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There is just two weeks left to catch up with Lavery on Location, the captivating exhibition celebrating the timeless work of John Lavery which has been running at the National Gallery of Ireland since October. It is the first major exhibition devoted to this much loved artist in three decades, organised by the National Gallery in collaboration with National Museums, Northern Ireland and National Galleries of Scotland.
This full length portrait of Isabel de Borbon (1602-44), Queen of Spain, the most important work by Diego Velázquez to come to market in half a century, comes up at Sotheby’s in New York on February 1 with an estimate of around $35 million (€32.48 million). The much loved queen, widely admired for her quick wit, intelligence and generous spirit, was daughter of King Henri IV of France and his second wife, Marie de Medici. The portrait once hung at the Buen Retiro palace in Madrid and at the Louvre. It was taken to France after Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in 1808 and sold to merchant banker Henry Huth in 1838. Last at auction in 1950 it has been in the possession of the present owners since 1978 and is among the most valuable Old Masters ever to come to market. The last time a portrait of this calibre by the artist came to auction was 1970, when his Juan de Pareja sold for £2.3 million (€2.69 million) – almost tripling the previous world auction record for any painting. Velázquez is among the most influential Spanish painters of all time.
Need your auction fix? Can’t wait for everything to get back to normal. Wait no more. An appetising sale gets underway this very afternoon when more than 700 lots will come under the hammer at Victor Mee’s Winter Decorative Interiors auction. Determined to end the year on a high note Victor Mee has put together an eclectic assortment of interior and exterior furniture and decor. With everything from a Ralph Lauren bar cabinet customised for a super yacht (€4,000-€8,000) to an Art Deco marble clock with spelter birds (€10-€20) there is lots and lots to choose across all price ranges.
Among the top lots are an eighteen branch Waterford Crystal chandelier (€3,000-€6,000), a Percy French watercolour of a Connemara cottage (€4,000-€6,000), a set of 12 Victorian dining chairs with metal studded upholstered seats (€1,500-€3,000), an Irish mahogany spiral brass bound peat bucket (€1,600-€2,000) and The Clock Tower, Irvinestown by Cecil Maguire (€2,000-€3,000). T’is the season for a brass club fender with an upholstered seat. There are two at this sale, each estimated at €1,200-€1,800. There is a selection of lighting and garden furniture including a bronze sculpture of a stag, a collection of wrought iron railings, 19th century cast urns, moulded stone fountains, sandstone avenue lamps, Art Deco cast iron planters, hand forged Arras chairs and a wrought iron gazebo.
Butterfly Spin by Damien Hirst comes up at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current off the wall online art auction which runs until January 8. The estimate for the acrylic on paper is €3,000-€5,000 and it is among the most expensively estimated works on offer in this sale. The catalogue is online now and there will be viewing in Skibbereen from January 4.
Given that 2023 has been the warmest year on record there might be more interest than usual in this moulded stone two tier fountain at Victor Mee’s Winter Decorative Interiors sale on December 30. Surmounted with cherubs it it estimated at €2,000-€4,000. There are 764 lots in offer in a sale that will get underway at noon. The catalogue is online and the sale is on view today. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,000 AT HAMMER
Viewing gets underway today for Matthews annual holiday sale in Kells on December 29 and 30. Antique furniture, collectibles, rugs, mirrors and Waterford Crystal are among the lots to be offered on December 29. Jewellery including watches, earrings, a tennis line bracelet and a Ceylon sapphire and diamond ring will come under the hammer on day two. The auction is comprised of lots from private clients and unredeemed pawnbroker pledges. Sales get underway at 2.30 pm on each day and the catalogue is online.
This painting of the Holy Family by Nicolas Poussin dates to 1649 and is in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. Seated at the centre of the composition is the Virgin with the Christ Child on her lap. Behind them stand St Joseph and St Anne, who gaze downwards fondly. Anne rests one hand on the Virgin’s shoulder and the other on Christ. In the foreground, St Elizabeth holds the infant John the Baptist. Putti pick flowers and present garlands to Christ, their inclusion adding an antique note to the Christian scene.
We wish all our readers a very Happy Christmas.
If you think your car isn’t regal enough and should not be petrol driven Bonhams has the answer. A reproduction of Britain’s gold state coach comes up at The Crown auction in London on February 7. Used in Season 3 episode 10 the coach is inspired by the 1760 commission by Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings for King George III. The repro is approximately 74 inches wide, 220 inches deep and 124 inches high. One of the more challenging and expensive props of the series it is estimated at £30,000-£50,000 (€35,000 – €58,000).
Built in 1762 for King George III, the real coach has been used at every coronation since 1831 when King William IV succeeded to the throne. A rococo masterpiece, it was designed by architect Sir William Chambers, best known for Somerset House in London and the pagoda at Kew Gardens, and was constructed in the workshop of coachbuilder Samuel Butler. The coach is made of gilded wood with elaborate carvings by sculptor Sir Joseph Wilton, who, like Chambers, was a founding member of the Royal Academy. Upholstered in velvet and satin, the interior also features wonderful illustrated panels, painted by Giovanni Battista Cipriani, depicting Roman gods and goddesses.
The auction of sets, costumes and props from Series 1-6 of The Crown will be toured to New York, Los Angeles, Paris and London ahead of two auctions in February, an online sale from January 11-February 8 and the sale on February 7. Proceeds from the live auction will go towards establishing the Left Bank Pictures – The Crown Scholarship programme at the National Film and Television School, allowing the next generation of film and television makers to receive world-renowned training.
Andy Warhol Three Times Out continues at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin until January 28. The exhibition of paintings, prints, photographs, films and installations covers a range that spans four decades. It includes more than 250 works on loan from museums and private collections in the US, Canada, Europe and the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. There is everything from the iconic Campbell’s Soup Cans, Flowers, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy and Chairman Mao, to his observations on identity and mortality in his multiple self-portraits, skulls, electric chairs and avant garde films Empire, Sleep, Kiss and Outer and Inner Space. In addition, visitors to the exhibition can experience Warhol’s immersive Silver Clouds sculpture.
A section unique to the show focuses on collaborations both Andy Warhol and Francis Bacon had with acclaimed US artist and photographer Peter Beard, provoking new thinking on the status of these two titans of the 20th century.
The erudite collection of Philip Hewat-Jaboor (1953-2022), chairman of the Masterpiece Fair in London, at Christie’s next February 8 will offer objects of antiquity, antique furniture and important collectibles. An old style connoisseur he had a particular passion for porphyry and the auction will offer a notable collection headed by early 19th century neoclassical vases. He collected work from legendary British patrons and collectors William Beckford (1760-1844) and Thomas Hope (1769-1831) like a pair of c1815 Roman giltwood armchairs probably purchased by Beckford from Cardinal Fesch in Paris in 1816 (£30,000-£50,000)(€34,960-€58,270). Joseph Fesch was Napoleon’s half uncle and one of the most famous art collectors of his period. Hewat-Jaboor’s collection of antiquities includes a 2nd century AD Roman marble bust of Bacchus (£70,000-£100,000) (€81,570-€116,530). The 200 works in the collection are expected to realise more than £1.5 million (€1.75 million) and estimates range from £700 to £120,000 (€815-€139,840).
