On the Courthouse Steps by Jack B. Yeats.
On the Courthouse Steps, a 1946 oil by Jack B. Yeats, was the top lot at Whyte’s art auction in Dublin on March 12. It sold for 88,000 against an estimate of 90,000-120,000. The painting shows a vagrant resting on the steps of Naas courthouse in Co. Kildare, his casual appearance in marked contrast to the classical facade of the building. A strutting cockerel on the steps of the courthouse leaves the viewer free to make his own interpretation of the scene.
Lovers in a Garden by Charles Edward Perugini.
Lovers in a Garden by Charles Edward Perugini made 48,000. It was estimated at 50,000-70,000. Perugini married Charles Dickens’ daughter Kate in 1873. An artist, she was muse to members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
More than 70 per cent of the lots on offer were sold. The sale total came to 650,000.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for March 2)