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  • Archive for January, 2016

    IMPRESSIONIST, MODERN AND SURREALIST ART AUCTIONS

    Sunday, January 31st, 2016

    An exceptional painting by Henri Matisse  is a highlight at Sotheby’s in London on February 3.  The Impressionist and Modern Art and Surrealist evening sales feature a variety of masterpieces.  The Matisse – entitled La Lecon de piano – has emerged after 85 years in a private collection and is estimated at £12-18 million. Here is a quick preview:

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for January 27, 2016 and December 23, 2015)

    Rene Magritte - Sheherazade (£500,000-700,000).

    Rene Magritte – Sheherazade (£500,000-700,000).  UPDATE: THIS MADE £785,000

    Paul Signac - Voile dans la brume. Canal de la Giudecca (£850,000-1.2 million).

    Paul Signac – Voile dans la brume. Canal de la Giudecca (£850,000-1.2 million).  UPDATE: THIS  SOLD FOR £1,025,000

    Francis Picabia - Le Ventilateur (£1.8-2.5 million,

    Francis Picabia – Le Ventilateur (£1.8-2.5 million,  UPDTE: THIS MADE £2.3 MILLION

    Rene Magritte - L'usage de la parole (£500,000-700,000).

    Rene Magritte – L’usage de la parole (£500,000-700,000).   UPDATE: THIS MADE £965,000

    THE BIG ART SALE SEASON IN LONDON IS ABOUT TO BEGIN

    Sunday, January 31st, 2016

    London’s big art sale season is upon us.  Christie’s kicks off on February 2 with a 50 lot sale of Impressionist and Modern evening sale led by a self-portrait by Egon Schiele.  It will be followed by a sale of Surrealist Art. The top pre-sale estimate for both sales is £129.1 million.  These sales open a week of five Impressionist, Modern and Surreal art sales at Christie’s King Street and South Kensington. With estimates starting from £300 up to £10 million, the auctions present new and established collectors with a wealth of opportunities to acquire rare and seminal examples by masters of the period.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 13, 2016)

    Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) Ferme en Normandie, été (Hattenville) (£4.5-6.5 million) © Christie’s Images Limited 2015

    Paul Cézanne (1839-1906)
    Ferme en Normandie, été (Hattenville) (£4.5-6.5 million) © Christie’s Images Limited 2015  UPDATE: THIS MADE £5.1 MILLION.

    Marc Chagall (1887-1985) Les mariés de la Tour Eiffel (£4.8-6.8 million). © Christie’s Images Limited 2015

    Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
    Les mariés de la Tour Eiffel (£4.8-6.8 million). © Christie’s Images Limited 2015  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £7 MILLION.

    Fernand Léger (1881-1955) Le moteur (£4-6 million).

    Fernand Léger (1881-1955)
    Le moteur (£4-6 million). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd.  UPDATE: THIS MADE £5.2MILLION

    A WATERFORD CHANDELIER AT R.J. KEIGHERY

    Saturday, January 30th, 2016

    A five branch Waterford Crystal chandelier comes up at R.J. Keighery’s sale at the City Auction Rooms in Wateford on February 1.  Estimated at 900-1,200 it is one of a number of lots with decorative appeal.  Among the more unusual is a brightly colored African wool and camel hair marriage tent liner (160-220) and a Victorian needlework picture of a British triple mast naval ship in a maple frame (650-850).  Other lots include a Persian Tabriz rug (500-700), a French Art Nouveau clock garniture (180-250), an inlaid breakfront display cabinet (1,200-1,800) and a Regency cross banded tea table (400-600).  The catalogue is on-line. Here is a small selection:

    A five branch Waterford Crystal chandelier.

    A five branch Waterford Crystal chandelier.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,100

    Victorian needlework tapestry in maple frame.

    Victorian needlework tapestry in maple frame.  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    An inlaid display cabinet.

    A display cabinet.  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    African wool & camel hair marriage tent liner

    African wool & camel hair marriage tent liner. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 140

    BAROQUE MASTERPIECE BOUND FOR LOS ANGELES

    Friday, January 29th, 2016
    Orazio Gentileschi -  Danaë

    Orazio Gentileschi – Danaë

    Gentileschi’s Baroque masterpiece Danaë was the top lot at Sotheby’s $53.5 million evening sale of Master Paintings in New York. It made $30.5 million – more than seven times the previous world auction record for the artist.  The monumental work was acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

    Commissioned in 1621 by the nobleman Giovanni Antonio Sauli for his palazzo in Genoa, the work captures a scene from the myth of Danaë in which the daughter of King Acrisius of Argo is spirited away to a secret chamber to dissuade all male suitors. While mortals are deterred, Jupiter, God of the Sky and Thunder, is not — he catches a glimpse and promptly falls in love with the princess, materializing in her bedroom as a shower of gold coins. In Gentileschi’s rendering, Jupiter’s arrival is announced by Cupid who pulls back the curtains to reveal Danaë.

    A figurehead of the Italian Baroque period, Orazio Gentileschi began his career in Rome where he, like many others of his time, worked in close proximity with Roman and visiting artists. By 1600, a young artist by the name of Caravaggio was a constant companion, whose friendship translated to great artistic influence. In his later years, Gentileschi became known as one of the most talented and distinct Caravaggesque painters, a trait that he passed along to his daughter, the most celebrated female artist of the 17th century, Artemesia Gentileschi.

    MIXED DAY FOR IRISH MEDALS AT NEW YORK AUCTION

    Friday, January 29th, 2016
    The medals of Bridget Connolly of Cumann na mBan sold at Spink in New York.

    The medals of Bridget Connolly of Cumann na mBan sold at Spink in New York.

    Medals relating to the Easter Rising in 1916 had a mixed fate at Spink in New York yesterday.  Medals awarded to Sean T. O’Kelly, the former President of Ireland, failed to sell. They had a low estimate of $12,000.

    The highest price was paid for medals awarded to the British Army Captain Campbell Kelly.  He was later convicted of bigamy and the lot included his Military Cross and George Cross. They sold for $9,500.  The medals awarded to Miss Bridget Connolly of Cumann na mBan for her rose at the GPO in Dublin during the Rising and in the War of Independence went to a telephone bidder from Ireland for $7,250.

    They came up as part of the two day Numismatic Collectors Series Sale.

    TAUBMAN OLD MASTERS BRING IN $24.1 MILLION

    Thursday, January 28th, 2016

    Old Master paintings and drawings from the collection of Alfred Taubman brought in $24.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York last night.  The top was was Valentin de Boulogne’s The Crowning with Thorns  which sold for $5.2 million and set one of  six new artist records.  Raphael’s Portrait of Valerio Belli – Just 4¾” in Diameter – made $3.3 million as did The Blue Page, Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of his nephew. The annual Masters Week auctions in New York are continuing.  All images courtesy Sotheby’s. (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for November 5, 2015).

    Valentin de Boulogne The Crowning with Thorns

    Valentin de Boulogne
    The Crowning with Thorns

    Bernardo Bellotto - Venice, the Grand Canal looking east from the Campo di San Vio

    Bernardo Bellotto – Venice, the Grand Canal looking east from the Campo di San Vio sold for $3.01 million

    Raffaello Sanzio, called Raphael Profile Portrait of Valerio Belli, Bust Length, Facing Left

    Raffaello Sanzio, called Raphael
    Profile Portrait of Valerio Belli, Bust Length, Facing Left

    Thomas Gainsborough - The Blue Page.

    Thomas Gainsborough – The Blue Page.

     

    ADARE MANOR SALE OFF TO A FLYING START

    Thursday, January 28th, 2016
    An aerial view of glorious Adare Manor.

    An aerial view of glorious Adare Manor.

    THE two day auction of hotel contents at Adare Manor got off to a flying start today.  The first day of the auction might not have had too much to interest serious collectors but many bidders took the opportunity to acquire a souvenir from the much loved Co.  Limerick resort, which is closing for a total refurbishment.

    Lots like brass lights, tableware, towel rails, garden pots, tiles, chairs, armchairs, writing desks and coffee tables, all with low estimates from auctioneer Aidan Foley, attracted spirited bidding in the room, on the telephone and on the internet.

    A pair of cast iron gates estimated at 60-100 sold for 1,350 at hammer. A collection of garden pots made 110 and a large collection of tiles made 1,200.  Ten 19th century style dining chairs made 500 over a top estimate of 250 and this was the pattern for many of the lots.

    The auction continues tomorrow.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 23, 2016).

    MONET, PICASSO, MATISSE, WARHOL, FREUD AND RICHTER

    Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

    sothebys artArt by Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Warhol, Freud and Richter have been unveiled together for the first time by Sotheby’s ahead of London’s upcoming auctions of  Impressionist, Modern, Surreal and Contemporary art.  Highlights include Picasso’s ‘golden muse’, Marie Thérèse Walter (£16-20m): Lucian Freud’s deeply intimate portrait of 17-year-old lover while pregnant with daughter Bella (£7-10m); a monumental abstract canvas by the world’s most valuable living painter, Gerhard Richter (£14-20m); Matisse’s exceptional La Leçon de piano, emerging after 89 years in a private British collection  (£12-18m); Andy Warhol’s iconic Large Campbell’s Soup Can (£4.5-6.5m) and Monet’s spectacular view of the Palazzo Ducale on the Grand Canal, Venice (£12-18m).

    WORKS BY PICASSO THAT STAYED IN HIS STUDIO

    Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

    An exciting opportunity to acquire works on paper, ceramics and terracotta sculpture by Pablo Picasso that remained in the artist’s studio throughout his lifetime arises at Sotheby’s in London on February 5.  They are from the collection of his granddaughter Marina Picasso.  A masterful overview of Picasso’s career in its entirety, spanning every decade of his oeuvre and encompassing each of the artist’s genres – including many that mark the genesis of his greatest ideas – the collection of 187 works includes 70 ceramics and terracotta sculptures and 106 works on paper. Estimates range from £4,000 to £180,000 and the sale is expected to make a combined total of £6.9–9.8 million. It will be held the morning of February 5following Sotheby’s ImpressionistModern & Surrealist Art evening and day sales on February 3 and 4.

    Femme a la robe entrouverte

    Femme a la robe entrouverte

    Femme debout.

    Femme debout.

    .

    PLENTY TO INTEREST AT HEGARTY’S BANDON SUNDAY SALE

    Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

    There is plenty to cause interest at an auction at Hegarty’s in Bandon on Sunday, January 31.  The sale offers furniture from a west Cork country house and items previously in the Coolmaine Castle collection.  There is antique furniture, mirrors, Irish and English silver, about 30 lots of art and garden furniture.  The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    A group of Swiss carved 19th century Black Forest furniture (5,000-8,000)

    A group of Swiss carved 19th century Black Forest furniture (5,000-8,000)

    Four Irish silver spoons with unicorn crest, Dublin 1831-31 (200-300).

    Four Irish silver spoons with unicorn crest, Dublin 1831-31 (200-300).

    A 19th century walnut and marquetry bureau de dame (3,000-4,000)

    A 19th century walnut and marquetry bureau de dame (3,000-4,000)

    A mid 19th century bracket clock by Shortsinger of Belfast (1,500-2,000).

    A mid 19th century bracket clock by Shortsinger of Belfast (1,500-2,000).