Ernest Columba Hayes (1914-1978) – Sir Frederick Leighton (1830-1896)
A portrait by the Dublin artist Ernest Columba Hayes (1914-1978) of Sir Frederick Leighton (1830-1896) who was elected President of the Royal Academy in 1878 sold for 900 at Whyte’s first online art auction on March 11.
A Dublin born artist, Hayes was a student at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art in the years 1931 to 1934, where he studied under Seán Keating and had his first painting accepted by the Royal Hibernian Academy while still a student. From 1946 to 1956 he was President of the Dublin Sketching Club after this period he relocated to London. In 1958 he completed a large portrait of the Duchess of Gloucester, now in St Botolph’s Hall in the heart of the City of London, which was exhibited in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ Exhibition at the Royal Institute Galleries.
Whyte’s first online auction proceeded at a cracking pace. It took a little more than 50 minutes to sell the first 90 lots in this slick auction where bidders needed to be quick on their cues in order to be successful and there was much value to be had.
The top lot was a screen print by Andy Warhol of Aretha Franklin and Keith Richards which sold for 3,800.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 28, 2015).