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  • Archive for March, 2018

    FONSIE MEALY’S SALE GOES AHEAD ON WEDNESDAY

    Monday, March 5th, 2018

    Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth Spring Fine Art sale in Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny  has not fallen foul of the inclement weather experienced in Ireland last week.  The sale goes ahead on March 7  with a wide range of lots now on view in Castlecomer or online.  Here is a small selection:

    19th Century / early 20th Century Russian Icon (1,000-1,500)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 740 AT HAMMER

    Attributed to John Russell, British (1745 – 1806) “Portrait of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Irish Playwright and Whig Politician) (4,000-6,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,500 AT HAMMER

    Satinwood demi-lune side cabinet by Hicks (4,000-5,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,800 AT HAMMER

    A rare early 19th Century mahogany Gothic Hall Bench, after a design by A.W. Pugin (1,500-2,000)  UDATE: THIS MADE 1,900 AT HAMMER

    Large 19th Century Native American, (possibly Navajo) green ground needlework rug (1,000-1,500)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 600 AT HAMMER

    PORTRAIT BUST OF FAMOUS IRISH SOPRANO AT MEALY’S

    Monday, March 5th, 2018

    Richard Barter – Portrait bust of Catherine Hayes  UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,200

    Highlights at Mealy’s spring sale in Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny include a white carved marble bust of the world famous Limerick born soprano Catherine Hayes (1818-1861) by Richard Barter.  She is depicted wearing her hair in a bun, with bead necklace and cross pendant, and a floral spray in her left hand, her shoulders covered with a shawl.

    ATTRIBUTED TO SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792). A fine portrait of a gentleman. Believed to be Archbishop Richard Robinson

    Hayes, who sang the Irish rebellion song Kathleen Mavourneen to Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace in June of 1849, appeared in concerts in Rome, London, Dublin, Limerick, New York, Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia, Washington, throughout the Americas and in Australia.

    The bust is estimated at 3,000-4,000 in a sale of nearly 700 lots of antique furniture, collectibles and art that will also include a portrait of a gentleman believed to be Archbishop Richard Robinson, Lord Rokeby (1708-1794) Archbishop of Armagh attributed to Sir Joshua Reynolds.

    The sale will now take place on Tuesday, March 13.

    ANOTHER PORTRAIT OF MARIE-THERESE FOR AUCTION

    Sunday, March 4th, 2018

    Pablo Picasso – Le Repos

    Pablo Picasso’s intimate depiction of his ‘golden muse’ Marie-Thérèse Walter – Le Repos from 1932 – is set to highlight Sotheby’s  Impressionist and Modern evening art sale in New York on May 14.  It is estimated at $25-35 million.  This follows the sale in London last week of a 1937, shadowed portrait of Marie-Thérèse for £49.8 million following the arrival of new love Dora Maar into the life of Picasso.  Meantime Tate Modern’s first solo exhibition of Picasso’s work, The Ey Exhibition: Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame, Tragedy, opens in London this week.

    Picasso’s paintings of Marie-Thérèse are arguably the finest emblems of love, sex and desire in 20th century art. He executed his major series of paintings depicting her in January 1932, in anticipation of Picasso’s first retrospective that coming June at Galeries Georges-Petit in Paris.

    Simon Shaw, Co-Head of Sotheby’s Worldwide Impressionist & Modern Art Department, commented:  “We are thrilled to offer this stunning painting from Picasso’s greatest series this May. As we saw last week in London, there is a vigorous global demand for depictions of Picasso’s golden muse. This classic, dreamy example from his critical year of 1932 is immediately recognisable, and captures the key elements of his work inspired by Marie Therese. Its lush, painterly quality and vibrant colours stand in stark contrast to Picasso’s final portraits of his first wife, Olga Khokhlova, which immediately precede this extraordinary period – generally considered the strongest in Picasso’s entire career.”

    FONSIE MEALY’S SALE IS BRIMFUL OF INTEREST

    Saturday, March 3rd, 2018

    From  the Laytown Races in 1993 by Peter Curling to an elegant George IV Irish serving table Fonsie Mealy’s sale in Castlecomer on March 7  is brimful of interest.  The variety of lots on offer ranges from a 19th century carved Chinese ivory chess set (700-900) to silver, rugs, antique furniture and art including a preparatory study attributed to Sir Frederic William Burton for The Meeting on the Turret Stairs at the National Gallery of Ireland.  An early 19th century Killarney davenport is estimated at 6,000-8,000.  Around 600 lots are to be sold.  Viewing gets underway tomorrow and the auction is also online.

    19TH CENTURY JAPANESE IVORY PAGODA  UPDATE: THIS MADE 200 AT HAMMER

    Peter Curling, Irish (b. 1955) Signed Coloured Print: “The Laytown Races, 1993  UPDATE: THIS MADE 260 AT HAMMER

    GEORGE IV IRISH SERVING TABLE  UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,300 AT HAMMER

    An early 19th century Killarney davenport  UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,700 AT HAMMER

    STELLAR GLOBAL NAMES AT LONDON SALES

    Saturday, March 3rd, 2018

    Andy Warhol – Six Self-Portraits  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £22.6 MILLION

    Stellar names in global contemporary art will feature at sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in London next week.  Andy Warhol’s Six Self Portraits, completed just months before his sudden death in 1987, will lead Christie’s sale on March 6. Jackson Pollock’s Number 21, 1950 has an estimate of £10-15 million and among the other highlights are works by Basquiat, Mapplethorpe and Lucio Fontana.

    Sotheby’s Contemporary sale on March 7 is headlined by Peter Doig’s The Architect’s Home in the Ravine.  The sale spans the postwar era, Pop art and the pictures generation and features outstanding works by Rudolf Stingel, Bawquiat, Christopher Wool, Hurvin Anderson and Laura Owens.  A maquette by Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North marks the 20th anniversary of the sculpture’s unveiling at Gateshead in the UK.

    AN AUCTION FOR TIMES OF RED WEATHER ALERT

    Friday, March 2nd, 2018

    STUCK in the snow?  You can still find a sale online.  The current online sale of Irish art at Morgan O’Driscoll until March 5 at 6.30 p.m.  offers an interesting selection across various price ranges.  The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    PADDY GRAHAM (20TH/21ST CENTURY) Life Drawing (1984)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 850 AT HAMMER

    JOHN BUTLER YEATS (1839-1922) At the Abbey Theatre (1906)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,800 AT HAMMER

    JOHN SHINNORS (B.1950) 4 0 c  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    GEORGE CAMPBELL (1917-1979) Artist’s Studio  UPDATE: THIS MADE 11,500 AT HAMMER

    RARE PINK GROUND FALANGCAI BOWL TO MAKE MILLIONS

    Thursday, March 1st, 2018

    A SUPERBLY ENAMELLED, FINE AND EXCEEDINGLY RARE PINK-GROUND FALANGCAI BOWL
    PUCE-ENAMEL YUZHI MARK AND PERIOD OF KANGXI

    A superbly enamelled, fine and exceedingly rare pink-ground Falangcai Bowl is among the highlights at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Spring Sale Series 2018 on April 3.   This is without question the finest example of its type. A closely related example at the National Palace Museum, Taipei is painted with different flowers but the exact same colour ground. The rarity of the colours and the perfection of the firing make it likely the two were painted and fired side by side. Thrown and fired by potters at the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, the bowls were then painted in the Imperial Palace workshops in the Forbidden City in Beijing, possibly by Jesuits resident at the court of the Kangxi emperor, and fired a second time.  This one, from the celebrated collector Henry M. Knight, is expected to make more than US$25.6 million.

    The auction will feature a rediscovered imperial heirloom handscroll bequeathed by the last Emperor Pu Yi to his younger brother Pu Jie. Depicting ten landscapes the handscroll is the greatest masterpiece of renowned Imperial court painter Qian Weicheng.  It is estimated at US$6.4-8.9 million.

    The series of six sales will offer about 300 lots with a total estimate of nearly US$93.5 millionNicolas Chow, Deputy Chairman, Sotheby’s Asia, International Head and Chairman, Chinese Works of Art said: “There is extraordinary quality and breadth in our offerings of Chinese art this season, with possibly the finest assemblage of Qing porcelain on offer in recent memory.