LAURENCE STEPHEN LOWRY (1887-1976) – DOCK STREET, BELFAST (1964). UPDATE: THIS MADE 46,000 AT HAMMER
The painter L.S. Lowry was proud of his Irish heritage and visited regularly from the mid 1950’s. He painted scenes in Dublin, Skerries, Drogheda and Belfast. This drawing of Dock St., Belfast from 1964 comes up as lot 16 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International art sale which runs until April 9. The estimate is €15,000-€20,000. Viewing for the sale gets underway at the Minerva Suite at the RDS today and continues until Monday. The catalogue is online.
A pair of Sèvres hard-paste Vases Hollandois or flower-pots and stands, 1775-85. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR 19,200
Important furniture, Old Master paintings and drawings and Italian ceramics from Italian collections lead the Classics sale at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr in Paris on April 16.A selection of 60 works from an important Italian collection from Rome will feature old master drawings, paintings and furniture, drawing interest from international buyers with classical tastes. Among the highlights are a pair of Sèvres hard-paste Vases Hollandois or flower-pots and stands, 1775-85. These vases were in the celebrated collection of Edouard Chappey (c1858-1907) and are estimated at €6,000-8,000. A pair of northern Italian amaranth, bois citronnier, green-stained sycamore and tulipwood marquetry commodes, Lombard or Genoese, in the taste of Giuseppe Maggiolini, late 18th century are estimated at €20,000-25,000.
A pair of late 18th century northern Italian commodes. UPDATE; THESE SOLD FOR 48,640
Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian (Pieve di Cadore circa 1485/90-1576 Venice) – Rest on the Flight into Egypt. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £17,560,000, A NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR TITIAN
Titian’s early masterpiece Rest on the Flight into Egypt will headline Christie’s Old Masters Part I sale in London on July 2. Estimated at £15 million – £25 million it offers a very rare opportunity for buyers to become part of the next chapter in this fabled picture’s remarkable story. It is being offered by Lord Bath and the Longleat Trustees as part of their long term investment strategy and is one of the last religious works from the artist’s celebrated early years to remain in private hands. It has been owned by Dukes, Archdukes and Holy Roman Emperors, was looted by Napoleon’s troops in 1809 and stolen from Longleat in 1995. It was recovered seven years later in a carrier bag in greater London, minus the frame.
This pair of fossilised Irish elk antlers will come up at Sotheby’s in London on April 11 with an estimate of £20,000-£30,000. One has four points, the other eight and there are restorations. Although the elk inhabited a vast expanse of central Europe and Asia, the largest concentration of its remains have been found mainly in the marl underlying bogland of Ireland, giving rise to the popular nomenclature of this species. The high calcium carbonate content of the marl is conducive to the preservation of bones, and examples of these ancient antler specimens have been discovered in Counties Waterford, Clare and Cork, many of them in caves. Many have featured in Irish banqueting halls following a centuries-old tradition, particularly during the 19th century, when it was fashionable for such antiquarian relics to be displayed in baronial halls. An instance of this is recorded in an 1850s interior drawing of the new manor at Adare, Co. Limerick. The antlers are part of a sale of Classic Design and are listed in the catalogue as property from Ollerton Grange, a lavish Cheshire mansion. The sale includes a set of 12 Irish George III silver dinner plates from the Drogheda Service by Robert Calderwood (£8,000-£12,000) and a pair of Irish silver soup tureens by Calderwood (£10,000-£15,000). UPDATE: THE ANTLERS WERE UNSOLD
Claude Monet’s Moulin de Limetz will be a highlight at Christie’s 20th century evening sale in New York in May. The work is being offered by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the heirs of Ethel B. Atha and proceeds will benefit future art acquisitions for the Nelson-Atkins. Moulin de Limetz is one of only two canvases by Claude Monet picturing the subject of the mill at Limetz-Villez, near Giverny. Painted in 1888, this example presents a prologue to Monet’s development into series, which would become a defining tenet of his late career. Featuring dazzling kaleidoscopic light that reflects and sparkles off the gently flowing water and shimmers off the rustling foliage, Monet’s painterly achievement radiates color with depth and complexity through layers of thick, rich and sumptuous pigment. The estimate is $18-$25 million.
MARILYN MONROE’S PINK PUCCI DRESS SOLD FOR $325,000
With over eight thousand bids online, and on the phone, from countries across each continent such as the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Mexico, Monaco, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Germany, and Hong Kong the ICONS: PLAYBOY, HUGH HEFNER X MARILYN MONROE sale at Julien’s Auctions realised over $4 million. Though the two Hollywood icons remarkably never met, Hugh Hefner’s and Marilyn Monroe’s legacies became inextricably linked when Monroe appeared in Hefner’s inaugural 1953 issue of Playboy. In that moment, they gained worldwide fame becoming two important figures of twentieth-century America and Playboy establishing itself as an iconic global brand.
The most expensive lot of the three day sale was Monroe’s pink Pucci long-sleeved dress of silk jersey which sold for $325,000, the top selling lot of the event that set a new world record of most expensive Pucci dress sold at auction. Monroe’s The Seven Year Itch costume– a Mae West-inspired black and cellophane effect evening gown designed by legendary costume designer William Travilla worn by Monroe in the classic 1955 film’s dream sequence scene, which was later cut from the film–sold for $127,000.
A letter from Jean Smith, one of the children to Rose and Joseph Kennedy and sister to John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and four other siblings that reads: “Dear Marilyn – Mother asked me to write and thank you for your sweet note to Daddy – He really enjoyed it and you were very cute to send it. / Understand that you and Bobby are the new item! We all think you should come with him when he comes back east! Again thanks for the note. / Love, Jean Smith” sold for $28,575, seven times its estimate of $4,000.
