A walnut desk attributed to Paola Buffa. Italy, c.1950.
This walnut desk attributed to Paola Buffa (1903-1970) is at Adams Mid Century modern sale in Dublin next Tuesday (October 20) with an estimate of €2000-€3,000. The architect and designer is best known for his elegant and sophisticated mid century furniture. The timed online auction, with 264 lots in total, is on view at Adams from October 16 to October 20 when bidding starts to close at 2 pm.
Gerald Scarfe (b.1936) – Pink Floyd – The Wall (The Flowers: Sequence)
Work by the English satirical cartoonist Gerald Scarfe includes graphics for Pink Floyd, particularly on their 1979 album The Wall and its 1982 animated musical surrealist film drama directed by Alan Parker. This oil on canvas for the flowers sequence is at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and international evening online art auction on October 20 with an estimate of €15,000-25,000. On view at the RDS from today until October 19 the auction offers an impressive roll call of artists and includes three works by Paul Henry who broke the million euro barrier at Sotheby’s in London earlier this week.
Hilma af Klint: Artist and Visionary opens today at the National Gallery of Ireland. The first major monographic exhibition dedicated to the artist’s work in Ireland features paintings, drawings and watercolours. The art of af Klint (1882-1944) – one of Sweden’s most celebrated modern artists – was profoundly informed by spirituality and exploration of rosicrucianism, theosophy, and anthroposophy. Like many artists at the turn of the 20th century she strived to articulate ways to make sense of the modern world. Drawing inspiration from sources including the natural world, scientific journals, art and religions she practised automatic drawing and painting alone and collectively. Portraiture and illustration provided a source of income. The spiritual paintings were seldom shown beyond her close circle. When af Klint died in 1944, she left 1,300 paintings and 124 notebooks comprising more than 26,000 typed and handwritten pages. This vast body of work remained in storage until the 1980s, largely unknown outside Sweden.
This exhibition will explore the time, place and circumstances that shaped this unique artistic vision. Highlights include key works like Group IX/SUW, The swan, no 1, (1914–15) and Group X, No 1, Altarpiece (1915). These are displayed alongside plant studies, early portraits and landscapes. Developed in partnership with the Hilma af Klint Foundation (Stockholm) the exhibition is presented by Key Capital at 25. It is funded as part of the Culture Programme for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026. It continues until February 7.
PIET MONDRIAN (1872-1944) – Composition III (Komposition No.XIII) sold for £25,235,000.
The combined 20/21 evening sales at Christie’s London generated a total of £218,603,400 /$289,430,902 /€258,389,219. This is a 103% increase on the total achieved last year. The running total for 20/21 sales year to date sits at £494 million with five sales to come in the Marquee Week. The auctions on October 14 realised sell-through rates of 91% by lot and 96% by value.
In an auction rich with extraordinary international works, two museum-quality masterpieces – Wassily Kandinsky’s Das bunte Leben (1907) and Piet Mondrian’s Composition III (1920) – achieved over £25 million each. Monsoon: The Peter Simon Collection Evening Sale made £107,508,800/$142,341,651/€127,075,402, the highest value single-owner collection ever at Christie’s London. It achieved with sell-through rates of 98% by lot and 99% by value with 43% of lots selling above the high estimate. The top lot was Francis Bacon’s 1978 Figure in Movement which went to a bidder in the room for £17,185,000. The 20th/21st Century evening sale achieved £111,094,600 / $157,089,250 / €131,313,817.
More than 10,000 people visited the Christie’s galleries during the exhibition at King Street. The anticipation and buzz in the view translated into a packed saleroom, where there great depth of bidding and excitement, online, on the phones and in the room.
See post on antiquesandartireland.com for October 7, 2026
Gerard Dillon – Boys Catching Crabs in Connemara sold for £281,600
Irish paintings sold for over £2 million at Sotheby’s in London tonight. Six works by artists Paul Henry (2), Jack B Yeats , Sir William Orpen, Roderic O’Conor and Gerard Dillon brought in £2,040,320 (€2,412,617). The Potato Harvest by Paul Henry made a record £883,200 (€1,043,920), Little Spanish Dancer (Girl in Red Shawl) by Sir William Orpen made £358,400, Boys Catching Crabs in Connemara by Gerard Dillon made £281,600, Red Rocks and Foam by Roderic O’Conor made £243,200, A Winter Sea by Paul Henry made £192,000 and Galway by Jack B Yeats made £81,920. There were unsold lots by Sean Scully, Jack B Yeats and Paul Henry. All nine works were from a private collection. The nine paintings carried a combined estimate of £1.4 million (€1.6 million).
UPDATE: See post on antiquesandartireland.com for October 1, 2026.
Paul Henry – The Potato Harvest sold for £883,200 (€1,043,920).
PAIR OF CANTONESE 18TH CENTURY EXPORT PORCELAIN VASES AND COVERS
This pair of Cantonese vases made a hammer price of €30,000 over an estimate of €2,000-€3,000 at Adams Townley Hall Country House Collections sale in Dublin yesterday. With a height of 68 they are decorated with views of figures in a court interior and panel of flowering foliage and insects. The covers have finials modelled as temple dogs.
The top lot of the auction was Concert (Three Figures) an oil on canvas by Adam de Coster (1586-1643), regarded as one of the most refined painters of the Flemish Baroque. It made €60,000 at hammer over an estimate of €40,000-€60,000. An Irish 18th century mahogany side table made €38,000, a George III giltwood pier mirror made €36,000, a Louis XIV gold coronation medal made €22,000, a laughing mask by Jean Joseph Carriès made €22,000 and a portrait of the racehorse Bloomsbury with Sam Templeman Up by John Frederick Herring senior made €18,000.
ADAM DE COSTER (1586-1643) – Concert (Three Figures)
Stanley Kubrick’s Director’s Chair.
The personal Stanley Kubrick collection will be offered by Bonhams in London next February. One of the most respected and influential filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), left an indelible mark on culture. Be it 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Shining (1980), or Eyes Wide Shut (1999), his films pushed boundaries and redefined the limits of cinema, leaving a lasting impression on the public consciousness that extends far beyond the screen. His influence can be seen across design, music, art, and fashion, as well as in works of countless fellow filmmakers, from Steven Spielberg to Christopher Nolan.of one of cinema’s true auteurs as his personal archive comes to auction for the first time. Featuring iconic props, scripts, equipment and personal possessions offered directly from the Stanley Kubrick Film Archives the auction at Bonhams on February 3 will offer fans and collectors a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own some of the most important artefacts in film history. An online auction will run to the following day. His director’s chair is estimated at £8,000-£12,000.
Kitty Wilmer O’Brien RHA (1901-1982) – Coastal scene with Mountain
Viewing for Whyte’s online autumn art auction is now underway in Dublin. The auction on October 19 offers an array of accessible art at affordable prices. Artists in the sale of 272 lots include Jack Butler Yeats, Roderic O’Conor, Mary Swanzy, Flora Mitchell, George Campbell, Ciaran Clear, Ivan Sutton, John Ffrench, Markey Robinson, Robert Ballagh and Graham Knuttel. The catalogue is online.
Gwen O’Dowd (b.1957) – Ice Shift (1990)
Portrait of Col Hugh O’Donel by Hugh Douglas Hamilton
A full length portrait of ‘Colonel Hugh O’Donel’ MP (1760-1799) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton in a pose derived from the Apollo Belvedere at the Vatican is the leading lot at Fonsie Mealy’s sale of contents from Newport House, Co. Mayo on October 20. Hugh was son of Sir Neal O’Donel of Westport, a lineal descendant of Sir Niall Garbh O’Donel (1568-1626) who married the sister of Red Hugh O’Donnell. The portrait is estimated at €70,000-€100,000. There will be viewing at Newport House for three days from October 17. The live and online auction is at The Grace Hotel in Westport.
The Pedlar’s Cart, Achill by Paul Henry at Sotheby’s. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Opportunity knocks for serious collectors at sales by Sotheby’s in London next Wednesday evening (October 14) and at Morgan O’Driscoll on October 20. A group of nine Irish paintings by Yeats, Orpen, O’Conor, Henry, Dillon and Lavery from a private collection at Sotheby’s have a combined estimate of £1.4 million (€1.6 million). Two more works are on offer for private sale. The Amateur Ventriloquist, September Gale and Galway by Jack B Yeats, Little Spanish Dancer girl in Red Shawl and Midday on the Beach by Sir William Orpen, Red Rocks and Foam by Roderic O’Conor, The Potato Harvest, Pedlar’s Cart Achill and A Winter Sea by Paul Henry, Boys Catching crabs in Connemara by Gerard Dillon and Tennis, Hotel Beau Site, Cannes by Sir John Lavery are all available.
The top seven lots at Morgan O’Driscolls sale, on view in Skibbereen until October 12 and at the RDS from next Friday until Monday October 19, have a combined top estimate of over €600,000. William Scott’s Two Pears (1977) is estimated at €80,000-€100,000. In the Market Place of Bruges by Walter Osborne, The Shower by Paul Henry and Untitled No. 9 (1982) by Sean Scully are each estimated at €70,000-€100,000. Abstract Composition by Evie Hone, Achill Cottages by Paul Henry and Reconstructed Head of a Child (1968) by Louis le Brocquy are each estimated at €50,000-€70,000. Among 172 lots on offer at Morgan O’Driscoll there is likely to be much local interest in a brilliant c1835 oil on canvas by Daniel Maclise entitled The Fortune Teller (€15,000-€25,000).
Two Pears by William Scott at Morgan O’Driscoll.