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The 165th annual exhibition of The Watercolour Society of Ireland opens at Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park, Dublin on September 30 and runs to October 13. The show is sponsored by the Office of Public Works which has opened The Gallery in Farmleigh House in addition to the Cowshed Gallery to facilitate a much larger exhibition this year. There is work by around 120 artists from throughout Ireland and overseas.
A carved French bed at Fonsie Mealy’s sale in Thurles on October 1 is reputed to have belonged to the Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. The 4’6″ 18th century bed has been at Glengarriff, Thurles – home of the Carrigan family for over 100 years – since 1962. It was purchased that year at the contents sale of the Duke de Stacpoole, Tobertynan, Longwood, Co. Meath where it was reputed by strong family tradition to have been originally owned by Josephine. Longwood House on the island of St. Helena where Napoleon was exiled was his final residence and he died there. The bed is estimated at 2,000-3,000.More than 500 lots including heirlooms from the Carrigan family and items from other private clients will go under the hammer. There is furniture, paintings, prints, silver, Chinese porcelain, sporting guns, garden furniture, books and maps. A set of 19th century Irish miniatures of the Shipsey family of Cape Clear is estimated at 700-800. An early watercolour by Peter Curling, Caught in the Ditch, depicts a jockey and a distressed horse and was painted in 1974 when the noted equestrian artist was just 19. It is estimated at 1,000-1,500. Among other equestrian artworks is an oil by Gilbert Halliday “The Hunt, at Woolwich drag” (10,000-15,000). There are some Old Master paintings and prints including a portrait of Jan de Middelste (1561-1623) by a follower of Anthonisz van Ravesteyn (2,000-3,000).The highlight of over 70 lots of silver is an 18th century Irish provincial sauceboat with the makers mark PW, possibly Peter Webb of Limerick (2,000-3,000). There is a collection of sporting guns, a first edition of the History of Clonmel by Rev William P Burke (1907) and a hand coloured copy of the 1843 Ordnance Survey of Tipperary North Riding. The catalogue is online.
Fonsie Mealy’s sale of contents of Glengarriff, Thurles, Co. Tipperary on October 1 will offer more than 500 lots of furniture, paintings, prints, silver, Chinese porcelain, sporting guns, garden furniture, books and maps. The auction will include heirlooms from the Carrigan family and items from other private clients. Viewing is on the premises on September 29 and 30, the sale will be held at the Anner Hotel in Thurles at 11 am.
More than 400 lots will come under the hammer at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale of affordable Irish art which gets underway at 6.30 pm on September 30. The sale will run until approximately 11.30 pm. The auction features work by a number of popular Irish artists like Kenneth Webb, William Crozier, Arthur Maderson, Norman Teeling, Basil Blackshaw, Colin Middleton, Douglas Alexander, Graham Knuttel, Markey Robinson, Frank McKelvey and many others.
A William Morris Donegal carpet with an all over bold pattern made a hammer price of 5,200 on day two of Sheppards sale in Durrow today. A Donegal carpet designed by CFA Voysey made 5,400 at hammer. A pair of 19th century cloisonne lamps made 4,800. The Jews Harp, an oil on canvas by Robert Gemmill Hutchison (1860-1936) made 4,600, Horse in a landscape by Wright Barker (1864-1941) made 6,400, Le Triomphe de la Republique by Henri F Bellan (1899) made 9,500, a set of 12 Edwardian Chippendale style dining chairs made 4,400, an 18th century Chinese Chippendale table made 7,500 and a pair of brass bound mahogany peat buckets made 2,400. Jewellery made good prices. An 18 carat white gold tennis bracelet made 9,000 and a white gold solitaire diamond ring made 12,000. A pair of large Qing famille rose bowls made 7,800.
The evening Post War and Contemporary art auction at Christie’s in London on October 4 during Frieze Week will be followed by the annual sale dedicated to Italian artists. The sale showcases artists who pioneered new directions for the medium of paint ranging from Sigmar Polke’s dotted raster technique to Gerhard Richter’s ‘Abstraktes Bild’ series and from Joan Mitchell to Kazuo Shiraga. The auction will be led by Basquiat’s Four Big (1982) (\£7.5-9.5 million).
Landline Fire, a 2014 oil on aluminium by Sean Scully, comes up at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art evening sale in Hong Kong on October 6 with an estimate of 7-9 million HKD (around 800,000-1 million euro). Exhibiting radiant swathes of rich amber and ocher against deep sage-green this is an exceptional example of the artist’s ongoing investigation of striped forms. The work hails from the artist’s Landline series which was exhibited to great acclaim alongside the 56th Venice Biennale. Inspired by the intense beauty of sun-drenched Venice, Italy, the Landline works marked a transition from his earlier hard-edged forms to his current more gestural and expressive style.
The Rescue by Arthur Wardle (1864-1949) was among the top lots on the opening day at Sheppard’s Legacy of the Big House sale in Durrow today. It made a hammer price of 11,000. A pair of 19th century ebony pier cabinets made 9,000 at hammer; a pair of 19th century walnut and marquetry plinths sold for 7,500; a pair of 18th century Gainsborough chairs made 5,600; a 19th century Sevres urn made 5,000 and a pair of 19th century Vienna porcelain ewers made 4,400. The auction continues tomorrow.
Ahead of the latest Brexit deadline Banksy’s derisive portrayal of The House of Commons reduced to an assembly of parliamentary primates comes up at Sotheby’s in London on October 3. Banksy first unveiled Devolved Parliament a decade ago as part of his ground-breaking Banksy vs. Bristol Museum exhibition. The painting returned to the spotlight for another showing in Bristol to mark the date originally intended for “Brexit Day”, March 29 2019. The artist took to instagram at the time to explain: “I made this ten years ago. Bristol museum have just put it back on display to mark Brexit day. “Laugh now, but one day no-one will be in charge”. It will be on display at Sotheby’s from September 28. Devolved Parliament is estimated at £1.5-£2 million.
What is described as The Legacy of the Big House, Sheppards two day sale in Durrow on September 24 and 25 is packed to the brim with objects that might readily fit into any home, big or small.On offer is an across the board selection of more than 1,300 lots of furniture, jewellery, Chinese and Japanese art and collectibles, sculpture, rugs and militaria. The auction kicks off at 10.30 am on September 24 with some French bronzes and militaria, including ceremonial swords and antique percussion pistols. Continuing the theme of decorating the walls there are some beautiful old mirrors, wall lights, sconces and art to suit all tastes. Then there is the furniture and the selection is interesting. There are all sorts of chairs, singly, in pairs, dining chairs, couches, settees, library chairs, window seats, stools and even a set of eight Provincial ladder back chairs with rush panelled seats. There are desks, occasional tables, centre tables, side tables, silver tables, wine tables, serving tables, games tables, console tables, a Chinese hardwood table, chests of drawers, side cabinets, peat buckets, log barrels, a Chinese lacquered cabinet and bookcases. There are rugs, silver and plate, lots of Oriental ceramics, African ceremonial masks, a couple of chimney pieces, glass and collectibles.Estimates vary widely which makes this a sale for all pockets. The auction will be over four sessions at 10.30 am and 2 pm each day and it will be live online.
