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A complete set of Louis le Brocquy’s  20 Aubusson tapestries based on Ireland’s epic tale, The Tain, at Whyte’s Irish art sale at the RDS in Dublin on May 21 is estimated at 250,000-350,000.  Evening, Achill by Paul Henry is estimated at 90,000-120,000.  Sean Keating’s Past Definite, Future Perfect from 1928 has an estimate of 25,000-35,000.  The Pontoon by Yeats depicts a docklands scene and tackles the theme of old age. It has an estimate of 50,000-70,000.  Part of the collection of late senior counsel Jim O’Driscoll includes works by Patrick Collins, Tony O’Malley, William Crozier and John Shinnors.

A Northern Ireland corporate collection offered on behalf of the liquidator includes works by Sir John Lavery, William Conor, Frank McKelvey, James Humbert Craig and Maurice Wilks.  There is a large selection of work by Grace Henry from the collection of Dr. James Cruickshank. Contemporary artists in the sale include Camille Souter, Alice Maher, Robert Ballagh, Patrick Scott, Charles Tyrrell, Sean Scully and Pauline Bewick.  Here is a small selection (Click on any image to enlarge):

UPDATE: The sale grossed over 1.3 million. The Tain tapestries made 245,000 net, 294,000 gross.

Images from le Brocquy's Tain tapestries. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 245,000 AT HAMMER.

James Humbert Craig RHA RUA (1877-1944) AUTUMN, GLEN DUN, COUNTY ANTRIM (6,000-8,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,800 AT HAMMER.

Sir John Lavery RA RSA RHA (1856-1941) THE SOKO, TANGIER, 1891. (20,000-25,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 29,000 AT HAMMER.

Pauline Bewick RHA (b.1935) WILD DUCK OVER CARAGH LAKE, KERRY. (!,000-1,500). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916-2012) STUDY TOWARDS AN IMAGE OF W.B. YEATS, 1975. (4,000-6,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,600 AT HAMMER.

Patrick Collins HRHA (1910-1994) DRUID'S MOON, 1981(14,000-16,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,000 AT HAMMER.

THERE will be an Irish art auction with more than 170 lots at the Pillo Hotel in Galway on May 22 at 6.30 p.m.  Dolan’s art auction house is moving from Woodquay, Galway in June. Meantime the entire sale is on view at their premises on Woodquay until 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22.  Here is a selection from the auction (click on any image to enlarge it):

UNTITLED by John Kingerlee (400-500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 450

Val Byrne, No Parking on the Long Walk (500-700). UPDATE: THIS MADE 750

Ivan Sutton, Galway Hooker Regatta, Roundstone Pier (1,800-2,400). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD AND IS UNDER NEGOTIATION AT 1,600.

Tom Greaney, Connemara Coast (850-950).Untitled by John Kingerlee (400-500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,050.

Henry Morgan, Kilkee on a wet day (300-400). UPDATE: THIS MADE 350.

Evie Hone 1894 - 1955, Study for stained glass, gouache. (1,200-1,600). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,000.

An art for alzheimers auction of 76 works generously donated by long established Cork artist Charlo Quain takes place at Triskel Christchurch on May 17.  The work will be sold without reserve and proceeds will go to the art programme at the home.

The auctioneer for the evening is Morgan O’Driscoll and all lots can be viewed on-line at  www.morganodriscoll.com or at www.stlukeshome.ie  Here is a small selection:

Charlo Quain (20th/21st Century) 'Summer Road, Ardmore'. (250-350). UPDATE: THIS MADE 240.

Charlo Quain (20th/21st Century) 'Open Mountain II'. (250-350). UPDATE: THIS MADE 100

Charlo Quain (20th/21st Century) 'Happy Red Balancing Bird'. (300-400). UPDATE: THIS MADE 220

Charlo Quain (20th/21st Century) 'Across the Estuary'. (400-600). UPDATE: THIS MADE 550

NATURE MORTE BY RODERIC O'CONOR (1860 - 1940) estimated at £50,000-80,000 did not sell.

The top lot overall at Sotheby’s sale of British and Irish art in London on May 10 was Sir William Orpen’s portrait of Rosie, Fourth Marchioness of Headfort.  Exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1915 it sold for £577,250. Irish art accounted for five of the top ten lots in the sale, but less than half the 56 Irish artworks in the auction found buyers.  An oil on canvas by Roderic O’Conor, L’Approache de Lezaven, Pont-Aven made £151,250 over a top estimate of £100,000.  It was bought by the UK trade.  Private UK buyers accounted for the other three Irish paintings in the top ten.  All were by Paul Henry. A Connaught Fishing Village sold for £145,250, Among the Twelve Pins, Connemara and The Edge of the Lake both sold for £115,250.

Two very different works on offer by the late Louis le Brocquy –  Travelling People from his celebrated Tinkers series and Masked Head from his head series  – failed to find buyers.  Two landscapes by James Arthur O’Connor (1792-1841) A View of Fin Lough and Delphi Lodge and A Mountain Road in Mayo sold for £36,050 and £22,500.  Sir John Lavery’s Kenmare River, Evening made £42,050. Among the unsolds were works by Orpen, Yeats, Henry, O’Conor, William Crozier, F.E. McWilliam, Patrick Scott, Dan O’Neill and Colin Middleton.

See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for May 4, April 12 and January 16, 2012.

Francis Bacon's Figure Writing, Reflected in a mirror painted in 1976. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: SOLD FOR $44,882,500

Roy Lichtenstein, Sleeping Girl dating from 1964. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: SOLD FOR $44,882,500

Masterpieces by Francis Bacon and Roy Lichtenstein headed Sotheby’s contemporary art evening sale in New York last night.  Bacon’s Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror and Lichtenstein’s Sleeping Girl from 1976 and 1964 respectively sold for $44,882,500 each.  It was a new world record for Lichtenstein. A further highlight was Double Elvis [Ferus Type] by Andy Warhol which sold for $37,042,500.

There was a record for Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei when one ton of his porcelain seeds sold for $782,500.

The auction saw a number of strong prices for the American master Cy Twombly who died last year. Untitled (New York City) from 1966 made $17,442,500, a new record for the artist at auction. Lichtenstein’s Sailboats III made $11,842,500, Ring, a striking 1981 self-portrait by Jean-Michel Basquiat made $7,642,500 and Arshile Gorky’s Khorkom sold for $2,770,500.

The auction total was $266,591,000, within the $216/304 million pre-sale estimate.  Altogether 81 per cent of the lots on offer were sold.  With five bidders in pursuit of the Bacon and six chasing Lichtenstein Sotheby’s reported a “remarkable” depth of bidding between $30-40 million.  Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art Tobias Meyer said:  “The top end of the market performed beautifully this evening due to a global demand for masterpieces that is almost unparalleled”.

See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for April 5, March 16 and February 27, 2012.