The Gold Turban, Sir John Lavery’s portrait of his wife Hazel sold for 481,250 pounds sterling or just over 566,000 euro at the annual Sotheby’s Irish Sale in London on May 6.
It was a mixed day for Sotheby’s as just 44 of the 108 lots on offer found buyers. The highest grossing sale of Irish art so far this year brought in 1.826 million sterling (2,150,950 euros). The sale was 59.3 per cent sold by value. The most expensively estimated pieces sold better than paintings of lower value.
The biggest problem currently besetting the Irish art market is the difficulty in finding top quality works to sell. Potential sellers are still holding off. There is little problem in finding buyers for museum quality works.
There was some surprise that a large abstract by Sean Scully, Eriskay, failed to sell but Sotheby’s are confident that they will get this one away very soon. It was estimated at 200,000-300,000. The real problem is at the middle of the market. Sotheby’s had too many mid market pictures on offer this year.
Louis le Brocquy’s Spanish Shawl, a study in white made 361,250, James Christopher Timbrell’s Carolan, the Irish Bard, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1844, made 39,000, Roderic O’Conor’s Paysage Ensoleillé made 181,250, A garden in a city at night by Jack B. Yeats made 121,250, The Morning Exercise by Basil Blackshaw made 103,250, White House at the Last Stop by John Shinnors made 37,250 and a watercolour by Harry Kernoff, At the Railway Station, made 54,050. A number of other lots by Kernoff failed to find buyers.
A view of part of Dublin Bay by Richard Brydges Beechey (1810-1895), exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1869, made 43,250 and a pencil drawing of a young girl by Frederic William Burton (1816-1900) made 17,500. Two works by Aloysius O’Kelly made 15,000 and 12,500 respectively but a number of others by the same artist failed to find buyers. Sotheby’s reckoned that they would have readily sold two or three years ago.
An arresting self portrait in a bear skin by Sean Keating, estimated at 70,000-100,000, failed to sell, as did works by Gerard Dillon and Colin Middleton. At the Pump, an atmospheric oil on canvas by William Conor, made 23,750. Four bronzes by Edward Delaney failed to sell, as did a photo realist work by John Doherty. Patrick Swift’s Trees with curved roof in background made 20,000 and Course of the Driver I by Hughie O’Donoghue made 31,250. (Prices in pounds sterling)
UPDATE: SEAN SCULLY’S WORK ERISKAY SOLD FOR £193,250 AT SOTHEBY’S CONTEMPORARY ART DAY AUCTION ON JUNE 30, 2011. FOR THIS SALE IT WAS ESTIMATED AT £150,000-£200,000.