antiquesandartireland.com

The early oils after Francis Wheatley of The Cries of London to be offered at Hegarty’s in Bandon on the afternoon of July 20 have aroused significant interest.  The oils, from the collection of the late Peter Mosely who moved from England to  west Cork in the late 1940’s, were in his family for generations.  The Cries, described as after Francis Wheatley, are “Cherries”, “Peas” and “Birds”.  They are to be sold separately and are estimated at 4,000-6,000 each.  Here they are:

UPDATE: THE three were purchased by a private London collector.

Cries of London after Francis Wheatley – Cherries  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 3,400

Cries of London – Peas  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 3,500

Cries of London – Birds after Francis Wheatley.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 3,200

An 18th century Italian oil on copper panel in the style of Domenico Guarino was the top lot at Mealy’s two day auction in Co. Kilkenny this week.   The Madonna and Child, with Three Saints and a Lion in an Interior had been estimated at 700-1,100 and sold for a hammer price of 7,600.  It was bought by an absentee bidder in France. The sale realised 300,000 and 70 per cent of lots on offer found buyers. A boulle bonheur du jour made 5,750, a landscape with cattle grazing by Thomas Sydney Cooper made 5,000, a pair of marquetry commodes sold for 4,400 and a Donegal carpet sold for 2,600.  There was a large private collection of African tribal art in the sale and about half of this was sold.  The unsold lots will be available to purchase from next week from Mealy’s online gallery. They can be viewed by appointment in Castlecomer.

(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for July 9 and July 7 2014).

IN THE STYLE OF DOMENICO GUARINO (1683-1750) – The Madonna and Child, with Three Saints and a Lion in an Interior, sold for 7,600

A lime green Donegal hand knotted carpet sold for 2,600.

Roderic O’Conor, R.H.A. (1860-1940)
Seated female nude (£5,000-8,000)

A Seated Female Nude by Roderic O’Conor more than tripled its top estimate at Christie’s sale of Modern British and Irish Art in London today.  It sold for £27,500 over an estimate of £5,000-8,000.  Early Away by Jack Butler Yeats made £50,000 and William Scott’s Blue Still Life sold for £74,500.  Both prices were within estimate.

The O’Conor painting is unusual in that it depicts only the upper torso. The upright pose calls to mind a conventional portrait.  A similar approach to painting the female model, combining finely delineated features and heavily textured drapes, is evident in O’Conor’s painting Repos of a fully clothed young woman asleep with a book in her hand. This work was exhibited in Paris in 1905 and purchased by the great Russian collector of modern art, Ivan Morosov, before it entered the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, where it remains to this day. Seated female nude, or Étude as it was originally titled, can also be dated to this period on stylistic grounds and may even feature the same model. 

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for July 11, 2014)