No less than 24 lots of Irish art will kick off an online sale by Dreweatts of Newbury, Berkshire on March 18. The auction of Modern and Contemporary Art starts with a private Irish collection from artists ranging from Colin Middleton to Gladys Maccabe to Felim Egan. Dreweatts say the collection has been passionately assembled over the last 30 years by a private individual and that the art on offer touches on the recurring themes including nostalgia, escapism and a sense of identity.Estimates are from £600-£800 for a charcoal drawing by William Conor to £10,000-£15,000 for two works by Gerard Dillon. The artists featured are Gerard Dillon, William Conor, Colin Middleton, Markey Robinson, Gladys Maccabe, Maurice MacGonigal, Maurice Wilks, Frank McKelvery, Kitty Wilmer O’Brien, Henry Healy, Basil Blackshaw, Graham Knuttel, Sean McSweeney, Ciaran Clear, Felim Egan and Martin Finnin. Dreweatts sold a large work by the Limerick artist John Shinnors for a hammer price of £40,000 last October.
Untitled (Blue) by Felim Egan (1952-2020). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Until October, the most Mike Winkelmann — the digital artist known as Beeple — had ever sold a print for was $100. Now he is among the top three most valuable living artists. Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, a collage of all the images that Beeple has been posting online each day since 2007, achieved $69,346,250 at Christie’s, New York today.
The record-smashing NFT sale comes after months of increasingly valuable auctions. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are unique files that live on a blockchain and are able to verify ownership of a work of digital art. Buyers typically get limited rights to display the digital artwork they represent. In October, Winkelmann sold his first series of NFTs, with a pair going for $66,666.66 each. In December, he sold a series of works for $3.5 million total. And last month, one of the NFTs that originally sold for $66,666.66 was resold for $6.6 million.
Beeple (b. 1981), EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS 21,069 x 21,069 pixels (319,168,313 bytes) Minted on 16 February 2021. This work is unique.
The sale of the first purely digital NFT based work of art by a major auction house achieved a new world record for any work of digital art, the highest price for any lot in any online-only auction, the highest price for any winning bid placed online, and the highest total for any online-only auction. There were bidders from 11 countries and 22 million visitors tuned into Christie’s for the final minutes of bidding. Christie’s say that there were 33 active bidders, 55% from the Americas, 27% from Europe and 18% from Asia. 91% were new bidders at Christie’s.
Digital Art has been an established artistic medium since the advent of the personal computer. However, before the introduction of NFTs and Blockchain technology it was impossible for even the most celebrated digital artists to claim their place in the art market. These mechanisms have paved the way for future of art of purely digital means.
Beeple said:“Artists have been using hardware and software to create artwork and distribute it on the internet for the last 20+ years but there was never a real way to truly own and collect it. With NFT’s that has now changed. I believe we are witnessing the beginning of the next chapter in art history, digital art. This is work that has just as much craft, message, nuance and intent as anything made on a physical canvas and I am beyond honored and humbled to represent the digital art community in this historic moment.“
Mike Winklemann
Noah Davis, Specialist, Post-War and Contemporary Art, remarked: “Christie’s is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Beeple, a brash pioneer among digital artists, to present the first purely digital NFT-based work of art ever offered by a major auction house. We see this as a pivotal moment for the future of New Media and even the practice of collecting itself. Everydays–The First 5000 Days is a monumental work comprised of 5,000 individual images created over the course of as many days, giving viewers the opportunity to zoom in and witness Beeple’s often irreverent but always engaging evolution as an artist pixel by pixel. The capacity to represent 13 years of an artist’s career in a single work perfectly illustrates the limitless nature of this medium. Not unlike the advent of Street Art as a blue chip collecting category, NFT-based art is on the threshold of becoming the next ingeniously disruptive force in the art market. Christie’s is proud to be in the vanguard of this exhilarating movement.”
Long long ago the entertainer, artist and songwriter Percy French (1854-1920) painted a picture of Gortnamona and put the words of his famous song on the back. The watercolour comes up at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale of Irish art which runs to March 15. Lot 3 in a sale of 440 has an estimate of 2,000-3,000.
Gortnamona by Percy French. UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,200 AT HAMMER
The three most legendary coin and stamp specimens in the world will come up at auction at Sotheby’s in New York on June 8. The 1933 Double Eagle, the only example legally sanctioned by the United States government for private ownership; the sole-surviving example of the British Guiana One-Cent Magenta, the most famous and valuable stamp in the world and The Inverted Jenny Plate Block, the most well-known and sought-after American stamp rarity will come up at a dedicated live auction. The first two lots are estimated at $10-15 million, the Jenny Plate Block has an estimate of $5-7 million. They are from the collection of entrepreneur and philanthropist Stuart Weitzman, renowned for creating high-end shoes synonymous with the pinnacle of luxury fashion design. Weitzman is a life-long philatelist and numismatist. All proceeds will benefit charitable ventures, including The Weitzman Family Foundation, which supports medical research and higher education such as the Stuart Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. Other major Foundation projects include a museum in Madrid, the first of its kind, devoted to Spanish Judaica.
A self portrait by Edvard Munch is among the highlights at Sotheby’s cross category Modern Renaissance sale in London on March 25. The major spring evening sale will cross categories and geographies, spanning over 500 years, from Old Masters to the 21st century. Among the highlights are works by Munch, David Hockney, Jean Dubuffet, Piero del Pollaiuolo, Paul Klee and Pablo Picasso.
Edvard Munch – Self portrait with palette (£4.5-6.5 million). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £4,334,400
A contract signed by Marlon Brando, a Charlie Chaplin signed vinyl and Eric Clapton’s autograph are among the lots on offer at a sale of the private collection of the late American film producer Elliott Kastner. An online sale by Excalibur Auctions on March 13 features the collection of the producer of films like Where Eagles Dare (1968), The Long Goodbye (1973), The Missouri Breaks (1976) and Angel Heart (1987). This collection includes photographs, personal letters, posters, unmade film scripts, advertising press packs, books, artwork and pictures from Kastner’s office at London’s Pinewood Studio. About 80% of his archive was donated to the British Film Institute.
A universal tribute by the artist Banksy to those fighting Covid-19 worldwide comes up at Christie’s 20th century art evening sale in London on March 23. Banksy’s Game Changer will be offered with a pre-sale estimate of £2,500,000-3,500,000. It appeared at Southampton General Hospital during the first wave of the pandemic in May 2020. It was always his intention that it should be auctioned and a reproduction will remain at the hospital. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the NHS.
UPDATE: Game Changer sold for £16,758,000. Proceeds will be used to support health organisations and charities across the UK that enhance the care and treatment provided by the NHS. Christie’s will donate a significant portion of the Buyer’s Premium to these cause
If you are looking at ways to ward off evil and spice up your garden or an interior space at the same time Woodwards sale in Cork on March 13 might have the answer. A pair of antique Qing Dynasty foo dogs – also known as stone lions or shishi in Japan – is on offer with an estimate of €2,000-€3,000. These highly stylised lions originated in Chinese Buddhism and are thought to offer protection from harmful spiritual influences or people. A popular decorative feature found everywhere from imperial palaces to the entrances of restaurants and supermarkets they are an ideal additive in 2021, though vaccines are even better.
The selection on offer includes an Edwardian games table (€600-€1,000), a bureau bookcase (€600-€1,000), a kidney shaped desk (€400-€600), an Oriental pod table (€300-€500), a Georgian library table (€300-€500), a William IV work table (€300-€400) and a Georgian Pembroke table (€300-€500). A pair of Coalbrookdale garden benches (€1,500-€2,000) and a five piece patio set will also be offered. The sale features items from the estate of the late Stan Cussen who was well known in Cork as owner of the Planes, Boats and Trains model toy shop on Princes St. and the Farmhouse cafe and cake shop.
Pair of Qing Dynasty Foo Dogs. UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD
With everything from a rare Victorian steeplechase board game, a pair of 19th century model brass cannons, a suite of three Paul Storr meat covers and a painting of the East Indiaman Hotspur leaving Tyne on her maiden voyage in 1851 by William Garthwaite Sheppards online sales by Sheppards in Durrow on March 11 and 12 are brimful of interest. On offer are contents from Eyrefield Lodge Stud at The Curragh, home to Sir Edmund and Lady Susan Loder, as well as some other clients of Sheppards. Equestrian portraits, wonderful antique oak furniture, ceramics, glass, garden and conservatory pieces, racing memorabilia, wines and all the trappings of an exceptional home and garden come up at this sale. The steeplechase game dates to c1865 and is attributed to E.C. Spurin, London. Complete with mahogany cased board it is estimated at €800-€1,200. At the other end of the scale is a colourful Louis le Brocquy Aubusson tapestry of a garlanded goat with an estimate of €50,000-€80,000. A 19th century breakfront bookcase is estimated at €30,000-€40,000 but much of the fine furniture in this sale is far more affordable. There are wine tables, work tables, chairs, chests of drawers and cabinets including an attractive George III with vaulted back and scallop shell interior (€800-€1,200). The suite of three Paul Storr silver meat covers dates to 1811 and is estimated at €2,000-€3,000. A Chinese puce enamelled chrysanthemum dish is estimated at €800-€1,200 and a large Chinese porcelain jardiniere on stand is estimated at €1,500-€2,500. The pair of 19th century model brass cannons are estimated at €500-€800. The 1851 oil on canvas by William Garthwaite is estimated at €800-€1,200 and two pairs of Art Nouveau stained glass panels are each estimated at €400-€600. For the convenience of online bidders the auction of more than 800 lots will be broken up into four sessions, each of around 200 lots at 10 am and 2 pm on each day. The catalogue is online.
Rare Victorian steeplechase board game. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,800 AT HAMMER
This pair of Dublin Chippendale carvers come up at Sheppards online auction of contents from Eyrefield Lodge Stud at The Curragh, home to Sir Edmund and Lady Susan Loder, on March 11 and 12. The c1900 chairs are estimated at 1,500-2,500 and come up as lot 95. There are 860 lots from Eyrefield Lodge and other clients and for the convenience of bidders the sales are broken up into four sessions of around 200 lots each.
