antiquesandartireland.com

Information about Art, Antiques and Auctions in Ireland and around the world
  • ABOUT
  • About Des
  • Contact
  • Archive for March, 2012

    SPRING INTO MEALY’S AUCTION AT CASTLECOMER

    Saturday, March 31st, 2012

    The Spring fine and decorative art auction at Mealy’s, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny on April 3 and 4 offers a variety of interesting opportunities for collectors with more than 1,300 lots.  Among the lots to be sold on day one are are silver, jewellery, glass, vintage fashion, scientific instruments, light fittings and a collection of Irish whiskey will . On April 4 the sale is of period furniture, paintings, carpets, garden furniture and prints. The catalogue is on-line. Here is a small selection:

    A pair of Gothic style carved peat buckets in the George III style (2,000-3,000). UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD.

    Inlaid and crossbanded mahogany ladies' work table George III period, (1,000-1,500). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,200

    17th CENTURY FLEMISH SCHOOL St. Peter, a half length portrait, oil on canvas. (800-1,200). UPDATE: THIS MADE 650

    An exceptional pair of serpentine shaped kingwood and marquetry fold over card tables, 19th century. (8,000-12,000) UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR 8,000.

    This pair of c1758-65 Derby Figures, The Ranelagh Dancers, was once in the collection of Sir John Gielgud. (300-500). UPDATE: THESE MADE 300.

    An Excelsior cylinder gramophone with Edison and other discs (300-500). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    PERFECTLY PINK DIAMOND AT CHRISTIE’S HONG KONG

    Friday, March 30th, 2012

    12.04ct Fancy Intense Pink Type IIa Round Brilliant-Cut Diamond Ring, by Harry Winston Estimate: HK$65,000,000-95,000,000 US$8,000,000-10,000,000. Click on image to enlarge. Picture © Christie's Images Limited 2012.

    The largest round fancy intense pink diamond ever at auction features at Christie’s sale of magnificent jewels in Hong Kong on May 29.  The 12.04 carat stone was purchased from Harry Winston in 1976, the year the US launched it first satellite on a mission to Mars.  The stone was named the Martian Pink.

    11.85ct D VVS1 Potential Round Brilliant-Cut Diamond Ring, by Harry Winston Estimate: HK$13,500,000-20,000,000 US$1,700,000-2,500,000 © Christie's Images Limited 2012. (Click to enlarge).

    It is one of only two known significantly sized round pink diamonds in the world.  The 23.60 carat Williamson Pink was presented to Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her wedding in 1947. The Martian Pink shows no trace of secondary colour, making it very rare. Most natural pink diamonds exhibited a colour modifier like purple, orange or grey.  It is offered alongside an elegant 11.85-carat D VVS1 potentially flawless round brilliant-cut diamond of D colour.

    THE NOVELIST BY YEATS SOLD FOR 95,000 AT ADAMS

    Friday, March 30th, 2012

    The Novelist by Jack b. Yeats sold for 95,000. (Click on image to enlarge).

    The Novelist by Jack B. Yeats sold for 95,000 after the James Adam Irish art sale in Dublin on March 28.  The 1944 painting, which had been estimated at 100,000-150, attracted keen interest but was bid to a figure short of the reserve. It was sold the following day.  This brought the total for the auction of over 200 lots to just under 500,000.

    Memory of Clifden by George Campbell sold for 20,000.

    More than 70 per cent of the lots on offer were sold. The Novelist was in a number of international exhibitions including the Yeats centenary exhibition of 1971 organised by the National Gallery of Ireland shown in Dublin, Belfast and New York.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for March 21, 2012).

    CROAGH PATRICK FROM ACHILL ISLAND BY PAUL HENRY AT BONHAMS

    Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

    William John Leech (Irish, 1881-1968) Sutton Sands. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE £8,750 INCLUDING PREMIUM.

    Paul Henry R.H.A. (Irish, 1876-1958) A view of Croagh Patrick from Achill Island. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE £25,000 INCLUDING PREMIUM.

    A view of Croagh Patrick from Achill Island by Paul Henry is one of the Irish highlights at Bonhams 20th Century British and Irish Art in London on May 30.  Croagh Patrick in Co. Mayo is a renowned site of pilgrimage in honour of St. Patrick.  Here the saint reputedly fasted for forty days before using the Black Bell to combat the birds and demons that challenged him, and in doing so banished all the snakes from Ireland.  It is estimated at £10,000-15,000.

    The sale includes two works by Gerard Dillon, Little Boy Playing at God (painted in 1945-6 and estimated to sell for £30,000-50,000) and The Moon Over the Bog (painted in 1954 and estimated to sell for £50,000-70,000).  Other works in the sale include Fish by William Scott, initially sold to benefit the Royal Academy of Arts Trust, and estimated to sell for £60,000-80,000, Sir Gerald Festus Kelly’s Portrait of Jane with a white shawl XXVII, depicting the artist’s wife Lilian Ryan (£7,000-10,000), and Sutton Sands, a view of Sutton Beach at the northern edge of Dublin Bay painted by William John Leech in 1909 (estimated to sell for £7,000-10,000).

    William Scott R.A. (British, 1913-1989) Fish (1982). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS MADE £61,250.

    CHRISTIE’S APPOINTS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR IN CHINA

    Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

    Jinqing Caroline Cai.

    Christie’s has appointed Jinqing Caroline Cai as managing director in China, effective from June 1.  Ms. Cai will oversee all activities in the region.  Chief executive Steven P. Murphy said: “The importance of China culturally and economically is profound. We are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to the clients and cultural activities in this region with the creation of this new role and by welcoming such a highly respected leader as Jinqing Cai as our new Managing Director, China. She brings stellar achievements on behalf of countless multinational brands in China, with a depth of expertise in public affairs and corporate relations. Her global outlook will be a great asset to us and we look forward to welcoming her to our team in the region and internationally.”

    CEZANNE’S CARD PLAYERS WATERCOLOUR AT CHRISTIE’S IN NEW YORK

    Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

    Cézanne's card players watercolour. UPDATE: IT MADE $19,122,500.

    A Cézanne card players watercolour last seen in public in 1953 will highlight Christie’s  Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on May 1 in New York. It has re-emerged from a private collection in Texas after nearly 60 years. The full sized work on paper is a preparatory study for Joueurs des cartes (Card Players), the seminal five-painting series that Cézanne completed between 1890 and 1896. Previously known only from a black and white photograph it was rediscovered in the collection of the late Dr. Heinz F. Eichenwald, a collector and medical expert who spent his career in Dallas after emigrating to the US in the mid-1930s. Meticulously preserved it is estimated to achieve US$15–20 million.

    “The Card Player series is justifiably regarded as one of the most important of the modern era, influencing so many of the painters who sought to follow in Cézanne’s footsteps. This remarkable study offers us a rare glimpse into this modern master’s artistic process, showing us how he worked through the pose and positioning of the characters that would come to populate his greatest masterpieces,” said Sharon Kim, International Director of Impressionist and Modern Art. “For a full-size study from this series to come to light now, when it was feared to have been lost to history by scholars and collectors alike, marks a pivotal moment in the art market and promises to inspire great interest from clients around the globe this spring.”

     

    UPDATE: THIS WAS BOUGHT FOR OVER $19,122,500 MILLION BY AN ANONYMOUS PURCHASER.

    See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 4, 2012.

    ARAB, IRANIAN AND TURKISH ART AT CHRISTIE’S IN DUBAI

    Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

    AHMED ALSOUDANI (Iraqi, b. 1975) Untitled at Christie's, Dubai. It was executed in 2008. (Click on image to enlarge). CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2012 UPDATE: THIS MADE $386,500.

    THE earliest example of contemporary Iraqi artist Ahmed Alsoudani including a dictator figure in his work is a feature lot at Christie’s  April sales of modern and contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art  in Dubai on April 17 and 18.  The striking highly coloured image of a disfigured face surrounded by shattered forms was painted in 2008.  It is estimated at $300,000-500,000.  Last October in London there was a new world record for  Alsoudani when his Baghdad I sold for  $1.1 million at Christie’s.

    Mahmoud Saïd (Egyptian, 1897-1964) Marsa Matrouh - Vers le bain de Cleopatre at Christie's Dubai. (Click on image to enlarge). CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2012 UPDATE: THIS MADE $602,500.

    There are two key works by Mahmoud Saïd, the father of modern Egyptian art.  His view of a woman and donkeys beside the Nile with a mountain range beyond is estimated at $250,000-300,000.  Other highlights  include pieces by Ayman Baalbaki, Jewad Selim, Louay Kayyali, Mohammad Ehsai, Parviz Tanavoli and Nasrollah Afjehei and the Turkish artists Burhan Cahit Do?ançay and Azade Köker. Last week Art Dubai, the Gulf fair for contemporary art from the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia, recorded high volumes of sales from what is still a young market. In 2012, Art Dubai welcomed 22,500 visitors, including 75 international museums groups.

     

    UPDATE:  Christie’s April sales of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art totaled $6,402,825 / AED23,515,190 against a pre-sale high estimate of $6.1 million. The sales were 93% sold by value.

    AFFORDABILITY THE BUZZ WORD AT IRISH ART AUCTIONS

    Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

    Affordability is a new buzz word at art auctions in Ireland these days.  In Dublin de Veres will hold an affordable Irish art sale with more than 300 lots at the D4 hotel in Ballsbridge on Sunday March 25 at 2 p.m.  This is de Veres first auction of 2012 and a continuation of a series of Sunday auctions.  Here is a small selection (click on image to enlarge):

    Anne Primrose Jury RUA 1907-1995 BRINGING HOME THE TURF 400 - 600. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 550

    Robert Ballagh b.1943 ROBERT MORRIS BOX 400 - 600. UPDATE: THIS MADE 470

    Micheál deBurca RHA ANCA 1913-1985 TURNING THE HAY, ACHILL ISLAND 800 -1,200. UPDATE: THIS MADE 800

    John Shinnors b.1950 TWO MAGPIES OVER CATHEDRAL SQUARE Lithograph, ed. 7/10. It is estimated at 400-600. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 450

    YEATS, HENRY, LE BROCQUY AT JAMES ADAM IN DUBLIN

    Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

    Jack B. Yeats, Paul Henry and Louis le Brocquy all feature at the James Adam sale of important Irish art in Dublin on March 28.  A watercolor by Louis le Brocquy from his acclaimed Tinker series shown at the Arts Council of Great Britain’s “Thirty Contemporary Paintings” exhibition is estimated at 15,000-20,000. Paul Henry’s Sunset on Connemara Bog, from the collection of his friend and supporter John Louden of Belfast, is believed to have never been exhibited in public before.  The Novelist by Yeats is estimated at 100,000-150,000 and a 1909 Yeats entitled Downpatrick Head, Co. Mayo is estimated at 25,000-35,000.  The catalogue, which is on-line, lists 226 lots.  Here are a few of them (click on any image to enlarge):  UPDATE:  The Novelist sold for 95,000.

    LOUIS LE BROCQUY HRHA (b.1916) Tinker Women (1946) watercolour signed and dated ‘46 (15,000-20,000). UPDATE: THS MADE 27,000.

    BASIL BLACKSHAW RHA RUA (b 1932) Self Portrait (Given by the artist to gallery owner Tom Caldwell on his 80th birthday in 2001) (3,000-5,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,200.

    PAUL HENRY RHA RUA (1876-1958) Sunset on a Connemara Bog (30,000-50,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 37,000

    CECIL MAGUIRE RHA RUA (b.1930) Going to Church, Aran (From the estate of photographer Bill Doyle) (2,000-3,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,600.

    WILLIAM IV LIBRARY CHAIRS AT HEGARTY’S, BANDON

    Monday, March 19th, 2012

    A pair of William IV library chairs will be among more than 100 lots of furniture at Hegarty’sauction in Bandon, west Cork on March 25 at 3 p.m.  They are estimated at 4,000-6,000. English and Irish silver, collectibles, mirrors, porcelain and art will be among more than 300 lots on offer.  Here is a small selection:

    One of a pair of Irish William IV library chairs estimated at 4,000-6,000. UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD BUT ARE UNDER NEGOTIATION AT AROUND 3,000.

    A Victorian mahogany hallstand with mirror and marble top is estimated at 1,000-2,000. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,400.

    This pair of French bedside lockers is estimated at 600-900. UPDATE: THESE MADE 900.