fable for grown-ups... one of those unique works of the imagination that enchants the reader by taking him or her into a fully realised world, in this case one of streetwise dogs and cats that walk on their hind legs and play guitars,'' Mr Mirchandani said.
