Charles Lamb – The Red Shawl
The Red Shawl by Charles Lamb is among the leading lots at the timed online auction by de Veres of the Smith collection of paintings by the artist. The sale of 54 lots draws to a close on the evening of October 20. The Red Shawl is estimated at €8,000-€12,000.
John Ffrench (1928-2010) – PINCH POT ICE CREAM BOWLS, 2008
This set of five hand painted ceramics by John Ffrench is at Whytes autumn online art auction which runs until October 19. They are all signed and dated on the underside. The estimate is €1,000-€1,500. Known for his use of bright colours and unusual shapes John Ffrench was instrumental in the design industry in Ireland setting up the Ring Ceramic Studio in Kilkenny with Peter Brennan in 1956. He was closely involved with Kilkenny Design and the establishment of Arklow Studio Pottery (1962-9). His work is acclaimed and is included in the collection of the National Museum of Ireland.
This beautiful lacquered wood and brass brick screen by world renowned Irish designer Eileen Grey (1878-1976) is at Adam’s Mid Century Modern auction in Dublin on October 20. The freestanding piece functions both as a movable wall to divide living spaces and an abstract modern sculpture with solid shapes and empty space. It is one several works by Grey in a sale of 264 lots that offers art, furniture, lighting and collectibles like circular c1970 cocktail bar on wheels by Pierre Cardin, a dressing mirror by Alain Delon and an armchair in the form of a leaf by Fabrizio Cornelli for Mirabili, Italy c1980. Eileen Grey’s screen is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
Guinness man mural by John Gilroy
A large scale mural from The Dock Green pub in Leeds by renowned artist John Gilroy, best known for his Guinness advertising campaigns, is the top lot at Victor Mee’s October collectors and advertising sale on Wednesday October 21. Rumour has it that Gilroy was a regular and painted the mural as an ode to the pubs previous history in lieu of drinking debts. The building which housed it was once a police station. It became a pub in 1961 and the mural was there until it closed in 2014. Gilroy’s Guinness work is highly collectible and this one has an estimate of €80,000-€100,000. There are 923 lots in the sale.
Sir William Orpen – Portrait of James Hugh Smith-Barry
An Orpen Smith-Barry portrait, Giant Irish Elk antlers, an Irish 18th century mahogany side table, a pair of large Meissen vases, Tribal art and a fine set of 19th century ornithology studies are among the delights at Fonsie Mealy’s two day sale of contents from Newport House in Co. Mayo next on October 20-21.
From four poster beds to Russian icons to Nubian torchéres and an August Edouart silhouette portrait of Daniel O’Connell the auction of 890 lots is full of variety and interest. What else can be expected, given that this fine mansion overlooking Clew Bay functioned both as a fishing lodge and an Irish country house hotel over many years. There is every opportunity to see for yourself as viewing at Newport House opens from noon to 5 pm today and tomorrow and from 10 am to 5 pm on Monday.
A pair of 19th century Venetian carved Nubian torchéres.
The live and online auction takes place at The Grace Hotel, Westport at 10.30 am on the following two days. The leading lot is a full length portrait of Colonel Hugh O’Donel MP (1760-1799) with family connections to Red Hugh O’Donnell (1572-1602) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton (€80,000-€100,000).
The Orpen portrait of James Hugh Smith-Barry of Fota (1816-1856) was painted posthumously though you would never guess. Based on a sketch by James Rannie Swinton made in 1854 it was commissioned by his son Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry (1843-1925) – created Baron Barrymore in 1902 – for Fota House. Barrymore paid Orpen £84 and ten shillings for a portrait now estimated at €15,000-€20,000.
There is a similar estimate on an impressive set of Giant Irish Elk antlers with 20 points and skull once at Powerscourt.
Waiting for the Steamer, Aran Islands, a c1950 oil on canvas by Sean Keating (€30,000-€50,000) is one of a number of West of Ireland themed paintings including a Coastal Scene of Kilkee, Co. Clare by Nathaniel Hone (€6,000-€8,000), Slievemore Mountain, Achill Island by Harry Epworth Allen (€3,000-€4,000), Cloudland, Connemara by Maurice MacGonigal (€2,000-€3,000) and Near Maam Cross, a watercolour by Peter Knuttel (€120-€140). Inevitably there are some specimen pike, salmon and trout mounted in showcases.
A Georgian gilt rococo mirror
A fine Georgian gilt rococo mirror after a design by Thomas Johnson, whose mirrors always told stories to children in the 18th century, is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. A Georgian dining table (€8,000-€10,000) and an Irish 18th century side table (€4,000-€6,000) lead a selection of furniture with reasonable estimates.
Among the leading statement pieces are a pair of 19th century Venetian carved and parcel gilt Nubian torchéres (€4,000-€6,000) and a pair of 19th century Meissen Schneeballen vases and covers with birds (€4,000-€6,000). Tribal art includes a Zulu headrest, a Papua New Guinea cult figure, a Maori bust and an 18th century gavel with a grotesque mask handle used in Dublin’s Hellfire Club.
For the ease of viewers the catalogue is divided into sections in various categories such as silver and plate, jewellery and timepieces, objets d’art and miniatures, religious artefacts, oriental art, library, bar and outdoor effects and individual rooms like the dining room, study, stairwell, reception and the downstairs drawing room.
An Irish 18th century mahogany side table.
Evie Hone – Abstract Composition c1931
Scott, Osborne, Henry, Scully, Hone and Le Brocquy head an impressive roll call of Irish artists at the Irish and international art auction by Morgan O’Driscoll’s which ends from 6.30 pm next Tuesday evening (October 20). This sale of great interest to collectors seeking top quality Irish works by some of the country’s most enduringly popular artists is on view at the RDS this weekend.
The catalogue cover lot is a c1931 Abstract Composition by Evie Hone (€50,000-€70,000) once in the collection of the French composer César Geoffray. Walter Osborne’s In the Market Place, Bruges (1882) (€70,000-€100,000) is an important early work. There is a similar estimate on Untitled No. 9 (1982), an oil, oil stick and acrylic on paper by Sean Scully. Two Pears (1977) by William Scott is, at €80,000-€100,000, the most expensively estimated lot in the auction.
Even if it helps art collectors do not need to be monied and along with highly prized expensive art the auction offers some very affordable pieces with estimates from €300 up. Among the lots at the other end of the scale is a watercolour by Frank McKelvey (€600-€900), a pencil drawing by John Butler Yeats (€500-€700), a gouache of Daffodils by Mainie Jellett (€800-€1,200) and a Havana photograph by John Minihane (€300-€500).
The numerous highlights on offer include art by Jack B Yeats, Mary Swanzy, Sir John Lavery, Donald Teskey, William Crozier, John Doherty, Colin Middleton, Dan O’Neill, Tony O’Malley and Daniel MacLise. All of them feature in an online catalogue that is brimful of interest.
John Doherty – Fruit and Fanta, McCarthy’s Bar, Dingle (2006)
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