This set of five Irish George III leather fire buckets made £82,550 over an estimate of £2,000-£3,000 at Christie’s Collections London sale. Dating from the third quarter of the 18th century they from Ardbraccan House in Co. Meath. Within a sale which brought in £3.2 million the lots from Ardbraccan realised £1.2 million, selling 148% above the low estimate. Among them was a painting by Richard Wilson of Phaeton’s Petition to Apollo which made £82,550 over a top estimate of £30,000 and a mid 18th century Irish side table which made £76,200 over a top estimate of £60,000.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for March 22, 2026)
RICHARD WILSON, R.A. (PENEGOES 1713/14-1782 COLOMENDY) – Phaeton’s petition to Apollo
1915. World War I Irish recruiting poster featuring the sinking of the Lusitania.
This dramatic and very rare First World War recruitment poster is lot 122 at Whyte’s Eclectic Collector timed online auction which ends from 1 pm on April 18. The poster, with a graphic image of the sinking of the Lusitania off the Old Head of Kinsale, is estimated at €600-€800. The auction offers lots of very collectible art alongside historical documents of national importance and lots ranging from the foundation document of Sinn Fein written in Arthur Griffith’s hand and an archive of the funeral of O’Donovan Rossa to a Gretsch guitar signed by all members of U2 and a 1964 Rolling Stones Book signed by all members of the band.
William Blake – The Body of Abel Found by Adam and Eve. Tate, Bequeathed by W. Graham Robertson 1949. Photo: Tate.
William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy opens today at The National Gallery of Ireland. The loan exhibition from Tate presents a selection of Blake’s most iconic works of art, alongside paintings and drawings by his contemporaries, and offers a rare opportunity in Ireland to encounter one of the most visionary figures in art and literature.
William Blake (1757-1827) is a singular force in the history of art. Poet, painter and printmaker, he created a visionary universe of mythic beings and prophetic scenes, exploring heaven and hell through a language entirely his own. In a world shaped by revolution and social upheaval Blake and his peers pushed art into bold new territories using the power of the creative imagination.
Wildly unconventional in terms of both technique and thought, Blake developed a distinctive visual language to explore opposing forces of creation and destruction, reason and imagination. His inventive works have resonated far beyond his own era. Blake’s influence continues to echo through contemporary culture, inspiring musicians such as U2, Bob Dylan and Patti Smith; filmmakers including Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese; writers from J.G. Ballard to Allen Ginsberg; and designers such as Una Burke, whose work features in a special three-piece collaboration accompanying the exhibition in the Gallery’s gift shop. The show runs until July 19.
James Barry – Satan, Sin and Death, c.1792 – 1808 Tate, Purchased 1992. Photo: Tate.
The signed part of the foundation document of Sinn Fein
Lot 143 at Whyte’s Eclectic Collector auction on April 18 – which goes on view in Dublin from today – is a manuscript agreement which confirms the amalgamation of three political units into Sinn Fein. Dated October 21 1906 it is written in Arthur Griffith’s hand and signed by representatives of the National Council, Dungannon Clubs and Cuman na nGaedheal. The attendance is noted as follows.
“At a Conference held at Dundalk on Sunday the 21st October 1906 called at the instance of the Executive of the Dungannon Clubs to discuss the question of a possible Amalgamation between the three organisations at present working on Sinn Fein lines the following delegates were present: ‘National Council: Arthur Griffith, Cole & Sheehan Dungannon Clubs: Messrs Hobson, McCullough & McCartan Cumann na nGaedheal: Messrs Doyle, A. Ingoldsby & O’Brien.”
The estimate for this important historical document is €15,000-€20,000. The party split before the civil war and again afterwards, giving rise to Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. The remaining Sinn Fein organisation continued its association with the IRA. Another split in 1970 led to the modern Sinn Fein party. The other faction became the Workers’ Party.
The sale offers a fascinating array of historical artefacts, manuscripts, documents, photographs, books, militaria, medals, weapons, memorabilia including advertising, sport and entertainment, posters, postcards, photographs, coins, banknotes and other collectibles dating from the 16th century to the 20th century in over 500 lots.
An original Pablo Picasso painting worth more than €1 million has just been won in a charity raffle. The winner is engineer and art enthusiast Ari Hodara. More than 120,000 tickets for the draw were sold at €100 each, raising around €11 million for Alzheimer’s research. This was the third edition of the “1 Picasso for 100 euros” fundraising raffle, founded in 2013. Tête de Femme (Head of a Woman) is a gouache-on-paper portrait of Picasso’s partner and muse, the French surrealist artist Dora Maar.
“How do I know this isn’t a prank?” the 58-year-old asked when he answered a video call from Christie’s in Paris. Hodara, who lives in Paris, bought his ticket number 94,715 over the weekend after learning about the competition by chance.
The first edition of the raffle was won by a 25-year-old American from Pennsylvania in 2013, with funds raised to help preserve the Lebanese city of Tyre – a Unesco World Heritage Site. A 58-year-old Italian accountant won the second edition, in 2020, after her son bought her a ticket for Christmas. Proceeds were donated to sanitation projects in schools and villages in Cameroon, Madagascar and Morocco.
Availability is not a problem for those brave enough to forget the latest fashion trend and opt instead for a style of home that is individual. Because demand for serviceable antique furniture – stylish and prized by previous generations – has all but collapsed there is great value to be had.
The selection of Georgian, Victorian, William IV and Edwardian available at Woodwards in Cork on April 18 is worth looking into. How about a Georgian walnut chest of drawers, an Edwardian three section economy dining table, a George II mahogany card table, a bowfronted chest of drawers or a three tier dumb waiter? All are available at top estimates of €800 and under in the auction. At a time when not everything even makes the low estimate some of them can be picked up for much less. Among other lots are a Sheraton inlaid walnut bureau (€400-€800), a William IV circular cellarette (€500-€800), a large walnut cylinder top desk (€800-€1,500), a set of eight Hepplewhite style dining chairs (€600-€1,000), a Victorian davenport (€200-€400) and a set of six inlaid Edwardian dining chairs (€300-€400). There is a Tiffany style leaded lamp (€200-€260), a large Persian Hamadan rug (€500-€800), a Tabriz runner (€200-€400), a cast iron garden seat (€400-€600), a large selection of Waterford Crystal and a five piece cast iron patio suite (€1,500-€2,200).
Green beans on a white plate inspired William Scott in 1978, a red pumpkin was all world renowned Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama needed. These are revolutionary artworks while the subject of a 1922 drawing by Hazel Lavery is a revolutionary. Her pencil portrait of Michael Collins was made in May of 1922, just a few months before his assassination at Beal na mBlath.
All these works feature at Morgan O’Driscoll’s sale of Irish and International Art on April 21 on view in Skibbereen until April 13 and at the RDS in Dublin from April 17-20. The catalogue cover lot is William Scott’s Still Life on White with Beans (€120,000-€180,000). In a note about the painting Peter Murray remarks that since the 1930’s, perhaps more than any other Irish artist of the 20th century apart from Jack Yeats, Scott’s work has been exhibited worldwide.
Still Life on White with Beans contains the essential elements of abstraction for which he became renowned, Murray writes: “The square format suited his search for simplicity. Colour has been reduced to the simple monochrome tones of grey, white and green”. First shown at Gallery Moos in Toronto in 1978 the oil on canvas measures 24″ x 24″.
There are two other works by William Scott in the auction, Pear and Grapes and Table Top Still Life. Each gouache of paper dates to 1975 and each is estimated at €15,000-€25,000.
Yayoi Kusama – Red Pumpkins
Kusama’s Red Pumpkin is a playful painted cast resin piece published by Benesse Holdings, Naoshima, Japan. Stamped on the base and in a box it is estimated at €400-€600.
Hazel Lavery is best known nowadays as the subject of numerous portraits painted by her husband John Lavery. She too was a talented artist who had studied in America and France. It is not known when the Lavery’s first met Michael Collins, who moved to London in 1906. After the Easter Rising the Lavery’s used their social connections and friendship with Collins to facilitate negotiations between Ireland and Britain. Hazel Lavery made this head and shoulders portrait with Collins in three quarter profile when he was leading the Irish delegation negotiating the Treaty. It is signed and dated May 1922.
Hazel Lavery – Portrait of Michael Collins (1922)
The sale offers 156 lots of great variety. Mrs. Harrington’s Horses by Peter Curling (€7,000-€10,000) shows six chestnut racehorses from Jessica Harrington’s Commonstown Stud near Moone in Co. Kildare being exercised. The focus of Still Life (1984) by William Crozier (€3,000-€5,000) is flowers in a vase against an arresting blue and yellow background. Cottages in a Landscape by Paul Henry (€25,000-€35,000) is a small, spirited oil on panel probably painted on Achill and P2.05 (2005) by Charles Tyrrell (€1,000-€1,500) is an abstract rectangular oil on aluminium.
There is a selection of sculpture by John Behan, Patrick O’Reilly, Rowan Gillespie, Ana Duncan, Imogen Stuart and others. Many of Ireland’s favourite painters including artists Percy French, Arthur Maderson, Sean Scully, Sean MacSweeney, Hughie O’Donoghue, Jack B Yeats, Colin Middleton, Letitia Hamilton, Donald Teskey, Louis le Brocquy, John Shinnors, Richard Gorman, Dan O’Neill, Mainie Jellett, William Leech, Graham Knuttel and Roderic O’Conor are in the auction.
On the international side Willem de Kooning, Andy Warhol, Mr. Brainwash, Damien Hirst, Jacob Epstein, Salvador Dali all feature in a catalogue that is brimful of interest and online too. Lots from Morgan O’Driscoll’s upcoming auction of jewellery on April 22 will also be on view at the RDS.
April in Paris offers a touch more than even usual right now. La Pomme de New York, a monumental piece by Claude Lalanne is on view at the Bristol Paris until next Tuesday before being auctioned by Christie’s on April 15. Standing nearly 2.5 metres tall it is the most monumental sculpture ever created by the artist. The apple has had a central place in her practice since the 1960’s offering Lalanne a fertile ground for experimentation, balancing figuration, surrealism and a playful sense of scale. La Pomme de New York numbered 7/8 and dated 2008 is estimated at €5 million – €7 million. It will be a highlight at the 20/21 Century art evening sale. Located at rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré Le Bristol Paris is an iconic palace hotel and showcase for art which celebrated its centenary in 2025.
A rosewood desk by Nanna Ditzel. UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,000 AT HAMMER
An array of legendary designers like Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Niels Otto Moller, Arne Vodder, Eileen Gray, Gio Ponti and Nanna Ditzel feature at Adam’s Mid Century Modern timed online auction which starts to close from 2 pm on April 14. Now on view in Dublin there is accompanying art by Andy Warhol, Patrick Scott, Earl Bliss, Merlin James, Hughie O’Donoghue and others. Highlights include a rosewood desk from the golden era of Scandinavian design created in the mid 1950’s by Nanna Ditzel, chairs by Eileen Gray, a portrait of Kimiko Power by Andy Warhol and a pair of Colonial chairs by Ole Wanscher.
This ruby and diamond cluster ring is lot 44 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online auction of fine jewellery and watches which runs until April 22. Set with an oval cushion-shaped natural ruby weighing 3.08 carats and of Burmese origin, within a brilliant-cut diamond cluster surround weighing approximately 1 carat, mounted in 18 carat gold and platinum it is estimated at €15,000-25,000. The catalogue with 167 lots is online. The auction will be on view at the RDS in Dublin from April 17-20.
