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  • Archive for June, 2014

    HOMAGE TO IRISH WOMEN ARTISTS AT ADAMS

    Thursday, June 19th, 2014
    Margaret Stokes (1915-1996) - Nude in Sunroom.

    Margaret Stokes (1915-1996) – Nude in Sunroom.

    Homage to the significant role played by women in the history of Irish art will be paid at Adams summer loan show this year.  “Irish Women Artists 1870 – 1970”  will highlight the part played by women from the foundation of the Watercolour Society to the introduction of modernism and the fonding of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art from 1943.  Around 100 works will be exhibited at Adams at St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin from July 7 to July 31.  From August 7 to September 5 a show will run at the Ava Gallery, Clandeboye Estate in Co. Down.  Works for this non selling exhibition are drawn from private collections both North and South of the border.  Among those whose work will be shown are Sarah Purser, Helen Mabel Trevor, Maria Dorothy Webb, Mildred A. Butler, Rose Barton, Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone, Elizabeth Rivers,  Norah Mc Guinness,   Letitia Hamilton, Grace Henry, Lady Glenavy and Estella Solomons as well sculptors Hilary Heron and Gerda Fromel. Here is a small selection:

    Mary Swanzy (1882-1978) - Le Village.

    Mary Swanzy (1882-1978) – Le Village.

    Sarah Purser 91848-1943) - A Visitor (1885).

    Sarah Purser (1848-1943) – A Visitor (1885).

    Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) - Fear Not Mary.

    Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) – Fear Not Mary.

     

    IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST INSCRIBED BY WILDE MAKES £55,000

    Wednesday, June 18th, 2014
    The Important of Being Earnest inscribed by Oscar Wilde

    The Important of Being Earnest inscribed by Oscar Wilde

    A specially printed copy of The Importance of Being Earnest inscribed by Oscar Wilde to Major James Nelson, the Governor of Reading Gaol during the writer’s term of imprisonment there sold for £55,000 at Bonhams Books, Atlases, Manuscripts and Photographs sale in London today. It had been estimated at £40,000 – 60,000

    The copy, numbered 13 out of a presentation edition of 100, is inscribed “To Major Nelson: from the author.  A trivial recognition of a great and noble kindness. Feb, 99.”  Elsewhere the Irish writer and wit was to describe Nelson as: “The most Christlike man I ever met.”

     

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for Tuesday, May 13, 2014).

    IRISH SILVER SPOONS SELL FOR £25,000 AT CAMBRIDGE AUCTION

    Wednesday, June 18th, 2014
    This pair of Irish silver trefid spoons sold for £25,000 at hammer.

    This pair of Irish silver trefid spoons sold for £25,000 at hammer.

    A pair of Charles II Irish silver trefid spoons sold today for a hammer price of £25,000 at Cheffins, the Cambridge auctioneers. They had been estimated at £800-1,200.  This is thought to be a world record price.  

    Made by Edward Swann, Dublin 1679 the marks on the spoons are very clear.  The back of the tapering flat stems is inscribed *S*/S*M.  The two spoons weigh just 4.1 ounces.
    A trefid spoon is characterised by a stem that widens at the top and has two notches to form a three lobed shape, suggestive of a clef hind’s foot.  It is the earliest English flatware pattern in which the stems of both the spoon and the fork were made to match. 

    This Cork silver basting spoon sold for $6,000 at Waddingtons.

    This Cork silver basting spoon sold for $6,000 at Waddingtons.

    At Waddingtons in Toronto last night a George II Irish silver Hanoverian pattern large basting spoon, made in Cork in 1740 probably by Anthony Semirot whose work is very rare, sold for $6,000 dollars over an estimate of $600-800.
     

     

    WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS STAMP SELLS FOR $9.5 MILLION

    Wednesday, June 18th, 2014
    The British Guiana One-Cent Magenta.

    The British Guiana One-Cent Magenta.

    THE most famous stamp in the world made a new auction record at Sotheby’s in New York last night. The British Guiana one-cent Black on Magenta sold for $9,480,000.  It was the fourth time in its history that it set a new world record.  No stamp is rarer than the sold surviving example of the British Guiana, a penny issue from 1856.  Re discovered by a 12 year old Scottish boy living in South America in 1873 it has been out of public view since 1986.   The British Guiana was last sold at auction in 1980 when it was purchased for the then record price of $935,000.

    David Redden, Sotheby’s Vice Chairman, commented: “We are thrilled with tonight’s extraordinary, record-setting price of $9.5 million – a truly great moment for the world of stamp collecting. That price will be hard to beat, and likely won’t be exceeded unless the British Guiana comes up for sale again in the future. I have to say I’m a little sad to see it go – when I was eight years old this was the most precious object in the entire world, and I never dreamed I would have it in my hands.”

    The previous auction record for a single stamp was CHF 2,8750,000 (approximately US$2.2 million), set by the Treskilling Yellow in 1996. The previous auction record for any philatelic item is CHF 6,123,750 (approximately US$4 million), set by The Bordeaux Cover in 1993 – the cover including both of the Mauritius “Post Office” stamps.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 14, 2014)

    16TH CENTURY MARBLE TABLE TOP FROM ROME ON IRISH STAND

    Tuesday, June 17th, 2014

     

    An Italian specimen marble table top on an Irish George II giltwood stand.  Courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2014.

    An Italian specimen marble table top on an Irish George II giltwood stand. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £482,500

    An Italian specimen marble table top on an Irish George II giltwood stand attributed to Thomas Johnson is a highlight at The Exceptional Sale at Christie’s in London on July 10.  The table top was produced in Rome in the last 16th century. The stand, to a design by Thomas Darly, dates to c1756-58.  The rectangular table top is centred by an oval of red alabaster from Tunisia and there are a number of points of comparison with The Farnese Table, made in Rome in the 16th century and now at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. That table originally belonged to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III.

    The Exceptional Sale provides collectors with an opportunity to acquire masterpieces of European furniture and decorative arts. It is highlighted by an Egyptian statue, Sekhemka and a bronze sculpture by Giambologna.

    A DALI IN DUBLIN

    Sunday, June 15th, 2014
    Salvador Dali’s Le Cheval a la Montre Molle (Horse Saddled with Time) at James Adam.

    Salvador Dali’s Le Cheval a la Montre Molle (Horse Saddled with Time) at James Adam.  UPDATE: THIS MADE 19,000 AT HAMMER

    Salvador Dali’s bronze sculpture Le Cheval a la Montre Molle (Horse saddled with time)  is the top lot at the next James Adam Sunday Interiors sale in Dublin on June 22. Estimated at 11.000-15,000 the work is signed on the right hind leg.  It has a green and gold patina, carries the foundry mark “C Camblest 1981” and is numbered 274-350.  The original was first conceived and cast in 1980.

     A 19th century Dublin clock from Ernest the James Adam. (1,500-2,500).

    A 19th century Dublin clock from Ernest Bewley’s office at James Adam. (1,500-2,500).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 3,800

    The auction of fine period silver, furniture, painting, carpets, porcelain and decorative arts includes contents from Deepwell House, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, home of the late businessman and collector John Reihill. A Roderic O’Conor landscape from his collection sold for 210,000 at the latest James Adam sale of Important Irish art on May 28.  The top silver lot, an Irish George II beer jug by John Hamilton of Dublin, is estimated at 5,000-8,000. A diamond fur stone ring is estimated at 8,000-1,200 and Sir Gerald Festus Kelly’s Portrait of a Lady Seated has an estimate of 3,000-5,000.
    The sale features around 165 lots of furniture.  Collectibles include The Bewley’s Clock, a 19th century bracket clock by McMaster and Son, Grafton St., Dublin purchased for his office by Ernest Bewley when he opened his landmark cafe on Westmoreland St. in 1896.  It is estimated at 1,500-2,500.  The catalogue is on-line.

    ANNA PAVLOVA AND JOHN LAVERY AT CHRISTIE’S

    Friday, June 13th, 2014
    Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941) Anna Pavlova as The Swan (Study)

    Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
    Anna Pavlova as The Swan (Study) Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014.  UPDATE: THIS MADE £158,500

    Anna Pavlova as The Swan by the Irish artist Sir John Lavery dates from 1911 and will come up at Christie’s evening sale of Modern British and Irish art in London on June 25. The appearance of Russian dancers at the Palace Theatre of Varieties in April 1910 caught London audiences unawares. In a programme that included Lily Hayes, the comedienne, Selbo, the club juggler, the Palace Girls and the performance in ‘Kinemacolor’ of the one-reeler, ‘Paris, the Gay City’, the headline act was the first English performance of the Imperial Russian Ballet, starring Anna Pavlova and Mikhail Mordkin, ‘Russia’s acknowledged greatest dancers’. At this point, Pavlova was leaving Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes to work as a solo performer and later that year, she would launch her own company. The thirty-five minute programme consisted of a series of short divertissements, dances drawn from her most famous ballets that demonstrated the range and depth of Pavlova’s abilities. When she danced the Autumn Bacchanal from Pepita’s The Seasons for instance, it was not simply, according to Michel Fokine, ‘Pavlova in a gay mood, it was gaiety itself’Ballet fever gripped the capital, and the shrewd Palace Theatre entrepreneurs booked her for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden for 1911.

    It was the anticipation of this event that brought Pavlova to John Lavery’s studio at 5 Cromwell Place, South Kensington. After the completion of her début season, he received a commission to paint her portrait for reproduction in colour as a supplement to the Illustrated London News. The editor’s choice was auspicious. It underlined the pre-eminence of a painter who had been extensively honoured throughout Europe and the United States with major canvases in national collections. Furthermore, Lavery had been selected that year to represent Great Britain in the Venice Biennale, with a solo exhibition of 53 works. His study for the portrait is estimated at £70,000-100,000.

    UPDATE: THE PAINTING SOLD FOR £158,500

    LAVERY, SCOTT, HENRY, MCWILLIAM AND YEATS AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, June 12th, 2014

    Works by John Lavery, William Scott, Paul Henry, F.E. McWilliam, and Jack B. Yeats will feature at Christie’s Modern British and Irish sales in London on June 25 and 26.  Featuring 49 lots the evening auction presents stellar examples of 20th century sculpture and painting including three paintings by L.S. Lowry led by Industrial Panorama (£1,500,000 – 2,500,000) and Sir Stanley Spencer’s The Scarecrow, Cookham, (£1,500,000 – 2,500,000). The strong selection of modern sculpture is led by Figure for Landscape by Dame Barbara Hepwort (£1-2million) and two bronze sculptures Seated Man by Dame Elisabeth Frink (£400,000 – 600,000)  and Sitting Couple on a Bench by Lynn Chadwick (£700,000 – 1,000,000).

    A large Composition by William Scott at the evening sale on June 25 is estimated at £500,000-800,000. An African Figure in cherrywood, unique, by F.E. McWilliam is estimated at £120,000-180,000 and a study of Anna Pavlova as The Swan by Sir John Lavery is estimated at £70,000-100,000.  The Bay of Tunis, Morning by Lavery is estimated at £100,000-150,000.  On the following day the sale will feature two works by Paul Henry and one by Yeats.

    Paul Henry - Thatched cottages with mountains beyond (£25,000-35,000). Courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2014.

    Paul Henry – Thatched cottages with mountains beyond (£25,000-35,000). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £32,500

     Jack Butler Yeats - The Western Ocean (£60,000-80,000).  Courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2014.

    Jack Butler Yeats – The Western Ocean (£60,000-80,000). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £86,500

    TURRELL MAKES THE GRADE IN HONG KONG

    Wednesday, June 11th, 2014
    JAMES TURRELL, Magnetron Series: Pancho, 2000.

    JAMES TURRELL, Magnetron Series: Pancho, 2000.

    The first light installation by James Turrell to be auctioned in Asia made US$135,897 at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong.  Magnetron Series: Pancho,  2000, a television installed within an wall with an installation manual, was snapped up by an Asian buyer. Turrell is an internationally known US artist with strong connections to Ireland. His favoured medium is light.

    Western contemporary works  made up six of the top ten lots sold at Sotheby’s Boundless auction which brought in US$3.5 million. Western artists attracted strong interest from across Asia. The top lot was Zeng Fanzhi’s Portrait, No. 1 from 2004 which made US$266,667.  The western artists in the top ten were Marc Quinn, Georges Matthieu, Allora and Calzadilla, James Turrell, Robert Indiana and Damian Hirst.

    ALL THE TOP IRISH ART LOTS SOLD AT DE VERES

    Wednesday, June 11th, 2014
    Jack Butler Yeats RHA, 1871-1957 THE RETURN FROM THE PICNIC (1925)

    Jack Butler Yeats RHA, 1871-1957
    THE RETURN FROM THE PICNIC (1925)

    THE change apparent in the market for Irish art in 2014 was re-enforced at de Veres auction of Important Irish Art in Dublin last night. All the top lots were sold and there was competition for the best lots.  This is in contrast to the situation during the height of the continung recession in Ireland.  For de Veres Rory Guthrie commented that the sale, which brought in 365,000, exceeded expectations.  There was no shortage of new buyers and plenty of online bidding.  The top lot was Sean Keating’s Unloading the Catch, which sold for a hammer price of 52,000 over an estimate of 40,000-60,000.  The Return from the Picnic, a small oil on board by Jack B. Yeats with a similar estimate, sold for 50,000.  A boxed portfolio of ten etchings by Sean Scully from 2003 to accompany ten poems by Federico Garcia Lorca sold for 6,000 and Palometta by Barrie Cooke, who died earlier this year, made 20,000 at hammer.

     

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for June 5, 2014)