The winter art sale season in Dublin – online this year – kicks off this evening at Whyte’s, followed tomorrow by de Veres and on Wednesday at James Adam. These auctions, coupled with an online sale of affordable Irish art by Morgan O’Driscoll this evening, have never been more accessible. All you need these days is a computer and if 2020 has demonstrated anything it is that this does not bother buyers in the slightest. It promises to be a busy few days for Irish art with buyers out in force for an appetising and wide ranging selection across all price points.
Bog Farm by Norah McGuinness at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 19,000 AT HAMMER
Mille Tetes is the title of this Aubusson tapestry by Louis le Brocquy at the James Adam online sale of Important Irish art on December 9. According to a catalogue note by Niamh Corcoran Mille Tetes (1,000 Heads) is a distinctive example of both Le Brocquy’s sustained interest in representing the human head and the visual effect of inverting colour and tone. Signed and dated 1973 this is number 1 of an edition of 9. It is estimated at 50,000-80,000.
Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916-2012) Mille Tetes B, No.1929. UPDATE: THIS MADE 54,000 AT HAMMER
A George III marble and scagliola fire surround, possibly Dublin, in the manner of Pietro Bossi comes up at Dreweatts fine furniture, sculpture and ceramics sale online in Berkshire on December 10. Dating to thelast quarter of the 18th century the fireplace showcases refined inlay of scagliola, also known as ‘Bossi work’. The Italian plaster worker Pietro Bossi was active in Ireland during the late 18th century. Though few chimney pieces securely attributed to Bossi survive, he was renowned for the depth and graduation of colour he achieved and his innovative Neoclassical designs. ‘Scagliola’ (Italian for ‘chips’) is a technique that involves manipulating pigmented plaster, modified with animal glue, to resemble pietra dura inlays. This piece is estimated at £600-800 but it is safe to assume it will go higher.
UPDATE: This sold for £14,000 on the hammer, £17,500 with buyers premium.
A first edition of Ulysses is among a range of rarities at Fonsie Mealy‘s rare books and collectors sale online at Castlecomer on December 9 and 10. More than 1,300 lots will come under the hammer at the two day sale. Ulysses is estimated at €7,000-€9,000. An admission ticket to the infamous Bloody Sunday football match at Croke Park on November 21, 1920 has an estimate of €2,000-€3,000 and there is an estimate of €4,000-€6,000 on a rare gold medal from the first anniversary of Bloody Sunday tournament. It is engraved with an Irish sportsman standing in front of a goalpost holding a rifle, with two hurleys, a sliotar and a football in the foreground. Among other highly collectible lots is Kevin Barry’s personal crucifix and scapular and a 1955 match programme for an Ireland v Yugoslavia game. Catholics were banned from attending this Dalymount Park match by Archbishop John Charles McQuaid due to the persecution of a catholic bishop in communist Yugoslavia. The army band did not play and the match was not broadcast on Radio Eireann.
A rare gold medal with a player holding a rifle from the Bloody Sunday first anniversary tournament UPDATE: THIS MADE 18,000 AT HAMMER
A virtual fair by Hibernian Antique Fairs takes place on December 5 and 6. The format for this fourth virtual fair has been re-jigged with a bigger and better selection of antiques, art, silver, jewellery and collectibles on sale. Dealers post images and prices and viewers can browse online. This link will get you in. http://www.hibernianantiques.ie/fairs/4/
A c1900 leather bound stationary box stamped FOTA with Sandra Hogan
It is a mark of the healthy state of the Irish art market that just over 400 lots coming under the hammer at evening sales by Whytes, de Veres and Adams next week can be confidently expected to bring in millions. Collectors of Irish art across all price ranges have shown themselves to be not backward about coming forward in this year of pandemic. There will be plenty of stiff competition for the appetising selection at these three major Dublin sales where no less than 11 lots have estimates in excess of €100,000.
Artists like William Scott, Walter Osborne, Sean Scully, Jack B. Yeats, Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy, William Orpen and Gerard Dillon contribute the most expensively estimated lots to the catalogues of these auctions. But never mind if your budget will not stretch that far, there is much to choose from in the lower reaches. At Whytes on December 7 there is no shortage of work in the €1,000-€10,000 range with a wide selection from artists including Donald Teskey, Kenneth Webb, Peter Collis, Arthur Maderson, Maurice MacGonigal, John Kingerlee and Derek Hill. A number of major Paul Henry’s, including The Blue Hills of Connemara (€200,000-€300,000), Killary Bay (€150,000-€200,000) and The Stony Fields of Kerry (€90,000-€150,000) feature. Other top estimated works are: A Tale of the Sea by Walter Osborne (€300,000-€400,000), Sergeant Murphy by Sir William Orpen (€250,000-€350,000), Sculling by Jack Butler Yeats €200,000-€300,000) and The Tinker Family by Gerard Dillon (€80,000-€120,000).
William Scott’s Still Life with Frying Pan at de Veres on December 8 is estimated at €200,000-€300,000. Untitled 3-7-86 by Sean Scully has an estimate of €80,000-€120,000 in a sale which de Veres rightly describe as being of outstanding quality which includes significant works by Paul Henry, Jack B. Yeats, Dan O’Neill, Patrick Scott, Hughie O’Donoghue, Evie Hone, Roderic O’Conor, Norah McGuinness and Louis le Brocquy.
A large colourful oil by Yeats, Sleep by Falling Water (€150,000-€200,000) is the most expensively estimated lot in the sale at Adams on December 9. There is a fine Aubusson tapestry by Louis le Brocquy entitled Mille Tetes B with an estimate of €50,000-€80,000 and a great selection which includes Walter Osborne, Tony O’Malley, Dan O’Neill, Colin Middleton and Norah McGuinness.All catalogues are online.
Inscape by Tony O’Malley at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 11,000 AT HAMMER
The Westport House table (above) and the Leinster House cabinets (below) are among the highly important pieces of furniture due to come under the hammer at Christie’s in London next January 19. The Apter-Fredericks, 75 Years of Important English Furniture sale will comprise 140 lots. There are pieces by the foremost craftsmen and designers of the 18th and 19th centuries including Chippendale, Ince & Mayhew, Linnell, Gomm, Lock, Cobb, Bullock and Gillows, as well as a selection of Chinese works of art. Internationally renowned for the superlative quality, condition and provenance of their pieces, Apter-Fredericks remains an industry byword for the very finest furniture and works of art, a reputation which has been built by three generations of the family over the last 75 years.
A statement by Harry and Guy Apter reads: ‘For 75 years Apter-Fredericks have enjoyed dealing in the finest furniture, welcoming clients, old and new, to our Chelsea showroom and placing wonderful pieces in their homes, as well as occasionally in museums. After 40 years in the business, a new world and a new way of working has developed and it has become clear to us both that we no longer want or need a showroom in central London to continue to thrive and do business successfully. We see a future where we hold less stock and are able to spend more time both in the pursuit of masterpieces and visiting our clients”.
The Westport House table is estimated at £40,000-50,000, the Leinster House cabinets at £40,000-60,000.
A Romeo and Juliet oil on canvas by Jack B. Yeats which sold for £62,562 at Bonhams earlier this year comes up at de Veres in Dublin on December 8 with an estimate of €100,000-150,000. Romeo and Juliet, The Last Act is from 1927 and is based on a performance of Gounod’s opera at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin in 1926. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 195,000 AT HAMMER
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 3 and February 8, 2019)
A single stone diamond ring weighing 7.12 carats within a four-claw setting and between tapered baguette-cut diamonds is the top lot at the James Adam sale of fine jewellery and watches on December 8. It is estimated at 100,000-150,000. The online auction of 221 lots offers a wide variety of choices from rings, earrings, bracelets, bangles and brooches to watches and cufflinks. The catalogue is online. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The Flea Market by Gladys MacCabe is at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online auction of affordable Irish art which runs until December 7. The catalogue for the sale is online. This painting is estimated at 1,000-1,500. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,700 AT HAMMER
