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  • Archive for September, 2018

    IRISH AND INTERNATIONAL ART ON OFFER AT WHYTE’S

    Thursday, September 27th, 2018

    Jack B. Yeats, Paul Henry, William Conor, Seán Keating, John Lavery, Walter Osborne, William Leech, Louis le Brocquy, Tony O’Malley, Basil Blackshaw, Patrick Heron and Terry Frost will all feature at Whyte’s sale of Irish and International Art in Dublin on October 1.  There are 168 lots in the sale. Viewing at the RDS gets underway on September 29.  In a move aimed at reducing costs to collectors the Dublin based auction house has set up its own live bidding platform with Auction Mobility.  There is no extra charge to bid live on  bid.whytes.ie.

    The catalogue is online. Here is a selection:

    UPDATE:  A total of 80% of lots were sold for €1.6 million. Highlights included Jack Yeats Pilot Sligo River at €370,000, Patrick Heron Bedroom Mousehole at €125,000, Paul Henry Evening Silence and Peace County Mayo at €80,000,  Seán Keating Thinking Out Gobnet, €56,000, and Walter Osborne Rush and Lusk, €40,000.

    WILLIAM CROZIER HRHA (1930-2011) – BLUE FOXGLOVES IN INTERIOR (5,000-7,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,600 AT HAMMER

    STEPHEN MCKENNA PPRHA (1939-2017) – INTERIOR OF VILLA, POMPEII, 1986 (6,000-8,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,500 AT HAMMER

    SIR TERRY FROST RA (BRITISH, 1915-2003) – UNTITLED ABSTRACT (6,000-8,000)  UDATE: THIS MADE 6,000 AT HAMMER

    PAUL HENRY RHA (1876-1958) – EVENING, SILENCE AND PEACE, COUNTY MAYO, c.1935-1943 (60,000-80,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 80,000 AT HAMMER

    SIR JOHN LAVERY RA RSA RHA (1856-1941) – MOONLIGHT – THE BRIDGE, 1912 (20,000-30,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 30,000 AT HAMMER

    WALTER FREDERICK OSBORNE RHA ROI (1859-1903) – THE VILLAGE STREET, RUSH & LUSK, COUNTY DUBLIN, c1898 (20,000-30,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 40,000 AT HAMMER

    AFFORDABLE ART ONLINE AT MORGAN O’DRISCOLL

    Thursday, September 27th, 2018

    The current online auction of affordable art at Morgan O’Driscoll runs until October 2.  The catalogue lists 394  lots.  Here is a small selection:

    BASIL BLACKSHAW – Wanted (1947) (800-1,200)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 900 AT HAMMER

    AIDAN BRADLEY Streetscape (2009) (500-700)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 320 AT HAMMER

    MAN RAY (1890-1976) Untitled III (1975) 5/100 (400-600)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 300 AT HAMMER

    JIM FITZPATRICK – Che Guevara on 50th Anniversary Stamp (250-350)  UPDATE; THIS MADE 500 AT HAMMER

    FRIEL COLLECTION RAISES ALMOST 200,000 FOR HOMELESS CHARITY

    Thursday, September 27th, 2018

    Evening Flight by Norah McGuinness

    The art collection of the late playwright Brian Friel  raised almost 200,000 the the Peter McVerry Trust, a homeless charity, at James Adam in Dublin last night. His widow Anne donated the sale proceeds of the sale of 23 works from well-known Irish artists to thecharity. The Tony award nominee dramatist, short story writer and playwright died aged 86 in 2015.  His works include Dancing at Lughnasa and Philadelphia Here I Come!  He was a co-founder of the Field Day Theatre Company.

    The top lot from the Friel collection was Evening Flight by Norah McGuinness which made a hammer price of 22,000.

    THE ANNUAL IADA FAIR AT THE RDS

    Thursday, September 27th, 2018
    Contemporary design, history and the best of Irish antiques will be assembled at the RDS on September 28, 29 nd 30 for the annual Irish Antique Dealers Association Fair. Increasingly driven by fashion and trends the world of art and antiques is in a continuous state of flux.
    This year the three day autumn fair, entitled Timeless, sets out to broaden the scope of its interest to anyone with an interior to evolve or improve.  Timeless features a carefully selected blend of contemporary and antique-focused exhibitors, allowing all ages to focus on the once-off, yet affordable, design that appeals to them.
    Gormley’s Fine Art will show a collection of 14 works by Spanish artist Salvador Dali, ten sculptures and four prints. Works such as Profile of Time, Dalinian Dancer, Triumphant Elephant and Lady Godiva at the Fair will be featured as part of a build up to a sculpture exhibition at Russborough House next year to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death.
    Mid 20th century furniture is enjoying a fashion moment and Killian McNulty of Mid-Century Online observes how people are  turning away from mass produced furniture to something a bit more exclusive and niche.  Almost inevitably a Danish rosewood drinks cabinet from the late 1960’s is on display complete with chrome footrest and glass shelving.  Niall Mullen will feature an Art Deco drinks trolley from the late 1920’s in walnut and chrome, complete with receptacles for bottles and glasses, ice pail and cocktail shaker.

    An original Boucheron brooch, made for the opening of their new shop in Paris in 1893, will be on display with John Farrington. The black enamel and diamond piece is an early example of the geometric style and is priced at a cool 65,000.

    ‘Lady Godiva with Butterflies’  – Salvador Dali.

    * Danish Rosewood drinks bar, late 1960’s

    MARILYN’S FORD THUNDERBIRD AT JULIEN’S, HOLLYWOOD

    Wednesday, September 26th, 2018

    The Ford Thunderbird owned by Marilyn Monroe from 1955 to 1962 comes up at  Julien’s Auctions annual blockbuster event Icons and Idols, Hollywood on November 17 in Los Angeles. It is estimated at $300,000-$500,000. One of the most desired women in the world, Monroe’s life was deeply troubled, but she was enjoying some of the happiest days of her life during the time she owned this car.

    Monroe married celebrated playwright Arthur Miller soon after buying the Thunderbird. A published report at the time suggests that Monroe and Miller drove this vehicle to their civil wedding ceremony on June 28, 1956 and likely their private wedding on June 30, 1956.

    The Marilyn Monroe Thunderbird was purchased on December 20, 1955, from Westport Motors, Westport, Connecticut in the name of her corporation, Marilyn Monroe Productions. Most accounts suggest it was a Christmas gift from her business partner and photographer, Milton Greene.

    UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $490,000

    JUDGE’S COPY OF LADY CHATTERLY’S LOVER AT SOTHEBY’S

    Wednesday, September 26th, 2018

    The judges copy of Lady Chatterly’s Lover used in the celebrated literary trial in 1960 comes up at Sotheby’s in London on October 30.   It is regarded as the most celebrated obscenity trial in British literary history, during which D.H. Lawrence’s infamous novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, came under the spotlight.The court case heralded the transformation of the 1960s and helped to bring to birth a more liberal and permissive Britain. The trial resulted in the sale of two million books.

    The judge’s copy, annotated for him by his wife, and housed for purposes of discretion in a damask bag with ribbon tie, is far from the only copy of the book to have been read with particular attention to the sex scenes, but as a document of the event, it is arguably the most important copy to have survived to this day.  The book comes to auction 25 years after it was acquired by Christopher Cone as a present for his partner, the late Stanley J. Seeger. The annotated novel, together with its silk covering and hand-written list inserted within, is now estimated at £10,000-15,000.

    A Private View: Property from the Country Home of Christopher Cone and Stanley J. Seeger is encyclopaedic in content, with objects ranging in date from the 5th century A.D. to the second half of the 20th century. Creators as diverse as Fabergé and Picasso are set to jostle with items which carry exceptional provenances, from Edward, Prince of Wales and Lord Byron to Marilyn Monroe. Defined by its modesty, not only through the large number of small-scale objects, but also by the unassuming way in which it was assembled, the collection is marked by Seeger and Cone’s inquisitive spirit. With estimates starting at £100 and climbing to £40,000, the sale is expected to bring in the region of £1 million.

    THE PINK LEGACY AT CHRISTIE’S IN GENEVA

    Tuesday, September 25th, 2018

    The Pink Legacy  UPDATE: THIS MADE $50,375,000

    THE Pink Legacy, the largest and finest fancy vivid pink diamond ever offered at auction by Christie’s come up in Geneva on November 13.  Weighing just under 19 carats this exceptional rectangular-cut gem will lead Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva. From the Oppenheimer Family it is estimated at US $30-50 million.

    Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewellery commented:“The discovery of this previously unrecorded and remarkable diamond will cause immense excitement with collectors and connoisseurs of diamonds around the world. The Pink Legacy will be exhibited on a global tour prior to being auctioned on 13 November at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues. Its exceptional provenance will no doubt propel it into a class of its own as one of the world’s greatest diamonds.”

    The Pink Legacy has been awarded the highest diamond color grading of VIVID by the Gemological Institute of America. Vivid coloured diamonds are the most strongly saturated gems, displaying the optimum hue of the stone. It is a classic rectangular cut diamond, a cut that is traditionally used for white stones, and weighs an extraordinary 18.96 carats. Most pink diamonds of this colour weigh less than a carat.

    In the saleroom fancy vivid pink diamonds over ten carats are virtually unheard of. Only four vivid pink diamonds of over ten carats have been offered at auction. An historic level was reached last November when Christie’s Hong Kong sold ‘The Pink Promise’, an oval-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond of just under fifteen carats for US$32,480,500 (U$2,175,519 per carat), which established and remains the world auction record price per carat for any pink diamond.

    BACON, RICHTER, KOONS, GROTJAHN AT CHRISTIE’S

    Monday, September 24th, 2018

    Bacon, Richter, Koons and Grotjahn are among the greats whose work will feature at Christie’s  Post War and Contemporary art evenign sale in London on October 4.  The season will be led by Francis Bacon’s Figure in Movement (1972)(£15,000,000-20,000,000), a seminal work which creates a vivid sense of the transition from life to death, and Gerhard Richter’s Schädel (Skull) (1983)  unveiled for the first time in 30 years.

    Alongside these are masterpieces by American Contemporary artists Jeff Koons and Mark Grotjahn, as well as the finest examples of European Post-War Abstraction with works by Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Yves Klein, Jean Dubuffet and Pierre Soulages, and German artists such as Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, Martin Kippenberger, Albert Oehlen and Sigmar Polke. Three works from the personal collection of Paul Maenz and 12 works by Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud will be offered.  This is the largest and most diverse selection of works by these artists ever at auction.

    Francis Bacon (1909-1992)
    Figure in Movement © Christie’s Images Limited 2018

    Gerhard Richter (b. 1932)
    Schädel (Skull) courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2018

    Mark Grotjahn (b. 1968)
    Untitled (Yellow and Green Low Fall Face 41.80 courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2018

    Jeff Koons (B. 1955)
    Cracked Egg (Blue) courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2018

    Saturday, September 22nd, 2018

    Brian Friel was a fan of the Cork artist Patrick Hennessy, one of whose paintings The Yew Walk was acquired by The National Gallery of Ireland at Sotheby’s in London last week for 9,794 euro. The playwright’s widow Anne Friel is donating the proceeds of the sale 23 paintings at James Adam in Dublin on September 26 to the Peter McVerry Trust which has been at the forefront of helping homeless people for many years.

    Among them are four Hennessy’s including two major works featuring horses, Herding the Horses and Ruin and Horsemen. Estimates are around 7,000 and 6,000 respectively. Another highlight of the Anne Friel donation is Basil Blackshaw’s Game Cock bought as a gift for her husband as she thought the bird had the look of a survivor about it.  Pictured here is Herding the Horses.  UPDATE: THIS MADE 10,000 AT HAMMER

    LEGACY OF THE BIG HOUSE AT SHEPPARDS IN DURROW

    Friday, September 21st, 2018

    THE Legacy of the Big House is the title of the two day sale at Sheppards in Durrow on September 25-26.  There will be more than 1,000 lots and the catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    PAIR OF LARGE NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRONZE AND SIENNA MARBLE MEDICI URNS (4,000-6,000)  UPDATE: THESE MADE 4,600 AT HAMMER

    Late 18th century Irish carved and painted gilt wood mirror (1,400-1,800)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400 AT HAMMER

    CARVED GILT WOOD CONSOLE TABLE, c1750 (1,500-2,500)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1550 AT HAMMER

    THIS ENGLISH SCHOOL 17TH CENTURY PORTRAIT IS THE CATALOGUE COVER LOT (800-1,200)