An exhibition of new work by Margo Banks at the Solomon Gallery in Dublin until February 1 includes a range of mixed media studies of Irish wildlife. The artist strives to capture the freedom, autonomy and sense of otherness enjoyed by creatures of the wild like the hare, fox, deer and crow. The show features a new work in bronze as the artist revisits her sculptural practice. Her work is included in the OPW Collection, Enterprise Ireland and Cill Rialaig Arts Centre and in private collections in Ireland, the US, UK and Holland.
Louis Le Brocquy (1916-2012) – Tain Series – Metamorphosis (1969). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,800 AT HAMMER
This lithographic brush drawing from Louis le Brocquy’s Tain Series kicks off Morgan O’Driscoll’s off the wall online art auction which runs until the evening of January 13. Numbered 61/70 and from a private collection it is estimated at 1,500-2,500. The catalogue for the sale is online and bidding gets underway at 6.30 pm.
Sir Max Beerbohm – Portrait of Oscar Wilde. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £22,680
The refined and engaging collection of Barry Humphries (1934-2023) – best known for his characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson – comes up at Christie’s in London on February 13. Driven by knowledge, passion and curiosity his collection was built over more than half a century.
Sand Dunes, Ambleteuse by the Australian painter Charles Conder leads an auction of 250 lots with estimates from £200 to £300,000 (€240 to €360,000). The best of fin-de-siecle decadent literature features a collection of Oscar Wilde related material including a presentation copy of The Importance of being Earnest. There is a selection of 19th century European and Symbolist art with work by Khnopff, Delville and von Stuck. These feature along with examples of Impressionism and modern British art, Modern Design and highlights from Dame Edna’s personal collection from costume and glasses to caricatures.
UPDATE: THE COLLECTION MADE £4.6 MILLION WITH BIDDERS FROM 41 COUNTRIES.
Charles Conder – Sand Dunes, Ambleteuse. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £239,400
Detail from A Meeting by Harry Clarke at the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Dublin
Cork’s loss is Dublin’s temporary gain as an exhibition of Harry Clarke stained glass windows from the closed for refurbishment Crawford Gallery are on show at the National Museum of Decorative Arts and History at Collins Barracks, Dublin for at least the next two years. Harry Clarke’s Stained Glass brings together six panels – three from the Crawford – which have not been previously shown together. On display are: The Consecration of St. Mel, Bishop of Longford by St. Patrick; The Meeting of St. Brendan with the Unhappy Judas: The Godhead Enthroned; The Unhappy Judas: A Meeting and Richard Mulcahy.
Nearly 300 clocks from one collection will come under the hammer at Keighery’s auction in Waterford on January 13. This lifetime collection from a single estate (a bungalow) offers an impressive array of vintage and collectible clocks from prestigious Irish and English makers. Assembled over the decades it comprises 200 antique wall clocks, 28 longcase clocks, mantel clocks and pocket watches. The most expensively estimated is a lady’s Patek Phillippe watch in 18 carat gold specifically made for a client in 1882 with the original receipt (€2,000-€4,000). A c1770 longcase clock by Thomas Cahill, Waterford is estimated at €2,000-€3,000. Many lots have low estimates. Among them are a single fusee wall clock by Mangans of Cork (€250-€350), a Victorian paper mache clock with pendulum (€120-€180), a Dublin longcase clock in Chippendale style (€800-€1,200) and a marble clock and barometer retailed by Davis and Sons, London (€300-€500).
The sale includes more than 80 original advertising signs and the catalogue, with 470 lots in total, is online. Thomas Keighery said: “There is a great interest in this particular auction, we can see a new cohort of bidders from all across the world. We have bidders registered from the UK, France, and the USA all across Europe. We have bidders from all across Ireland and we are expecting a full house next Monday in Waterford – home of the Irish Museum of Time.”
This small 18th century Rococo cabinet from Sweden will be shown by Christopher Hall Antiques at London’s Decorative Fair.
The Winter Edition of the Decorative Fair from January 21-26 will play host to the London antique, rug and textile art fair at Battersea Park. This internationally renowed thrice yearly event offers and broad and exciting range of antique pieces, 20th century design and fine and decorative art from antiquity to the present day. A foyer display, The Architect’s Study, inspired by classical architect George Saumarez Smith will showcase furniture, art and objects suitable for a study. Around 130 specialist dealers will attend.
Jeff Beck’s iconic 1954 Oxblood Gibson Les Paul guitar will lead the auction of his collection at Christie’s in London on January 22. The multi Grammy award winning artist worked with artists like Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, BB King, Nile Rodger, Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, Imelda May and Johnny Depp. He was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The auction comprises over 130 guitars, amps and accessories from a career that lasted almost six decades, since joining The Yardbirds in 1965 to his last tour in 2022. The Oxblood is estimated at £350,000-£500,000 (€421,380-€601,970) and estimates are from £100 (€120) up.
UPDATE: THE GUITAR SOLD FOR £1,068,500, double the high estimate and a new world record for a Gibson Les Paul.
THE annual Turner watercolour exhibition is now underway and with major exhibitions focussed on Picasso, Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone it is going to be an exciting year at the National Gallery of Ireland. We will have to wait until October for Picasso: From the Studio, a monographic exhibition in collaboration with the Musée Picasso national-Paris.
Picasso lived surrounded by his art. His personal life and his work, his homes and his studios were always intimately linked. This exhibition places Picasso in the context of his studios, highlighting the various facets and phases of his art and life. It will explore the key locations that defined him, from his arrival in Paris at the start of the twentieth century to his studio in Villa La Californie (1955-1961) in Cannes. Featuring paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and works on paper, as well as photographic and audio-visual works the exhibition will run from October 11 to February 22, 2026.
Mainie Jellett & Evie Hone – The Art of Friendship from April 10 to August 10 will bring together 90 works from these pioneering Irish modernist women artists. The exhibition will highlight the early convergences and later divergences in their styles as they developed distinct artistic voices. Featuring paintings, stained glass, and preparatory drawings, it reveals how both women were trailblazers in Irish art although remaining connected to conventional themes such as religion and landscape.
Ludovico Mazzolino – The Crossing of the Red Sea Photo, National Gallery of Ireland
Among many more events at the Gallery is the display of Ludovico Mazzolino’s masterpiece The Crossing of the Red Sea (1521). On display from February 15 to July 6 it celebrates the conservation and re-display of a rarely seen work. Supported by a grant from the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund, the painting has undergone extensive scientific analysis and conservation, revealing its remarkable detail and historical significance. Mazzolino, who worked extensively for the D’Este rulers of Renaissance Ferrara, is best known for his small- scale paintings.
Meantime the annual Turner extravaganza at the National Gallery comes with a new twist in 2025 with an exciting exchange with the National Galleries of Scotland. Both institutions benefitted from the bequest of the wealthy English collector Henry Vaughan. The 38 Vaughan Bequest Turner watercolours which he bequeathed to Scotland are now on display in Dublin. Ireland’s Turner collection are being showcased this month at the Royal Scottish Academy Building in Edinburgh.
JMW Turner – The Piazetta National Galleries of Scotland. Henry Vaughan Bequest 1900
Visitors have an opportunity to see and appreciate a new selection of these masterful watercolours in the annual January show of 2025.The works on loan range from his detailed topographical views of the 1790s to the vibrant and expressive watercolours of Venice and the Alps that highlight his innovative techniques. The exchange, very much in the spirit of Vaughan’s bequest, comes after many years of discussion and planning by the two institutions.
Bequeathed in 1900 the Turner watercolours have been displayed every year since 1901 with the notable exception of the pandemic year of 2021. It was a stipulation of the bequest that the delicate watercolours be displayed only in January, when the natural light is at its lowest. Turner’s Watercolours: Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest runs until January 31 and is supported by Grant Thornton.
An ivory c1880 netsuke in the shape of an ox and a herd boy reading signed by Gyokkosai
Animals from the Japanese zodiac in miniature made in the 18th and 19th century are on display at the Chester Beatty library in Dublin until March 23. The twelve zodiac animals – rat, ox, tiger, hare (rabbit), dragon, snake, horse, goat (sheep), monkey, rooster, dog and boar (pig) – represent the 12 year cycles in Asia.
On display are tiny sculptures known as Netsuke in the shape of these animals carved from materials such as wood, ivory or metal which tell the story of these animals. In the Edo period (1615-1868) men used netsuke as toggles to secure personal items like money pouches and smoking accessories which they hung from their sashes. Netsuke became fashion statements and inspired artists to express a wide variety of motifs. Originally derived from the ancient Chinese astrological calendar the display highlights how these stories were uniquely developed in Japan. 2025 is the Year of the Snake, a symbol of revival and renewal in Japan.
A c1820 ivory monkey netsuke in the style of Mitsuhide
This white marble chimney piece of inverted breakfront design features at Mullen’s classic and contemporary interiors timed online auction at Laurel Park, Bray, which runs until January 5. The estimate is €2,500-3,500. There are 653 lots on the catalogue with 208 lots of furniture and 66 lots of art. The top furniture lot is a circular Chinese rosewood inlaid table (€3,000-4,000).
