BRIDGET RILEY (B. 1931) – Reverse courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2022. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The 20th/21st century Shanghai to London evening sale and the Art of the Surreal evening sale at Christie’s on March 1 are now live online for browsing. The 20/21 Shanghai to London series of sales will also be live and livestreamed to salerooms in Hong Kong and New York. This unique platform showcases the finest examples of art that span the dynamic art movements. Offered from the Neumann Family Collection, Bridget Riley’s Reverse (1963) (£3,000,000-5,000,000) alternates triangles of black and white across a hypnotic expanse. The painting was acquired in 1965 and has been unseen in public since then. Lucian Freud’s intimate and tender portrait, Girl with Closed Eyes (1986-87) (£10,000,000-15,000,000) will also make its auction debut.
Lucian Freud (1922-2011) – Girl with Closed Eyes. courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2022. UPDATE: THIS MADE £15,174,500
Victorian Cast Iron Bench with Hound Motif Arm Supports. UPDATE: THIS MADE 820 AT HAMMER
Spring may not be in the air quite yet but this Victorian cast iron bench, which comes up at Matthews sale of contents from Knockboyne House, Navan, Co. Meath and other clients on February 27, is a welcome reminder of warmer outdoor days to come. It comes up as lot number 2 in a sale of 674 lots which includes antique furniture, mirrors, rugs,, collectibles and silver.
AN INTERIOR VIEW OF KNOCKBOYNE HOUSE. UPDATE: THE TABLE MADE 600 AT HAMMER, THE CHAIRS 500
Porcelain, plate, glassware and clocks feature at Fonsie Mealy’s timed Spring Collectibles sale which runs online until March 22. There is everything from, a Victorian rosewood book carrier to a late Qing dynasty cinnabar lacquer box and cover, a large Wedgwood game pie dish and a 19th century carved ivory chess set. All 242 lots are to be sold without reserve.
A 19th century Irish cut glass centre bowl and fruit bowl. UPDATE: THE CLOSING BID WAS 500
Andy Warhol, American (1928-1987) – Crosses (Twelve) (1981-82).
The profound impact of his Byzantine catholic upbringing on one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century is explored in Andy Warhol: Revelation at the Brooklyn Museum in New York until June 19. Catholicism is not the first thing that springs to mind when considering Andy Warhol but it greatly influenced his art and appeared frequently in his artworks.
From iconic portraits of celebrities to appropriated Renaissance masterpieces Warhol played with styles and symbolism from Catholic art history, reframing them within the context of Pop art. He retained some catholic rituals throughout his life while unapologetically living as a gay man. The show examines themes like life and death, Renaissance imagery, immigrant traditions and depictions of Christ. There are major paintings from his iconic Last Supper series (1986), a photo with Pope John Paul II and an unfinished film of the setting sun commissioned by the de Menil family and funded by the Roman Catholic Church.
The catalogue cover shot for Adams At Home sale showing antique furniture in a Georgian townhouse in Dublin. UPDATE: THE TWO SEATER MADE 1,150 AT HAMMER, THE MIRROR MADE 650
Serious collectors of fine antique furniture will have much to choose from at auctions in Ireland in the coming week. The At Home sale at James Adam in Dublin on February 22 and Marshs auction of contents from the Ursuline Convent, Blackrock, Cork on February 26 offer opportunities to bag something rare and functional that might also serve as a conversation piece.
It can be difficult to display furniture to full advantage in an auction room so Adams imaginatively chose to photograph and depict some pieces in the authentic setting of a decayed but graceful Georgian townhouse on Henrietta St. in Dublin. This they felt would serve to show the timeless quality of antique furnishings and demonstrate how they can be incorporated into our modern homes.The arresting catalogue cover image is of a George III style two seater mahogany framed settee in cream damask against an unrestored rendered wall on an uncarpeted wooden floor in an alcove beside a white marble fireplace. It is estimated at just €600-€800. Above it hangs a William and Mary cushion framed mirror with an oxidised glass plate reflecting an unusual and muted view of the room. It is estimated at just €300-€400.
Lot 261 is a Georgian mahogany chest on chest depicted in an alcove in a more pared back image which highlights the quality of the craftsmanship and demonstrates how a single piece can command a space. It is estimated at €800-€1,200. With arresting images and a good selection of fine antique furniture such as a set of 12 Regency dining chairs, a Georgian chest on stand, a George IV armchair, an oak framed settee with Art Nouveau upholstery and two overmantle mirrors there is more than enough here to give the imagination a major workout.A gem set diamond bracelet of tutti frutti design is, at €7,000-€8,000, the most expensively estimated lot in this sale of nearly 500 lots. As well as jewellery the auction offers silver, porcelain, Asian decorative arts, contemporary pieces, art, sculpture and collectibles.
Gothic oak carved bench at Marsh. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER
There are antique pieces that you would not come across everyday like a pair of Gothic reliquary cabinets at Marshs sale. Creating a suitable domestic setting for fine French Empire, Gothic and Regency furniture from the Ursuline Convent in Blackrock, Cork is another real challenge that many imaginative home designers will yearn to take on. There are five early 19th century Gothic oak carved bench seats of various sizes (€800-€1,000), a pair of Gothic carved high back chairs (€300-€500) and an antique Victorian bergere invalid chair that looks like it still functions perfectly (€300-€400).
A French Empire ebonized mahogany inlaid breakfront side cabinet is estimated at just €800-€1,000 and a William IV brass inlaid rent table is estimated at €2,000-€2,500.It is unusual to come across a pair of Victorian circular flame mahogany breakfast tables. These ones come with foliate centre decoration and are estimated at €2,000-€4,000. A Regency library table stamped Gillingtons is estimated at €1,500-€2,000.There will be viewing at the Ursulines in Blackrock from next Wednesday. The catalogue is online and the auction will be too.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for February 13 and February 16, 2022)
Irish delegates, with Eamon de Valera (centre), gather for ‘The World Congress of the Irish Race’, 1922, Paris
A dedicated cross category sale entitled Ireland / France: Art, Literature, Wine will take place at Sotheby’s Paris on May 16. It will coincide with the cententary of The World Congress of the Irish Race when the newly founded Irish State participated in a week-long international conference in Paris. The aim of the event was to promote an independent Ireland on a world stage and display the country’s artistic and cultural uniqueness. For the occasion, a major, month-long Irish art exhibition of 300 works was also staged at Galeries Barbazanges a bold statement in the art capital of the world.
Sotheby’s, which is currently seeking consignments for the sale in May, will offer key works by Ireland’s leading artists and writers with French connections or who were represented in the 1922 World Congress. France’s vineyards have also long attracted Irish connoisseurs and the sale will include a select group of lots with Irish links. Ulysses by James Joyce was first published in Paris in December 2020. There will be an online auction from May 9 – 16.
Sotheby’s is currently seeking works by a variety of artists including August Burke, Harry Clarke, William Conor, Eileen Gray, Rowan Gillespie, Paul Henry, Mainie Jellett, Jack Yeats, William Leech, John Lavery, Countess Markievicz, Roderic O’Conor, Frank O’Meara, Louis le Brocquy, Walter Osborne, Evie Hone, William Scott, Sean Scully, Mary Swanzy, Leo Whelan and the writers James Joyce, J.M. Synge, Oscar Wilde and W B Yeats.
A total of 242 lots of porcelain, plate, glassware, clocks and collectibles will come under the hammer at Fonsie Mealy’s timed online Spring Collectibles sale which runs to February 22. Among them are a 20th century West African Dan mask with slit eyes and fibre headdress, a set of ten Art Nouveau floral tiles, Cantonese vases, a 19th century French gilt metal and marble clock, a carved Japanese Okimono, a First Period Belleek floral basket, a Victorian rosewood book carrier and a pair of Meissen three branch candleabra. All lots are to be sold without reserve.
Pair of Meissen three branch Candelabra,UPDATE: THESE MADE 160 AT HAMMER
A GEM-SET AND DIAMOND BRACELET.UPDATE: THIS MADE 10,500 AT HAMMER
This tutti frutti design gem set and diamond bracelet is – at 7,000-8,000 – the most expensively estimated lot at the James Adam At Home sale in Dublin on February 22. The sale features antique furniture, art, porcelain, silver, Asian art and all sorts of collectibles. Viewing gets underway on February 18 and the catalogue is online.
An oak framed Art Nouveau settee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,200 AT HAMMER
NO less than five works by Claude Monet and a 1961 masterwork by René Magritte will highlight Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary evening auction in London on March 2. The sale spans Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. Monet x Monet from an American collection presents five works by Claude Monet (with estimates of from £1.2 million to £15 million) painted during a formative fifteen-year period during his career, charting the artist’s pivot from an Impressionist painter to the father of Abstract Expressionism.
Claude Monet – Les Demoiselles de Giverny. UPDATE: THIS WAS THE ONLY ONE OF THE MONET’S TO REMAIN UNSOLD
Magritte’s L’empire des lumières captures the visual paradox that lies at the heart of the artist’s originality. The instantly recognisable work was created in 1961 for Baroness Anne-Marie Gillion Crowet, the daughter of Magritte’s patron the Belgian Surrealist collector Pierre Crowet, and has remained in the family ever since.
Rene Magritte – L’empire des lumières. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 59,422,000 GBP
Here is a video from Sotheby’s about the Monet’s in the sale:
Paul Henry LOBSTER FISHERMEN OFF ACHILL, c.1916-17. UPDATE: THIS MADE 200,000 AT HAMMER
Paul Henry’s Lobster Fishermen off Achill will be a highlight at Whyte’s sale of Irish and International art in Dublin on March 7. It is estimated at 200,000-300,000. The catalogue is online now. Artists represented include Daniel O’Neill, Colin Middleton, Sir John Lavery, Roderic O’Conor, Grace Henry, Walter Osborne, Norah McGuinness, Anne Yeats, John Shinnors, Patrick Hennessy, Patrick Scott, Louis le Brocquy, Pauline Bewick, Stephen McKenna, Margaret Corcoran and many others. A selection of works from the collection of Lady Augusta Gregory is included with work by John and Jack Yeats, George Russell, and Robert Gregory.
