Paul Henry RHA (1876-1958) – LANDSCAPE, CONNEMARA, 1932-5
What Sean O Faolain described as the special drama of mobile light had returned to Paul Henry’s painting when he made Landscape Connemara. Clouds in the upper third of the composition evoke a sense of enthusiasm and joy. The oil on canvas comes up as lot 17 at Whyte’s sale of Irish and international art on March 9 with an estimate of €120,000-€150,000.
By the early 1930’s Paul Henry had settled into life in Carrigoona Cottage in Enniskerry County Wicklow with his partner, and later his second wife, the artist Mabel Young RHA whom he had first met in 1924. The mid-1920s had been fraught with both marital and financial troubles for Henry but life with Young in Enniskerry reinvigorated the artist. ‘Henry’s palette, like his mood, lightened as his financial and domestic problems faded.’ By September 1934 he was legally separated and it would appear his thirst for inspiration had returned following a holiday in County Kerry.
Included in the sale are works by Henry, Roderic O’Conor, William Conor, Walter Osborne, Aloysius O’Kelly, William Orpen, Mildred Anne Butler, Jack Butler Yeats, Seán Keating, Norah McGuinness, Evie Hone, Daniel O’Neill, Tony O’Malley, Rowan Gillespie and many others. International artists represented in the collection include L. S. Lowry, David Hockney, Frank Bowling, Josef Herman and Maurice Poirson.
A Louis XIV sword, 17th century portrait miniatures, an 18th century silver tea service, a portrait of a noblewoman in the robes of the Order of Malta, a Book of Hours and collectible glass by Gallé, Daum and Baccarat will feature at Sheppards live and online Paradigms and the Unexpected auction in Durrow on March 10, 11 and 12.
These treasures are from a group of 150 lots in the auction from the Blandin family of Château de Chalain, France. They have been held in Ireland for over fifty years by direct descent, curated by its Irish family custodians.
The collection reflects generations of military, civic and cultural history. Among the earliest recorded figures in the family is Charles Louis Blandin de Chalain, owner of the Louis XIV sword (€1,000-€1,500). The blade is broken but an engraved Vive le Roi survives on one side. This offers a direct link to the family’s service under the French crown and is among a number of lots in the auction showing a continuity of lineage from Ancien Régime of France to its long-established Irish chapter.
Rare Gallé World War I vase
Gallé World War I vases are among the rarest works of the École de Nancy. A Gallé World War I glass vase produced in 1915 with Art Nouveau glassmaking, war iconography and a subject that relates to the Vosges front has an estimate of €5,000-€8,000. It is from the Chateau de Chalain collection.
The Irish dimension of the sale is equally notable. A pair of 18th-century pastel portraits depict Walter Hussey de Burgh (1742–1783), Prime Serjeant and later Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, of Donore House, County Kildare and his wife and cousin Anne. He was one of Ireland’s most prominent legal figures of the period.
A stained glass watercolour study for the south window at Castlehaven church, Skibbereen
A set of six stained glass watercolour designs from the late 19th century form an important ecclesiastical archive. Attributed to Arthur Louis Moore & Co., London they were prepared for the Church of Ireland commissioners and reflect Moore’s practice of producing bespoke designs for individual churches. They were made for All Saints’ Church, Phibsborough, Dublin, Christ Church, Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire), Quin Church, County Clare (centre window, south side), St Mary’s Church, Donnybrook, Dublin (south side), Castlehaven Parish Church, Skibbereen, County Cork (south window) also known as St. Barrahane and Rathmolyon Church, County Meath (east window).
The craftsmanship of late 18th or early 19th century Irish workshops can be seen in a flintlock pistol by Dublin maker John Lanigan (1829-1835). A later percussion pistol by James Read of Dublin illustrates the technological transition from flint ignition to percussion mechanism in the 19th century. A pair of Japanese World War II “Big Eye” naval binoculars were probably manufactured by Nikon or Tokyo Kogaku Kikai (Tokyo Optical Company). The lot is accompanied by a US Army certificate permitting the removal of the binoculars at the end of the war.
A doll’s house at Woodwards sale in Cork today (March 7). UPDATE: THIS MADE 280 AT HAMMER
From art and jewellery to antique furniture, paintings and collectibles at all price points all sorts of everything will be available at auctions up and down Ireland in the coming days. In Dublin art by Roderic O’Conor and Paul Henry head up an Irish and International art sale with a combined estimate of more than €1 million at Whyte’s on the evening of March 9. The Jewellery Box sale at Adams on March 10 offers 234 lots headed by an emerald and diamond dress ring (€10,000-€15,000). Both these auctions are now on view.
Auctions in Cork by Aidan Foley, Woodwards and Hegarty’s in Bandon offer a wide variety of lots at lower price points. Top lots at Woodwards on March 7 are an Edwardian economy dining table (€1,000-€2,000) and a five piece cast iron patio suite (1,200-€1,800). The three day sale by Aidan Foley in Doneraile next on March 9, 10 and 11 at 6 pm on each day offers a library collection, art, antique furniture and rugs, silver and a collection of whiskey. The online sale at Hegarty’s in Bandon on March 11 features an oil on canvas by Graham Knuttel, a five stone diamond ring and an antique pair of Cork elbow chairs.
An emerald and diamond dress ring at Adam’s in Dublin.
There was a new world record for Henry Moore at Christie’s London 20/21 evening sale when King and Queen sold for £26,345,000. This was 76% above the high estimate. The result came after a bidding battle that went on for almost eight minutes with six bidders in the room. It is the highest selling lot of the London season. The sale generated a total of £114,175,900 a 39% increase on the total achieved last year, with 92% of lots sold by lot and 98% by value. Three evening sales brought in £197,472,600, up 52% on last year.
The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale, celebrating its 25th edition this season was 100% sold by lot and value and generated a total of £42,978,950. It set two significant world auction records: Dorothea Tanning’s Children’s Games (1942) realised £4,686,000, while Toyen’s Le devenir de la liberté (1946) achieved £3,710,000.
Modern Visionaries – The Roger and Josette Vanthournout Collection made £40,317,750, selling 97% by lot and 94% by value. The three evening sales generated £197,472,600.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 13, 2026)
Sling Sling is the title of this screenprint by Richard Gorman at Adam’s online picture sale which runs until March 12. The estimate is €300-500. A colourist Gorman, who died in January, was best known for his aintings and works on paper exploring the dynamic interplay between geometric forms. Viewing for this auction, along with Adam’s Jewellery Box sale on March 10, gets underway in Dublin tomorrow. The catalogues for both sales are online.
‘These Beautiful Men’, a newly commissioned body of work and exhibition by artist Brian Maguire, opens at Rua Red, the South Dublin Arts Centre in Tallaght, on March 6 and runs until May 9. The renowned Irish artist has travelled the world to highlight injustice and the precarity of life for vulnerable communities, working in Montana (2020-25), the Amazon (2022-23), Arizona/US-Mexico border (2021-22), South Sudan (2018), Aleppo, Syria (2017), the Mediterranean Sea (2016), Ciudad Juárez, Mexico (2008-2015), and São Paulo, Brazil (1998-2003) to name a few. For this exhibition he stayed at home.
Since October 2025, Maguire has been drawing men temporarily residing at an International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) Centre, a primary reception and processing centre for international protection applicants. Maguire and Rua Red established a temporary art studio within the IPAS centre where artist Michael Mangan runs workshops three times a week. While Brian draws portraits of the men, participants in Mangan’s workshop are invited to paint their understanding of home and hopes for the future. Maguire’s portraits will be presented in Rua Red’s Gallery One, while Gallery Two will feature audio recordings of the men’s experiences and journeys to Ireland. Life in the IPAS centre is marked by transience and uncertainty. Residents are relocated to accommodation at other locations at very short notice, typically within three weeks of arrival. This ever-present condition of impermanence informs Maguire’s drawings, which are rapid responses made in charcoal. The works underscore the urgency and fragility of the encounters on which they are based.
The exhibition at Rua Red runs concurrently and in dialogue with the exhibition ‘Brian Maguire: Portraits— The Failure of the State’, currently on view at the Irish Arts Centre (IAC), New York. Both exhibitions, curated by Jonathan Cummins and Maolíosa Boyle, centre on portraiture as an act of sustained attention — a turning towards another person, their family, and community — and bearing witness through time spent looking and listening to their stories and experiences.
WILLIAM SCOTT, R.A. (1913-1989) – Orange Still Life with Figure
William Scott’s Orange Still Life with Figure dates to 1956/7 and comes up at Christie’s Modern British and Irish Art evening sale in London on March 18. The oil on canvas is from an American collection and estimated at £50,000-£350,000. The auction is led by Frank Auerbach’s Christmas Tree at Mornington Crescent (2004–05) described as a triumphant celebration of paint’s power to capture a landscape rich in memory. The estimate is £1.5 million – £2 million. There are 26 lots in the sale.
This George II demi lune tea table is at Woodwards in Cork on March 7 with an estimate of just €300-500. A vintage New York side cabinet, an ornate Louis XV style console mirror and table and an Edwardian doll’s house are among the feature items at an auction which offers a selection of furniture along with Waterford Crystal, paintings and rugs. The catalogue is online. UPDATE: THIS MADE 380 AT HAMMER
For the third consecutive year and driven by critically successful exhibitions the National Gallery of Ireland welcomed over one million visitors in 2025. Shows like Turner’s Watercolours: Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest; Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone, The Art of Friendship and Picasso, From the Studio were a major factor. The exciting 2026 programme is highlighted by the first exhibition in Ireland of Swedish modernist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944), a celebration of William Blake and his contemporaries, an exhibition marking the 400th anniversary of Jan Steen, a celebration of European prints and drawings from Rembrandt to Matisse and an exploration of the photography of John Minihan. Pictured here is Harry Clarke’s Faust dating to 1924-25, one of a number of key acquisitions made by the gallery last year.
From Roderic O’Conor to David Hockney and Paul Henry to Ciaran Clear the Irish and International art sale at Whyte’s on March 9 offers many exciting opportunities for collectors.
The museum quality Le Loing at Sundown by O’Conor leads an auction of 129 lots with a combined estimate of in excess of one million euro. Painted around 1902 it is the catalogue cover lot and carries an estimate of €150,000-€200,000.
O’Conor revisited Montigny, a small town on the edge of the forest of Fontainebleau in the autumn of 1902 where he captured the mysterious half light with the sun setting low on the horizon. The art historian Jonathan Benington recounts how the works executed at this time were; “characterised by a highly painterly handling of the oil medium, from translucent stains to textured scumblings and thick calligraphic strokes”. This approach, radical at that time, can be traced back to O’Conor’s friendship with Gauguin and allegiances with Van Gogh in the early 1890’s.
Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book by David Hockney
David Hockney’s Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book was similarly radical when it was made in 1980. It reflects his long-standing fascination with pools, light and the California lifestyle, transforming an everyday subject into a vivid study of colour, surface and perception. The artist uses simplified lines and fluid forms to evoke the movement and shimmer of water. This signed lithograph from an edition of 1,000 is a highly sought after example from his inspirational swimming pools paintings and is estimated at €25,000-€35,000.
A holiday in Kerry brought inspiration back to Paul Henry. By the early 1930’s, after a fraught and financially troubled time in his life during which he had separated from his wife, the celebrated artist had settled into a new life in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow with his partner Mabel Young RHA, later his second wife. By September 1934 he was legally separated and his thirst for inspiration had returned following a holiday in Co. Kerry. This renewed passion for his surroundings is evident in the lightened palette of his Landscape, Connemara (1932-35) which comes up as lot 17 with an estimate of €120,000-€150,000.
A completely different take on a similar subject is evident in Ciaran Clear’s Moonrise, Connemara Shore (€4,000-€6,000) with its silvery sea, figures on a beach looking out to sea, dark sails and shadowy rocks.
A bust of James Barry by Joseph Panzetta
A coade stone bust of the Cork born artist James Barry (1741-1806) by Joseph Panzetta dates to 1818 and is probably based on an engraving by Picart in Fryer’s two volume catalogue of Barry’s work in 1809. It is one of four busts, others being held by the Crawford in Cork and by St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. The estimate is €5,000-€7,000. Three Roses by Patrick Hennessy, complete with a Guildhall Galleries, Chicago label, is similarly estimated.
The artist L S Lowry was proud of his Irish roots and The Cart from 1959 is a possible memory of a jaunting car during one of his visits to Ireland. Other international artists in the sale are Mr. Brainwash, Sir Frank Bowling, Maurice Poirson and Josef Herman.
A rare 1921 artist’s proof set of two lithographs by Sir John Lavery of Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, each signed by both artist and sitter, is estimated at €8,000-€10,000. They were gifted to the previous owner by Arthur Griffith.
The Shuggleshoo by William Conor (€18,000-€22,000) was exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1951. Child Playing with Dice by Dan O’Neill (€12,000-€18,000) was acquired from the George Waddington Galleries in Montreal. This gallery held solo exhibitions of O’Neill in 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1965. The sale features a selection of watercolours by Percy French and art by Walter Osborne, Evie Hone, Maurice MacGonigal, Tony O’Malley, Mainie Jellett, Jack Yeats, Rowan Gillespie, Siobhan Bulfin, Kenneth Webb, Arthur Maderson and Elizabeth Cope. Viewing gets underway at Whyte’s next Monday and the catalogue is online.
