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  • Archive for January, 2016

    A BIT OF EVERYTHING AT SHEPPARDS ATTIC SALE

    Tuesday, January 19th, 2016

    With everything from an antique brass domed bird cage to a late Regency mahogany centre table the Attic sale at Sheppards in Durrow on January 26 offers 667 lots at reasonable estimates.  The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    Group of six Chinese jade coloured ornaments (100-150).

    Group of six Chinese jade coloured ornaments (100-150).

    One of a pair of Adam style mirrors (800-1,200).

    One of a pair of Adam style mirrors (800-1,200).

    Antique brass domed bird cage (50-80).

    Antique brass domed bird cage (50-80).

    Large Regency centre table (600-900).

    Large Regency centre table (600-900).

    A Cork Regency side table (200-300).

    A Cork Regency side table (200-300).

    A SPECTACULAR RICHTER ABSTRAKTES BILD AT SOTHEBY’S

    Monday, January 18th, 2016
    Gerhard Richter - Abstraktes Bild (725-4)

    Gerhard Richter – Abstraktes Bild (725-4)

    One of only a handful of spectacular examples of Gerhard Richter’s Abstrakte Bilder in private hands comes up at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art evening sale in London on February 10. Painted in 1990 Abstraktes Bild (725-4) remained in the artist’s private collection until 1996 when it was unveiled at an exhibition of his personal paintings at the Carre d’Art in Nimes: “Gerhard Richter: 100 Pictures”. The work has not been exhibited publically since. 

    Acquired by the current owner via Marian Goodman and Anthony d’Offay in 1996 it will be offered at auction for the very first time with an estimate of £14-20 million. “There continues to be great momentum in the Richter market, particularly for his abstract works. This particular example is monolithic and muscular, a masterpiece with a spectacular structure comprised of dramatic layers of a kaleidoscope of colours. With its enviable provenance, it has all the ingredients you’d hope for from a truly great Richter abstract”  said Isabelle Paagman, Sotheby’s senior director, Contemporary Art.

    The world’s most valuable living painter, Gerhard Richter has seen his auction record broken three times in the past four years, most recently at Sotheby’s in London when an Abstraktes Bild from 1986, estimated at £14-20m, sold for £30.4m last February.

    FREUD’S PREGANT GIRL A HIGHLIGHT AT SOTHEBY’S

    Sunday, January 17th, 2016
    Lucian Freud - Pregnant Girl.

    Lucian Freud – Pregnant Girl.

    Lucian Freud’s Pregnant Girl will highlight Sotheby’s contemporary art evening auction in London on February 10.  The painting, estimated at £7-10 million,  marks a pivotal moment in the his career and shines a spotlight on a little-known moment in the artist’s life. Barely anything is known about his intense relationship with Bernadine Coverley.  The two met when she was 16 and he was already an established artist, 20 years her senior. Although their time together was relatively brief, it was to prove critical – marking both the beginnings of a life-long bond and, for Freud, a new approach to painting.

    Coverley, whose Irish Catholic parents ran the Black Horse pub in Brixton, was sent to a convent boarding school at the age of four. Feeling trapped and despondent under the strict governance of the convent, she twice tried to run away. By her teens, she craved the liberation and excitement of bohemian Soho – an intoxicating underground world of artists, musicians and writers. It was here, in a Soho pub in 1959, where Coverley first met Freud, who was captivated by her natural beauty and free spirit.

    Much has been written about Freud’s famously numerous partners – when he first met Coverley, he had already been twice married and had fathered a number of children – but little is known about their relationship. Pregnant Girl opens a window onto the most meaningful moment in the lives of both lovers, embodying the singular tenderness he felt for Bernadine, soon to be the mother of his daughters Bella and Esther. “It must have been a very happy time in her life, being pregnant with the man she loved and him wanting her to be there and paint her”, says their daughter Bella, “I think he was undoubtedly the love of her life.”

    After separating from Freud, Coverley left England (and its conservative views on unmarried mothers) with her two small daughters to start a new life in Morocco. The story of their bohemian lifestyle in Marrakesh wasimmortalised in Esther’s novel “Hideous Kinky”, and later turned into a hit film with Coverley played by Kate Winslet. Freud and Coverley died within just four days of each other in July 2011.

    LATE REMBRANDT SELF-PORTRAIT AT ULSTER MUSEUM TILL MARCH

    Sunday, January 17th, 2016
    Rembrandt - Self Portrait at the age of 63

    Rembrandt – Self Portrait at the age of 63

    A magnificent late Rembrandt self portrait is on display at the Ulster Museum in Belfast until March 13 as part of the Masterpiece Tour organized by the National Gallery in London.  Rembrandt (1606–1669)  produced some 80 self-portraits – paintings, drawings and prints- over the course of his 40-year career. No artist before Rembrandt, and only a very few since, have made self-portraiture such a significant part of their life’s work. Self Portrait at the Age of 63, painted in the final year of the artist’s life, is among the very last works he finished. It is a work of sheer virtuosity: proof, if ever it were needed, that with maturity his talent had only become all the more profound.

    At the Ulster Museum the late Rembrandt is hung with a small group of seventeenth-century Dutch paintings from the Museum collection. These paintings are by artists whose work Rembrandt would have known, including Salomon van Ruysdael, Jan Symonsz Pynas, Jan van der Heyden and Nicolaes Maes.  When viewed together there is sense of entering Rembrandt’s world.

    The Masterpiece Tour reflects the National Gallery’s commitment to promoting the understanding, study and appreciation of its collection to as wide an audience as possible. A  Gallery painting  toured each year between 2014 and 2016. In 2016 Rembrandt’s Self Portrait at the Age of 63 opens at the Ulster Museum then goes to Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal; and Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.

    TOUR-DE-FORCE BY MAX ERNST AT CHRISTIE’S SURREAL SALE

    Friday, January 15th, 2016

    The Stolen Mirror a technical tour-de-force by Max Ernst leads Christie’s sale of the Art of the Surreal in London on February 2.   One of the artist’s finest works the dream like landscape painted in 1941 is estimated at £7-10 million.  The auction comprises 42 lots by 16 different artists.  Among them are Pablo Picasso, Wilfredo Lam, René Magritte, Joan Miró and Salvador Dali. Here is a taste:

    MAX ERNST (1891-1976) The Stolen Mirror (£7-10 million). © Christie’s Images Limited 2015

    MAX ERNST (1891-1976) The Stolen Mirror (£7-10 million).
    © Christie’s Images Limited 2015

    Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Arlequin signed ‘Picasso 26’ (£1.5-2.5 million). © Christie’s Images Limited 2015

    Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Arlequin
    signed ‘Picasso 26’ (£1.5-2.5 million). © Christie’s Images Limited 2015

     

    A CABINET DESIGNED FOR INAUGURAL WORLD FAIR AT CRYSTAL PALACE

    Thursday, January 14th, 2016
    The cabinet-en-console designed by Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard and executed by Auguste-Emile Ringuet-Leprince.

    The cabinet-en-console designed by Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard and executed by Auguste-Emile Ringuet-Leprince.

    An extraordinary cabinet-en-console designed by Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard and executed by Auguste-Emile Ringuet-Leprince for the inaugural 1851 World’s Fair at the Crystal Palace in London is among the highlights at a design sale at Sotheby’s on February 24.  A century of ground-breaking decorative arts and design will be celebrated through a collection of historically important pieces curated by the renowned collector and art historian, Roberto Polo. The collection tells the story of a period of technical and artistic excellence in design, from the masters of the mid-19th century through to the pioneers of Modernism.   The cabinet-en-console received praise from visitors to the World Fair.  It is regarded as a testament to the 19th century taste for innovative and striking furniture. It is estimated at £80,000-120,000.

    Other highlights of the auction include an exceptional pair of Imperial porcelain vases by the Manufacture Royale de Sèvres, delivered to the Palais de Compiègne in 1860 for Napoléon III (£60,000-80 000) and a rare cabinet by Belgian Modernist pioneer Henry van de Velde (£65,000-95,000).

    Daniel Alcouffe, Honorary Chief Curator, Musée du Louvre said: “Roberto Polo is impassioned by art in all of its forms and periods of expression, as long as it possesses intelligence and quality. These works are a compendium of the history of decorative arts in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Hopefully, their re-appearance and the admiration they arouse will simultaneously stimulate research and give birth to new collectors. Start a collection with a work of art discovered and blessed by Roberto Polo, how can one do better?”

    IRISH ART ONLINE SALE AT MORGAN O’DRISCOLL

    Thursday, January 14th, 2016

    The online off the wall art auction by Morgan O’Driscoll runs to January 18 at 6.30 pm.  There are 368 lots. Here is a small selection. The catalogue is online.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 5, 2016).

    Louis le Brocquy - Human Image XII (2005) (2,000-3,000).

    Louis le Brocquy – Human Image XII (2005) (2,000-3,000). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,700

    Tony O'Malley - Three Birds from Window (800-1,200).

    Tony O’Malley – Three Birds from Window (800-1,200).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 3,000

    Colin Davidson - Stormont Gate Lodge (2,000-3,000).

    Colin Davidson – Stormont Gate Lodge (2,000-3,000).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 2,800

    Arthur Maderson - Evening Study, Venice (3,000-5,000).

    Arthur Maderson – Evening Study, Venice (3,000-5,000).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 5,500

    SELF-PORTRAIT BY EGON SCHIELE AT CHRISTIE’S

    Wednesday, January 13th, 2016

    A self-portrait by Egon Schiele painted when the artist reached creative maturity in 1909 leads Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in London on February 2.  It is estimated at £6-8 million.  The auction includes 50 lots which trace the rich variety and breadth of revolutionary movements from the late 19th and early 20th century from Impressionism, to early Modernism, Cubism, Colourist works and Expressionism.

    Among the museum quality works on offer are Les mariés de la Tour Eiffel, one of Marc Chagall’s most romantic paintings of the 1920’s (£4.8-6.8 million); the largest of a series of four works Paul Cézanne created at the home of legendary Impressionist collector Victor Chocquet (£4.5-6.5 million); Fernand Léger’s Le moteur, 1918, (£4-6 million); a still life by Pablo Picasso from 1937, painted on the eve of Guernica (£4-6 million);  Chrysanthemum by Piet Mondrian (£1.6-2.4 million) and Bahnhof Königstein, by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1916. The evening sales of Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist Art on February 2 have a total pre-sale estimate of £87.3 million to £129.1 million.

    The auction will open a week of five Impressionist, Modern and Surreal art sales at Christie’s King Street and South Kensington with estimates from £300 to £10 million.

    EGON SCHIELE (1890-1918) Selbstbildnis mit gespreizten Fingern (£6-8 million) © Christie’s Images Limited 2015

    EGON SCHIELE (1890-1918) Selbstbildnis mit gespreizten Fingern (£6-8 million)
    © Christie’s Images Limited 2015  UPDATE: THIS MADE £7.2 MILLION

    PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) Nature morte signed and dated ‘Picasso 25 Av 37’ (£4-6 million) © Christie’s Images Limited 2015

    PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973)
    Nature morte
    signed and dated ‘Picasso 25 Av 37’ (£4-6 million) © Christie’s Images Limited 2015  UDATE: THIS MADE £4 MILLION.

    ONE OF THE GREATEST PRIVATE COLLECTIONS OF CHINESE PORCELAIN

    Wednesday, January 13th, 2016
    Leading the sale is an exceedingly rare Chenghua Blue and White ‘Palace Bowl’. It represents a unique version of the design, with a larger number of melons than usual and is estimated at £4-6 million.

    Leading the sale is an exceedingly rare Chenghua Blue and White ‘Palace Bowl’. It represents a unique version of the design, with a larger number of melons than usual and is estimated at £4-6 million.

    One of the greatest collections of Chinese porcelain left in private hands will come up at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on April 6.  Put together in the mid-20th century by Roger Pilkington, one of the most eminent and active collectors of his day, the collection spans the heights of 1,000 years of Chinese porcelain production, from the Tang through to the Ming and on to the Qing dynasties.  The collection captures all the greatest achievements in the field and tells the  story of the evolution of Chinese porcelain and Chinese history.  Put together in a single decade beginning in the late 1950’s it is estimated to make a combined total of more than £20 million sterling. 

    The highlight is a group of porcelains produced during the Ming dynasty, comprising pieces from the seminal period in the early 15th century when creativity at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen was at its zenith. This is complemented by a small group of jade vessels and carvings from the Imperial workshops within the grounds of the Forbidden City, made for the court of Emperor Qianlong in the latter half of the 18th century.

    Nicolas Chow, Deputy Chairman, Sotheby’s Asia, International Head and Chairman, Chinese Works of Art, said: “The Pilkington Collection contains extraordinarily rare items, of a kind seldom seen together on the market. This time capsule captures a seminal moment in the history of collecting when connoisseurship in the field reached new heights of sophistication, and when collectors’ appetites for the very best were serviced by a handful of brilliant dealers”. 

    The collection will be on view in London on January 17-18.

    ART AT DOLAN’S IN CORK ON JANUARY 17

    Tuesday, January 12th, 2016
    There is art by Mark O’Neill, Maurice Wilks, Brian Ballard, James Cahill, Annie Robinson, Orla Egan, John Morris and many others at Dolan’s art and antiques sale at Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork on January 17.  Books include An Irish Florilegium; Wild and Garden Plants of Ireland (both volumes) with illustrations of watercolour paintings by the artist Wendy Walsh who died in 2014 aged 98.  The originals are in the permanent collection of the library of the Botanic Gardens in Dublin. There is a first edition of Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce, Cuala Press broadsides from 1909 and Parliamentary Bills of Cork maritime and railway interest.
    There is Victorian and Edwardian furniture, Victorian brass fenders and candlesticks, a pair of pewter canisters from Lissadell House, a silver Christening mug and hip flask. Plated items include a box and prayer book which was a wedding present inscribed and dated the morning of the Easter Rising, April 24, 1916.  The sale will feature porcelain, glass and a selection of American comic books. The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    William Tatton Winter RBA 1855 - 1928 A STREET CAUDEBEC-EN-CAUX, NORMANDY Watercolour (600-800).

    William Tatton Winter RBA
    1855 – 1928
    A STREET CAUDEBEC-EN-CAUX, NORMANDY
    Watercolour (600-800).

    Frank Egginton RCA FIAL 1908 - 1990 A SUNNY EVENING, CO. MAYO, watercolour (800-1,200).

    Frank Egginton RCA FIAL
    1908 – 1990
    A SUNNY EVENING, CO. MAYO, watercolour (800-1,200).

    An Irish Florilegium, Wild and Garden Plants of Ireland, Volumes I & II, Illustrated by Wendy Walsh, with sucscribers list to volume II, Signed by Wendy Walsh and Charles Nelson (950-1,250).

    An Irish Florilegium, Wild and Garden
    Plants of Ireland, Volumes I & II,
    Illustrated by Wendy Walsh, with
    sucscribers list to volume II, Signed
    by Wendy Walsh and Charles Nelson (950-1,250).

    The Circus comes to town by Orla Egan (300-500).

    The Circus comes to town by Orla Egan (300-500).