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The sale of the private collection of Tim O’Mahony in Kilkenny at Sheppards on March 24 is accessible online. Absentee bidding is available, along with telephone bids. This is an auction of 592 lots of decorative arts, paintings and fine furniture. There is everything from malachite postal scales, a shagreen compact and Mughal School miniatures to an 18th century mahogany snap top table, a 19th century specimen table, Staffordshire ware, antique Irish glass and an Iznik octagonal centrepiece.
The Cork artist and printmaker Edward Twohig has scored the singular honour of being collected by the British Museum. And now the Victoria and Albert Museum is planning to take a look at his studio. The British Museum, whose collection charts the development of graphic art in Europe from the 1400’s and includes work by Durer, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Hogarth, Goya and Picasso, has just acquired 12 prints by Edward Twohig. “This is unheard of and most gratifying, a validation of over 30 years commitment to printmaking” he said. Among the works are Quietness drawn from Mount Desert Woods in Cork and Meteor Shower, Knockmealdown Mountains. Both date to 2015. The artist, who is now Head of Art at Marlborough College in Wiltshire where the Duchess of Cambridge went to school, graduated from the Crawford in 1990 and holds an MA from Chelsea College of Art. He works directly from nature in places that resonate for him. His work is in museums and galleries including the Crawford in Cork, the Ashmolean in Oxford, the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge, the collection of Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, the Museo des Bellas Artes in Caracas and the Azerbaijan National Museum. A trustee of Bankside Gallery in London he has been a member of the Royal Society of Printmakers since 2016.
Tonight Bonhams announced the postponement and rescheduling of all auctions until April 21. This is effective immediately. UK salerooms at New Bond St. and Knightsbridge in London, Edinburgh, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong are all closed.
Bonhams remains open via its website and specialists, who are working remotely, are happy to assist with queries. The Digital Consignment Hub – Sell with Bonhams – is available on the website for any consignments to future sales. The situation is being monitored re auctions after April 21 and updates will be issued.
The first phase of a global review to revise the Spring and Summer auction schedule in the Americas and Europe at Christie’s has been completed. In Hong Kong, the Spring Asian Art and Luxury sales currently remain scheduled to take place from May 30 to June 3.
Christie’s will consolidate international 20th Century auctions into one week in one location, New York, scheduled to take place from June 23-28. In Geneva, the Luxury Week is scheduled for June 29 to 1 July. In London, Classic Week including Old Master Paintings and the Exceptional Sale, remain scheduled for July 6 to July 17. These dates may be subject to change based on the relevant advice and the recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Made in Britain auction at Sotheby’s in London went ahead as planned on March 18 and saw strong results. There was an increased number of bids online, rising to more than 50% of the lots sold, with a final result of £2,113,500, significantly above the pre-sale estimate. Sotheby’s say the result demonstrates a buoyant and positive market, as well as the continued appetite for exceptional property delivered to clients with ease, wherever they may be in the world.
A number of sales are to be held behind closed doors at Bonhams, which will temporarily close their offices to the general public on March 20. Among the sales going ahead in the near future in Knightsbridge in London are British and European Art on March 24, Modern British and Irish art on March 25 and Decorative Art and Design on April 1. There is to be a Home and Interiors sale in Edinburgh on April 1.
The following sales due to be held at New Bond Street and New York will be rescheduled: Impressionist and Modern Art, Islamic and Indian Art,The Greek Sale and Photographs. Bonhams remains open for business remotely via its Digital Consignment Hub for consigners, and for clients wishing to register for sales.
A number of auctions will go ahead in Ireland over the coming weekend, though in changed circumstances. Sales by Aidan Foley in Doneraile in North Cork on March 21 and by Hegarty’s in Bandon on March 22 will go ahead as online only auctions. In each case the auctioneer will facilitate intending bidders with photographs and condition reports. Online bidding at easyliveauction.com
The two day sale by Matthews Auctioneers in Kells will take place at 2 pm each day. Social distancing will be observed in the auction room, on view and auction days. All safe physical and breathing space will be observed. Hand sanitiser will also be available and the sale will be held in a closed off area of the room. Online bidding is available through the illustrated online catalogue at matthewsauctionrooms.com
In Dublin Whyte’s have announced that their offices and galleries will be closed to visitors until further notice. Directors and staff will be available by telephone and email to give valuations and advice on buying and selling art and collectibles, as well as administrative matters including accounts, collections and deliveries of purchases or consignments.
Whyte’s scheduled auctions – The Eclectic Collector on 9 May and Important Irish Art on 25 May – may be postponed; further information on this will be given when known. Contact: telephone 01 676 2888 email info@whytes.ie
The Patrick Kelly sale scheduled to take place at Sotheby’s in London tomorrow has been postponed at the eleventh hour. The sale 44 Fitzwilliam Square, works from the estate of the late Patrick Kelly, had been widely flagged nationally and internationally over the past six months.
The late property developer Patrick Kelly furnished his Dublin home with an array of Irish painting from the 18th to the 20th centuries, Georgian and Regency furniture, silver and decorative arts. An exceptional William Scott entitled Deep Blues and five works by Yeats was to highlight an auction which featured highly desirable pieces such as a pair of Irish mirrors and marquetry tables in the style of the great Dublin maker William Moore.
In a statement released today Sotheby’s said: “Following conversations with the family, the sale of works from the Estate of the Late Patrick Kelly, due to take place at Sotheby’s in London on 18th March, will be postponed owing to the exceptional circumstances. Since its announcement in October, the sale has been enthusiastically received by the public and collectors alike, and we look forward to holding the sale at a future date when the collection can be rightfully honoured.
A new sale date will be communicated in due course.”
One of the greatest treasures of the early Irish Church the Ardagh Chalice was discovered in the 19th century near Ardagh, Co. Limerick. The form recalls late Roman tableware, the method of construction is Irish with bowl and foot made of spun silver. The outer is decorated with applied gold, silver, glass, amber and enamel ornament. The underside of the foot is highly decorated and contains a polished rock crystal at the centre. It represents a high point in early medieval craftsmanship.
A Victorian silver gilt replica of this high point in early medieval craftsmanshi comes up at Sotheby’s sale in London on March 18 of 44 Fitzwilliam Square, works from the estate of the late Patrick Kelly. The silver gilt replica two handled rose bowl by Frederick Elkington, London 1879 is inscribed: “Presented to Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh Bart of Rufford. On His Marriage 23. December 1880. By The Tenants on His Lancashire Estates”. It is estimated at £3,000-5,000.
