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  • Archive for February, 2022

    JOHN MILLINGTON SYNGE BY YEATS AT WHYTE’S

    Monday, February 28th, 2022
    JOHN BUTLER YEATS RHA (1839-1922 – PORTRAIT OF JOHN MILLINGTON SYNGE. UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,500 AT HAMMER

    This portrait of playwright John Millington Synge by John Butler Yeats comes up as lot 27 at Whyte’s sale of Irish and International art in Dublin on March 7. A key figure in the Gaelic Revival he is best known as author of The Playboy of the Western World and as co-founder with W B Yeats and Lady Gregory of The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Estimated at 8,000-12,000 it is one of a number of works from the collection of Lady Gregory in the auction from artists like John and Jack Yeats, George Russell and Robert Gregory. The sale goes on view at Whyte’s at Molesworth St. in Dublin on March 2.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 14, 2022)

    ART AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN WEST CORK SHOW

    Monday, February 28th, 2022
    Ann Burns, Geosensory Soundscape, digital still from virtual reality sculpture

    Art and the environment is the focus of Idir Sholas, the MA graduate exhibition  at Uilinn, the West Cork Arts Centre in Skibbereen until March 26.  With a diverse range of media the exhibition showcases the work of graduates of the first masters degree to be located in west Cork – Deirdre Archbold, Ann Burns, Guy Dalton, Sinéad McCormick, Sylwia Migdal, Katie Nolan and Ruairí Ó Donnabháin.  This innovative masters degree makes the relationship between arts and environments –  ecological, spatial, political, economic – the focus of its study.  It has  extended a range of creative opportunities for islanders and the broader West Cork community. The exhibition represents the journey made by students who have been actively involved  in contemporary culture as organisers, makers and commentators over the past 17 months.  

    THE NOW EVENING AUCTION AT SOTHEBY’S

    Sunday, February 27th, 2022
    Flora Yukhnovich – Warm, Wet ‘N’ Wild (£150,000-£200,000). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £2,697,000 GBP

    The London edition of the Now evening auction at Sotheby’s on March 2 brings together a tightly curated selection of works by some of the most sensational artists of the 21st century. The sale will offer works by Rachel Jones, Shara Hughes and Flora Yukhnovich, and provide a masterpiece context for well-established artists such as Cecily Brown, George Condo and Banksy. Addressing the outstanding demand for young and emerging artists the sale follows the highly successful launch of the format in New York last November.

    Banksy – Kissing Coppers (£2.5 – £3.5 million). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    CARVED BOOKCASE BELIEVED TO BE AN EXHIBITION PIECE

    Sunday, February 27th, 2022
     A large oak bookcase believed to have been made for the Cork Exhibition. UPDATE: THIS MADE €1,600 AT HAMMER

    A large carved oak bookcase believed to have been made for the Cork Exhibition of 1902-03 is a centrepiece at Lynes and Lynes online sale in Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork on March 5.  Contents from two house clearances which had been in storage and property from a religious order of nuns feature in this auction.  The bookcase, which contained a note saying that it had been purchased by a Sr. Teresa, is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. Another piece almost certainly from the Cork Exhibition is a long oak coffer (€200-€400) with a carved front panel marked 1902. 

    Late Victorian and Edwardian Cork was eclipsed by the War of Independence and all the horrors it brought but the Great Exhibition of 1902, repeated in 1903, was the most comprehensive show the city ever mounted. Fitzgerald Park is among the legacies it brought to the people of Cork.The auction offers a wide variety of antique furniture, art and collectibles. A circular dining table with a diameter of 6’4″ is estimated at €3,000-€4,000 and there is an estimate of €300-€500 on a pair of reliquary stands believed to be from Mount Mellary. A late 19th century ships washbasin is estimated at €100-€200 and an American rug is expected to make €200-€300. A large 17th century painting of The Madonna and Child in a carved giltwood frame is estimated at €1,000-€2,000, a watercolour by Alexander Williams of Dromana on the River Blackwater  is estimated at €100-€200 and a folding triptych with biblical scenes is estimated at just €60-€100.  The catalogue is online.

    AN IMPRESSIVE LINE UP AT SHEPPARD’S FOUR DAY SALE

    Saturday, February 26th, 2022
    George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson (1806-1888) – one of a pair of large seascapes of Dutch sailing vessels on rough seas UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    The impressive four day sale which gets underway at Sheppards on March 1 goes on view in Durrow from today. The sale of the Governey Collection from Erindale House and other important Irish estates offers 1,584 lots with much to tempt collectors at all levels. A pair of Louis XVI gilt console tables is, at €10,000-€14,000, the most expensively estimated furniture lot.  The highly ornate c1780 tables have rouge royale demi lune shaped marble tops above a central bell petal cartouche each one is raised on four square tapered and fluted legs.  A pair of Edwardian satinwood bookcases is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.

    When it comes to top lots these days jewellery tends to trump furniture every time.  This sale is no exception. A platinum diamond and sapphire ring (€20,000-€25,000) is the most expensively estimated lot.Undoubtedly there will be Cork interest in a pair of large seascapes by renowned Cobh artist George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson.  Featured are Dutch sailing vessels in rough seas. Lot 1019 is estimated at €5,000-€7,000. Collectors of all things Irish will be interested in a large Dun Emer carpet on a red ground with a circular Celtic cartouche and enclosed by Celtic bird quadrants (€4,000-€6,000).  The Dun Emer Guild (1902-1964) was an Irish Arts and Crafts textile studio founded in 1902 by Evelyn Gleeson initially in partnership with Elizabeth and Lily Yeats.  They made tapestries for the Honan Chapel in Cork and a carpet presented to Pope Pius XI in 1931 as part of Ireland’s effort to host the 1932 Eucharistic Congress. Another lot of great interest to Irish collectors is a 19th century Killarney arbutus wood chess set. The tallest of the 32 pieces measures 10 cms.  Lot 97 is estimated at €2,000-€3,000.  Lot 98 is the profusely inlaid Killarney wood chess folding board with backgammon to the interior (€800-€1,200. Sales get underway at 10 am next Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with over 400 lots on most days.

    A Killarney wood chess set  UPDATE: THE CHESS SET MADE 3,600 AT HAMMER, THE BOARD 850

    THE WORKS OF JONATHAN SWIFT AT FONSIE MEALY

    Friday, February 25th, 2022
    Swift (Jonathan) – The Works. UPDATE: THE CLOSING BID WAS 1,500

    This set of the quarto edition of the works of Jonathan Swift is lot 576 at Fonsie Mealy’s Rare Book and Collector’s timed auction which goes online from 5 pm today and runs until March 8. The sale includes the libraries of the late Henry “Harry” McDowell, Celbridge Lodge, Kildare and Dr. Nora Liddy of Wexford. There are antiquarian books, literature, travel, military history, directories, sporting, history, economics, Celtic studies, ephemera, periodicals and cinema posters among 700 lots. Lot 576 is estimated at €1,500-€2,000.

    MARILYN BY ANDY WARHOL AT MORGAN O’DRISCOLL

    Friday, February 25th, 2022
    Andy Warhol (1928-1987) AmericanMarilyn (Announcement Castelli Graphics 1981)
    offset lithograph in colours on wove paper. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,800 AT HAMMER

    Andy Warhol’s Marilyn lithograph comes up as lot 51 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current online auction of Important Art which runs to March 8. The signed image, printed by Colour Editions, Inc. and published by Castelli Graphics, New York, as an announcement for their exhibition ‘Warhol: A Print Retrospective 1963 – 1981’, is estimated at €4,000-€6,000. With art by Pauline Bewick, Damien Hirst, Paul Henry, Donald Teskey, Mr. Brainwash, Maurice Wilks and Cecil Maguire the sale offers a wide variety of art to collectors of every sort. The catalogue is online.

    TEFAF NEW YORK TO RETURN IN MAY

    Friday, February 25th, 2022
    HALLWAYS TEFAF NY Photo CreditMarkNiedermann

    For the first time since 2019, TEFAF New York is hosting an in-person fair–and it is anticipated to be as exceptional as ever. This year 91 distinguished galleries from around the world will participate presenting modern and contemporary art, jewellery, antiquities, and design. TEFAF New York will be at the Park Avenue Armory from May 6-10. The 2022 lineup comprises 78 returning dealers, and 13 dealers exhibiting for the first time. Exhibitors represent 14 countries. “We’re thrilled to open our doors again in New York, welcoming guests to an immersive and profound art experience,” said Charlotte van Leerdam, managing director, TEFAF. “With world-class dealers, and museum-quality material at every turn, this edition of the fair will continue TEFAF’s legacy in promoting unparalleled quality and prestige across the artistic landscape.” 

    CRANACH’S NYMPH OF SPRING AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, February 24th, 2022
    Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)The Nymph of the Spring. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £9,449,500, A NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST

    Lucas Cranach the Elder’s (1472-1553) The Nymph of the Spring and Jan Jansz den Uyl’s (1595-1639) Pewter jug and silver tazza on a table will be highlights at Christie’s Old Masters evening sale in London on July 7. The paintings are from the collection of Cecil and Hilda Lewis who supported wide-ranging charitable and cultural endeavours from the V&A and National Gallery to the Weizman Institute of Science. The Nymph of the Spring, painted around 1540,  is estimated at £6,000,000-8,000,000,  Pewter jug and silver tazza on a table is estimated at £2,500,000-3,500,000.

    A FOUR DAY SALE BY SHEPPARDS

    Thursday, February 24th, 2022
    BUHL EBONY AND TORTOISESHELL BUREAU PLAT. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    This bureau plat with ormolu mounts is lot 22 at Sheppards four day say of contents from Erindale House and other clients on March 1, 2, 3 and 4. Nearly 1,600 lots are to be sold with around 400 coming under the hammer on each day. A wide range of quality antique furniture, silver, art and collectibles is to be sold. The catalogue is online.