A VELVET DRESS ENTIRELY EMBROIDERED BY LESAGE WITH “TUDOR” PATTERNS AND REMOVABLE COLLAR WITH A BROWN SATIN UNDERSKIRT €4,000-6,000 | US$4,300-6,300 | £3,500-5,200 CHANEL BY KARL LAGERFELD HAUTE COUTURE AUTUMN-WINTER 1988-89. UPDATE: THIS MADE €56,700
The exceptional know-how, creativity and glory of Haute Couture will feature at an online sale by Christie’s Paris from January 11-25. The sale during Paris Fashion Week will highlight designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Lacroix, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Jean-Louis Scherrer, Valentino and others. There are 115 haute couture pieces including cocktail dresses, day dresses, evening outfits, embroidered garments, skirt and trouser suits dating mainly to the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Estimates range from €400 to €4,000-€6,000.
UPDATE: THE SALE BROUGHT IN €694,890 OVER A PRE SALE ESTIMATE OF €101,100
Christie’s Adrien Meyer, Co-Chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art, selling GEORGES SEURAT’s (1859-1891) – Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version) for $149,240,000
Global sales at Christie’s reached $8.4 billion in 2022, the highest annual sales total in art market history. In November Paul G Allen’s landmark sales maDe $1.62 billion to become the most valuable collection sale of all time. Five works sold above $100 million and there was four million online viewers. in 2022 the auction house sold Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn for $195 million, the second highest price ever achieved for an artwork at auction. They sold the top three collections of the year, Allen, Ammann ($359.2 million) and Bass ($363.1 million) as well as the top collection outside the US this year, Hubert de Givenchy (€118 million) in Paris.
In 2022 35% of all buyers in 2022 were new to Christie’s, and 34% of these new buyers were millennials (up from 31% in 2021). A total of 46,322 lots were sold at auction. Altogether the Americas accounted for 40% of buyers, Europe, the Middle East and Africa for 34% and Asia-Pacific for 26%.
This rare George I walnut combination desk made a hammer price of €13,000 at the James Adam At Home sale today. It had been estimated at €1,000-€2,000. It is formed with a kneehole desk on one side and a chest of drawers on the other. No less than seven bidders chased this unusual antique piece. A George IV pitch pine circular breakfast table with an estimate of €400-600 made €1,600 at hammer. A Pasha razor and barber brush by Cartier made €1,400, a gold charm bracelet made €3,200, an 1885 full sovereign gold coin in a pendant made €1,800, a pair of Victorian gilt and gesso torchere stands made €2,000, a Victorian giltwood rectangular mirror made €2,400 and a pair of continental porcelain figurines made €2,400 over a top estimate of €400.
Two Female Nudes, a 1979 watercolour, ink and pencil drawing by John Behan
This watercolour, ink and pencil drawing of Two Female Nudes by the Irish sculptor John Behan sold for £828.75 at Bonhams in London. From the collection of the late design guru Sir Terence Conran the work came up at the sale of the contents of Barton Court, his country house in Berkshire. Conran died in 2020.
Self-portrait with Julie Manet, Berthe Morisot, 1888 – ca. 1930. Gift of the heirs of Henny, Amsterdam
Women on Paper is the title of an exhibition which has just opened at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Work by a selection of women artists across four centuries including drawings, prints and photographs by Gesina ter Borch, Berthe Morisot, Kathe Kollwitz and Julia Margaret Cameron, has been assembled. The show, displayed across five rooms in different parts of the museum, results from a long term stock taking study of work by women in the collection and aims to create a more balanced representation. It runs until June 5, 2023.
A two seater Chesterfield couch UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500 AT HAMMER
A weathered leather couch and club chair at right angles to a blazing fire, a Victorian giltwood mirror and a carved mahogany framed ottoman combine to make an enviably comfortable image on the catalogue cover for Adams timed At Home auction on December 19.. The scene was set in the elegant surroundings of the St. Stephen’s Green Club in Dublin where the decorated Georgian fireplace and Christmas tree added a seasonal touch of cheer.
Here’s the thing. There is no reason why this ghost of Christmas past cannot be turned into the ghost of your Christmas future because with the exception of the fireplace all these lots are in the sale. The two seater button backed brown leather couch and matching armchair are estimated at €1,600-€2,000, the mirror at €500-€700 and the ottoman at €400-€600.
The most expensively estimated furniture lot is 441, a 19th century neo-Grecian maple and rosewood inlaid centre table (€3,000-€5,000) and there is a good collection of overmantle mirrors. Among the more unusual offerings are two Afghan war rugs woven with tanks and war apparatus, each estimated at €200-€300, based on the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. There is also a rare George I walnut combination piece with knee hole desk on one side and a chest of drawers on the other (€1,000-€2,000).
19th century neo-Grecian centre table UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The first 156 lots is made up of jewellery and watches headed by an Italian 18 carat gold necklace and bracelet (€3,200-€3,800). There is no shortage of gift items like a Pasha razor and barber brush by Cartier. The top art lot is an oil by Joseph Horler (1809-1887) of Criccieth Castle in North Wales (€3,000-€5,000).
As if all this was not enough Adams will hold a fine wines and spirit auction on December 18. The catalogues for both sales are online and they are now on view in Dublin.
THORNTON DIAL, JR. (B. 1952) – Untitled (Animal Bench in Red and White). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $9,450
Things Grow in the United States: Works from the Collection of Jane Fonda will come up at Christie’s in New York on January 18. A group of 14 objects to be sold at the Outsider and Vernacular Art auction during Americana Week consists of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and assemblages by Thornton Dial, Arthur Dial, and Thornton Dial, Jr.
Jane Fonda is an avid collector and champion of the Dials’ art. She is on the board of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation & Community Partnership, an organisation dedicated to promoting the work of Black artists from the American South and supporting their communities by fostering economic empowerment, racial and social justice, and educational advancement. Representing of two generations of southern vernacular artists these artworks include figurative and abstract examples and address a range of historical and sociopolitical issues.
UPDATE: JANE FONDA’S COLLECTION TOTALLED $277,956,
This Irish William IV mahogany side cabinet comes up as lot 362 at the James Adam At Home sale with an estimate of 1,000-1,500. Thought to be made in Cork it has a rope moulded top and is flanked by spiral pilasters on hairy paw feet. Viewing gets underway in Dublin today for two timed online sales at Adams, Vintage Wines and Spirits which closes on December 18 and At Home which closes on December 19. The catalogues for each sale are online.
Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) – The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, 1599 Photo-National Gallery of Ireland
Long-term corporate partner Northern Trust will sponsor the National Gallery of Ireland’s much-loved annual calendar over a three-year period. In 2023 there will be 12 works by women artists from the national collection among the pages. Paying homage to women artists throughout history the calendar features works by Sofonisba Anguissola, Alicia Boyle, Mildred Anne Butler, Diana Copperwhite, Lavinia Fontana , Evie Hone, Mainie Jellett, Norah McGuinness, Gabriele Münter, Alice Neel, Elizabeth Rivers and Mary Swanzy.
The Lavinia Fontana work illustrated here is the image for next May. The painting will be on display in the exhibition Lavinia Fontana: Trailblazer, Rule Breaker at the gallery from May 6 to August 27 next. This is supported by exhibition partner Bank of America. Corporate partnerships with the Gallery offer the opportunity to work with Ireland’s premier cultural institution and make an impact on its range of exhibitions and programmes. This partnership with Northern Trust follows similar collaborations with ESB, Zurich Insurance plc, Grant Thornton, SMBC Aviation Capital and others.
The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) will run at Maastricht in The Netherlands from March 11 – 19, 2023, with invitation only days taking place on March 9 and 10. Galleries between 3 and 10 years old and whose breadth of expertise mirrors the scope of TEFAF Maastricht as a whole are selected for Showcase which next year will take place in the area that has previously been the Works on Paper section. In 2023 visitors to Showcase at the fair can look forward to exploring Old Masters; 19th century European works; ethnographic art and antiques; early 20th century paintings, drawings and sculpture; Italian & European sculpture; 20th century design; rare books; 20th century British art; and contemporary art. Showcase 2023 participants are Ambrose Naumann Fine Art (USA); Ben Hunter (UK); Callisto Fine Arts (UK); Elliott Fine Art (UK); Frederick Mouraux Gallery (Belgium); Galerie Maxime Flatry (France); Miriam Di Penta Fine Arts (Italy); Pingel Rare Books (France); Willoughby Gerrish (UK); and Zebregs&Röell Fine Art and Antiques (Netherlands).
