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  • Archive for November, 2016

    ANTIQUE FURNITURE AND PORTRAITS FROM AN OLD CORK HOUSEHOLD

    Monday, November 21st, 2016

    Family portraits, miniatures, engravings and furniture from the Hingston family, who lived at Horsehead House at Passage until the 1960’s, will feature at the sale by Lynes and Lynes in Carrigtwohill on November 26. There is, for example, a fine Cork Regency mahogany dining table and a set of 14 Georgian Cork six bar chairs.  Each is estimated at 4,000-6,000. A Georgian Cork  brass inlaid secretaire bookcase is estimated at 1,000-1,500, a Georgian side table with Greek key decoration always known as the lamp table when it stood in the hallway at Horsehead, is estimated at just 400-600 – (update: this made 570).  An Irish antique dining table with four additional leaves sold for 6,400.

    Keen interest is expected in a set of Nathanial Grogan engravings with five Cork views:  Monkstown Castle; Blarney Castle; St. Patrick’s Bridge; View at Tivoli and a View of Cork Harbour.  The estimate is 1,500-2,000 – (update – these sold for 4,600).  Four family portraits from Horsehead all have the R & W Clarke label on the reverse and family miniatures are estimated at 60-120 each. An engraving by Henry Morgan or Horsehead looking to Carrigaloe is estimated at 100-200 -(Update, this sold for 140).  Other lots include a Japanese lacquered collectors cabinet on stand in need of restoration (300-500), a Georgian Cork 11 bar carver (400-600), a Cork dumb waiter (500-700), a walnut chest by Warring and Gillows (400-600), a partners desk (500-800) and bedroom furniture. A large Irish mahogany dining table, more than 15′ long, is estimated at 6,000-10,000 – (sold for 6,400).  There is a set of 16 antique dining chairs by Strahan of Dublin.  No less than 60 lots of books include the North Munster Antiquarian Journals, the Council Book of Kinsale by Richard Caulfield and Danger Zone (the story of the Queenstown Command).  There are two large lots of quantities of comics (The Magnet and The Gem), a run of The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, several lots of bundles of old Cork newspapers and old maps of various cities of the world.  The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    A Cork Regency dining table and a set of Georgian six bar chairs

    A Cork Regency dining table and a set of Georgian six bar chairs UPDATE: THE TABLE MADE 2,500, THE CHAIRS 3,000

    One of a number of family portraits from Horsehead with the R & W Clarke label on the reverse

    One of a number of family portraits from Horsehead with the R & W Clarke label on the reverse  UPDATE: THIS MADE 110

    A Georgian Cork secrétaire bookcase

    A Georgian Cork secrétaire bookcase  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700

    OUTSTANDING IRISH ART AT DE VERES

    Saturday, November 19th, 2016

    A large pastel by Sean Scully highlights the sale of outstanding Irish art at de Veres at the RHA Gallery in Dublin on November 22 at 6 p.m.  This, according to the auctioneers, is one of the finest quality sales they have held in many years.  It includes a small collection owned by John de Vere White and his business partner Barry Smyth which was put together 15 years ago as part of a business plan.

    The pastel by Scully from the collection “1.6.92” was acquired from the Trinity Taylor Gallery in London and is estimated at 150,000-250,000. The collection, which includes signature pieces by Barrie Cooke, Patrick Collins, Hughie O’Donoghue, Tony O’Malley and John Shinnors, was at the Four Seasons Hotel (now the Intercontinental) in Ballsbridge for the past 12 years.

    All tastes are catered for in an auction which features collections of paintings by Patrick Scott and by Robert Ballagh.  There is work by Camille Souter, Louis le Brocquy, Melanie le Brocquy, Leo Whelan, George Russell, Donald Teskey, James H Craig, William Crozier, Basil Blackshaw, Gerard Dillon, Mary Swanzy, Nevill Johnson and William Conor.  The catalogue is online.

    1.6.92 by Sean Scully (150,000-250,000)

    1.6.92 by Sean Scully (150,000-250,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 165,000 AT HAMMER.

    Family Group by Neville Johnson (1911-1999) (14,000-18,000)

    Family Group by Neville Johnson (1911-1999) (14,000-18,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 30,500 AT HAMMER

    AUCTION RECORD FOR DAVID HOCKNEY AT SOTHEBY’S, NEW YORK

    Friday, November 18th, 2016

    Richter, Warhol and Basquiat were stars of the evening sale of contemporary art at Sotheby’s in New York, which brought in $276.7 million last  night. The top lot was Gerhard Richter’s AB Still which sold to a private European buyer for $33.9 million.  Andy Warhol’s Self Portrait (Fright Wig) made $24.4 million.  Basquiat’s Brother’s Sausage made $18.6 million.

    There was a record for David Hockney at auction when Woldgate Woods, 24, 25, 26 October 2006 sold for $11.7 million. This is an oil on canvas in six parts, and it went to an anonymous buyer. The auction included Part 1 of The Ames Collection, which made $122.8 million.  There were bidders from 38 countries and Asian participation was up 11% year on year.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for July 31, 2016)

    Andy Warhol - Self-Portrait (Fright Wig)

    Andy Warhol – Self-Portrait (Fright Wig)

    David Hockney - Woldgate Woods

    David Hockney – Woldgate Woods

    MARILYN’S DRESS MAKES $4 MILLION AT HAMMER AT JULIEN’S

    Friday, November 18th, 2016
    That dress. The front view.

    That dress. The front view.

    The rear view.

    The rear view.

    The skin tight flesh coloured dress worn by Marilyn Monroe as she sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to JFK  has just sold for a hammer price of $4 million at Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles. Lot number 83 was described as the historic dress worn by Marilyn when she sang to JFK at Madison Square Garden in 1962.  It was an early 45th birthday celebration.The custom made Jean Louis creation was so tight fitting that Marilyn had to be sewn into it at the last moment.

    Under a bright spotlight Marilyn Monroe walked on stage and peeled away her white ermine fur coat, revealing the sheer dress that sparkled with over 2,500 handstitched crystals. Her intimate tone and projection of the words Mr. President stunned the audience.  She died three months later, the President was assassinated the following year.  Prior to the sale the dress was displayed in Ireland at the Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons.

    It was bought by Ripleys Believe it or Not! which owns a chain of museums.

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for September 7 and June 2, 2016)

    A PERSONAL MEMORY OF CHILDHOOD BY YEATS AT BONHAMS

    Thursday, November 17th, 2016

    ‘Water Front’, a deeply personal memory from childhood by the Irish artist Jack Butler Yeats, is one of the major works in Bonhams Modern British and Irish Art Sale in London on November 23. It is estimated at £150,000-200,000. Painted in 1947, the picture evokes the world of work and commerce with which Yeats was familiar from his childhood. He spent his early years living with his grandparents in Sligo where the family ran a shipping business. From their clothing, the three figures in the painting are readily identifiable as two seafarers and a farmer. To the left, a ship is moored at the quay, and in the background sit the buildings of a port.

    Another work by Yeats – A Soldier of Fortune (£50,000-80,000) – depicts a nomadic gentleman of the road. It has been suggested that this is a portrayal of Bowsie, a vagrant who appears in several of Yeats novels. Bonhams Head of Irish Art Penny Day commented, “Painted only one year apart, neither of these two paintings by Yeats have previously been offered at auction. They show Yeats exploring the expressive power of color and texture in paint to capture the spirit of the ordinary man.”

    Other Irish works in the sale include Nude Bathing by Roderic O’Conor (£50,000-80,000),  Moonlight – The Bridge by Sir John Lavery (£18,000-25,000), Killary Bay by Paul Henry (£3o,ooo-50,000) and Fresh and Salt by Jack B. Yeats (£30,000-50,000).

    UPDATE: Two works by Yeats, Fresh and Salt and A Soldier of Fortune sold respectively for £36,595 and £65,871, Lavery’s Evening Tangier, Looking towards Algeciras made £23,421, Back Gardens by William John Leech made £10,978 and Killary Bay by Paul Henry made £80,510.

    Jack B. Yeats - Water Front (£150,000-200,000)

    Jack B. Yeats – Water Front (£150,000-200,000) UPDATE: This was unsold

    Roderic O'Conor - Nude Bathing (£50,000-80,000)

    Roderic O’Conor – Nude Bathing (£50,000-80,000)  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A MONET GRAINSTACK SELLS FOR $81.4 MILLION AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, November 17th, 2016
    Claude Monet - Meule (Grainstack) Courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2016

    Claude Monet – Meule (Grainstack) Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2016

    A classical Monet stole the show at Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Art evening sale in New York last night. One of Monet’s famous themes and part of the Haystacks series, Meule (Haystacks) sold for $81,447,500 in a sale of 49 works that brought in $246,344,500.  This was a record for a work by Monet. The previous record, for Water Lillies, was $80.4 million.

    Picasso’s Buste de Femme (Dora Maar) made $22,647,500 and Rigide et courbe (Rigid and curved) by Wassily Kandinsky sold for $23,319,500.

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for November 1, 2016 and September 17, 2016)

    RE-DISCOVERED PORTRAIT BY FRIDA KAHLO

    Wednesday, November 16th, 2016

    redis-kahloA rediscovered portrait by Frida Kahlo portrait comes up at Sotheby’s in New York on November 22. In the summer of 2016 Niña Con Collar  surfaced when Sotheby’s was approached by a former personal assistant of Kahlo’s who had been given the work as a keepsake by Diego Rivera the year after Kahlo’s death in 1954.  It will be offered as part of the Latin America: Modern Art sale with an estimate of $1.5 / 2 million.

    The only record of Niña Con Collar had been a black-and-white photograph taken by the artist’s friend Lola Álvarez Bravo who documented her early works. That picture was used as the work’s catalogue raisonné entry and has been the only documentation of the painting until now.

    Axel Stein, Sotheby’s head of Latin American art, commented: “I have known Niña Con Collar since 1988 when I saw the black and white photograph in the newly published catalogue raisonné. I never imagined it would surface and turn out to be such a beautiful and warm painting.” With the subject’s direct stare from under her spreading eyebrow and the rigid symmetry of a frontal pose, Niña Con Collar immediately recalls some of the artist’s most celebrated paintings.

    UPDATE:  THIS WORK SOLD FOR $1,812,500

    MORE FROM LESLIE WADDINGTON’S COLLECTION AT CHRISTIE’S

    Wednesday, November 16th, 2016

    The sale of Part II of the Leslie Waddington takes place at Christie’s in London on November 22.  Part one of the collection of the pioneering Dublin born art dealer was a sellout in London last month, with 80% of lots offered selling above estimate and bidders from 37 countries. Here is a selection of what is coming up:

    Patrick Caulfield, R.A. (1936-2005) Clasped hands (£10,000-15,000) © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

    Patrick Caulfield, R.A. (1936-2005) Clasped hands (£10,000-15,000) © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for July 19 and October 4, 2016)  UPDATE:  Part II of the collection made £1,219,615.

    Sir Anthony Caro, O.M., R.A. (1924-2013) Writing Piece "Blue Moon" (£20,000-30,000) © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

    Sir Anthony Caro, O.M., R.A. (1924-2013)
    Writing Piece “Blue Moon” (£20,000-30,000) © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

    LE CORBUSIER (1887-1965) PAIR OF ‘UNITE D’HABITATION’ STOOLS, DESIGNED CIRCA 1955 (£7,000-10,000) © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

    LE CORBUSIER (1887-1965)
    PAIRS OF ‘UNITE D’HABITATION’ STOOLS, DESIGNED CIRCA 1955 (£7,000-10,000) © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

    JOSEF ALBERS (1888-1976) A RECEPTION TABLE, ORIGINALLY DESIGNED 1926 (£3,000-5,000) © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

    JOSEF ALBERS (1888-1976)
    A RECEPTION TABLE, ORIGINALLY DESIGNED 1926 (£3,000-5,000) © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

    Sir Michael Craig-Martin, R.A. (b. 1941) Untitled (£25,000-35,000) © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

    Sir Michael Craig-Martin, R.A. (b. 1941)
    Untitled (£25,000-35,000) © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

    MUNCH STARS AT SOTHEBY’S IN NEW YORK

    Tuesday, November 15th, 2016
    Edvard Munch - Girls on the Bridge.

    Edvard Munch – Girls on the Bridge.

    Led by Munch’s Girls on the Bridge which sold for $54.5 million the Sotheby’s sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in New York last night brought in $157.7 million.

    Pablo Picasso’s large-scale late work Le Peintre et son modèle brought $12.9 million; Auguste Rodin’s Penseur, petit modèle sold to an Asian private collector for $1.8; Picasso’s Tête de femme sold for $8.5 million; Maurice de Vlaminck’s Fauve landscape Le Verger  made $7.6 million; László Moholy-Nagy’s EM 1 Telephonbilda masterwork of early conceptual art, achieved $6.1 million and František Kupka’s La Forme du bleu from 1924 sold above the high estimate for $2.2 million.

    Tonight’s solid results, coupled with those in London this June, demonstrate there is strong demand for top-quality works at every price level,” said Simon Shaw, Co-Head of Sotheby’s Worldwide Impressionist & Modern Art Department. “We were pleased to offer for the third time Edvard Munch’s Girls on the Bridge, which achieved $54.5 million – a price that is second only to his iconic The Scream, sold at Sotheby’s for $120 million. Munch has only recently been recognized for his tremendous impact on both 20th and 21st century art, and our team has worked to build his appreciation in the market as well.”

    FONSIE MEALY’S TWO DAY SALE IN CASTLECOMER

    Monday, November 14th, 2016

    Viewing is now underway at Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny for Fonsie Mealy’s two day sale on November 15 and 16. The catalogue lists 982 lots and includes collections from Renville House, Oranmore, Co. Galway, the Coghill family, Drumcondra House, Dublin, Dromoland Castle, Co. Clare, two private collections of Old Master paintings, horse drawn carriages and vintage cars.  There are stained glass windows from the Clarke studios, an engraving of the Old Countess of Desmond, a 1914 Talbot Invincible car, an Irish provincial silver cream jug, fine portrait miniatures and two Roman oil scenes

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for November 6 and October 28, 2016)

    Attributed to Ozias Humphrey (1742-1810) -Hester Countess of Charleville (2,000-3,000)

    Attributed to Ozias Humphrey (1742-1810) -Hester Countess of Charleville (2,000-3,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,200 AT HAMMER

    A George III writing table (Cork) c1800 (800-1,200)

    A George III writing table (Cork) c1800 (800-1,200)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 800 AT HAMMER

    The Clarke Studios gothic design landscape panel of The Four Provinces of Ireland (1,000-1,500)

    The Clarke Studios gothic design landscape panel of The Four Provinces of Ireland (1,000-1,500)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,700 AT HAMMER

    A three quarter length portrait of Sir Marmaduke Coghill (1673-1739) sitting in his robes (3,000-4,000)

    A three quarter length portrait of Sir Marmaduke Coghill (1673-1739) sitting in his robes (3,000-4,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,700 AT HAMMER