Hugh Douglas Hamilton, R.H.A., 1736-1801, Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire (1753-1801), 1785-90, pastel (£200,000-300,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £337,250
WORKS from the collection of Dr. Tony Ryan, the founder of Ryanair, will be offered at Christie’s in London on July 14. Dr. Ryan, who died in 2007, was one of Ireland’s biggest philathropists and supporter of the arts.
On offer are 400 lots from his estate, the Lyons Demesne in Co. Kildare. This is a relatively small selection, but Christie’s say it will provide collectors and institutions around the world with a rare glimpse into a private Irish treasure trove. The sale is expected to bring in more than two million sterling.
Highlights include an important full length portrait in pastel of Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire (1753-1801) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, R.H.A., 1736-1801 (£200,000-300,000); a pair of George III giltwood and painted satinwood console tables in the manner of Thomas Chippendale the Younger (£50,000-80,000); a Louis XV Gobelins tapestry, by Claude Audran ( £30,000-50,000) and a white marble sculpture of Love Awakened by Giovanni Battista Lombardi, Rome, circa 1870 (£30,000-50,000).
UPDATE:
The sale of Lyons Demesne: Works of Art from the Collection of the late Dr. Tony Ryan realised £3,352,200, selling 90% by value and 83% by lot.
The top lot was Hugh Douglas Hamilton, R.H.A. (Dublin 1740-1808), Portrait of Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire (1753-1801), which realised £337,250
All images © Christie’s Images Limited 2011
Interior, the Lyons Demesne, the Drawing Room. (click on image to enlarge).
The Gabrielli room. Click to enlarge)
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A., Portrait of Mrs. Thomas Edwards Freeman (£50,000-80,000). Click to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE £49,250
An interior view. (Click to enlarge)
One of a pair of Irish George III oval glass mirrors (£6,000-9,000). Click to enlarge. UPDATE: THE PAIR MADE 21,250