A pair of late 18th Century Delft Apothecary Jars. UPDATE: THESE MADE 200 AT HAMMER
This pair of 18th century Deflt apothecary jars feature at Fonsie Mealy’s Spring antiques and collectibles sale at Castlecomer on March 5 and 6. Viewing for the sale gets underway at Castlecomer today and continues on March 3 and 4. One of the blue and white wet drug jars and covers is for A Cucumeris, the other for O Camoemeli. Each has a short spot and the estimate is €300-400. Viewing is at the Kilkenny Road showrooms, the live auction will be at The Avalon House Hotel. The catalogue for this sale of 714 lots of paintings, ceramics, glassware, affordable antique and modern furniture and collectibles is online.
NANO REID (1900-1981) – THROUGH THE DOOR (GEORGE CAMPBELL IN HIS STUDIO). UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,500 AT HAMMER
Through the Door (George Campbell in his Studio) by Nano Reid was one of twenty-four works exhibited by Ireland at the 25th Venice Biennale in 1950. It comes up as lot 35 at Whyte’s sale of Important Irish Art on March 3. In 1950 there were twenty-three participating nations and Ireland – represented by two female artists, Nano Reid and Norah McGuinness – was included among them for the first time that year.
Both Reid and McGuinness were prominent figures in the Irish arts scene and had studied at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. They travelled to London and Paris and were advocates of a modernist style of painting. Their work had been showcased on the international stage before, at the Irish Exhibition of Living Artists (IELA) and the Exhibition of Contemporary Irish Painting organised by the Cultural Relations Committee of Ireland which toured the USA in 1950. At Venice they received largely positive feedback. Italian critic Umberto Apollonio praised Reid’s ‘audacious expressionism’ while James White (who wrote the catalogue entry for the artists at Venice) claimed the critics were ‘amazed to learn that Reid was a woman artist’ because of her strongly expressionist style. McGuinness’ work was described as having ‘vibrating and rather evocative tonality’ and Italian President Luigi Einaudi acquired her painting The Black Church. Among their competition in 1950 were artists – mostly men – known today by their surnames alone, Braque, de Kooning, Dalí, Kandinsky, Klee, Picasso, Rivera, Pollock. The grand prize for painting was won by Henri Matisse, and men took all the other awards.
Through the Door (George Campbell in his Studio) depicts Reid’s friend and fellow artist standing purposefully in front of his easel. The door is used as a device to bring the viewer into the composition which is framed by a bold use of line and colour employed to dramatic effect to cut through the dark palette. The painting is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
JAMINI PRAKASH GANGOOLY (INDIAN, 1876-1953) – On the beach at sunset
This oil on canvas by Jamini Prakash Gangooly made a hammer price of €15,000 at the At Home sale at James Adam in Dublin today. It had been estimated at €2,000-€3,000. The artist was a member of the Tagore family and a nephew of the poet and Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. A master painter he was celebrated both for his luminous and beautiful landscapes and his portraits.
A Victorian porcelain vase by Christopher Dresser made €8,500 at hammer over a top estimate of €2,000. Born in Glasgow Christopher Dresser became Britain’s first professional, independent, industrial designeR. He was one of the most influential design reformers of the 19th century.
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) – VICTORIAN ‘CLOISONNÉ’ PORCELAIN VASE
A large Fabergé jewelled obsidian model of a rhinoceros, St Petersburg, circa 1900 (£50,000-£70,000)
One of the last important groups of Fabergé animals in private hands will be sold by Castle Howard at Sotheby’s in May. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the restoration of the long lost tapestry drawing room at the castle. The collection of some 30 rare and beautiful carvings is similar to those owned by the British Royal Family and members of the Russian Imperial Court. With the latter disassembled by Revolution and the former still held in the Royal Collection, the sale marks an opportunity for collectors to acquire pieces that fully demonstrate why Fabergé earned a prime position in royal and noble collections throughout Europe.
The pieces range from a tiny vole carved of smoky quartz to a commanding obsidian rhinoceros, a captivating bloodstone anteater to a charming series of woodland animals. Alongside the menagerie, the collection also includes Fabergé and European desk accessories.
Part of the proceeds from the auction will contribute to the restoration of the Tapestry Drawing Room, gutted by a devastating fire in 1940. It has remained a shell ever since. As part of a major renovation of Castle Howard’s historic interiors, from April 2025, visitors will be able to see the fully restored and decorated space, with the tapestries that originally hung in the room returned to their original positions.
Tony O’Malley (1913-2003) – Untitled (1973) UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,300 AT HAMMER
This gouache on paper by Tony O’Malley kicks off Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish art online auction which runs until March 4. One of Ireland’s leading painters O’Malley settled in St. Ives in 1960 and was part of the artistic community there though is painting never completely assimilated the formality of British abstract painters. This work is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. The catalogue for the sale is online.
A 19th century console table (€1,000-€1,500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,800 AT HAMMER
An 18th century marquetry inlaid longcase clock (€3,000-€5,000) is the most expensively estimated lot at the online interiors “At Home” auction now on view at Adams in Dublin. On offer are contents from the 18th century Springfield House, Celbridge and some lots from Buswell’s Hotel in Dublin.
Among the latter are a pair of 19th century Famille Rose vases (€600-€1,000) and a pair of French boulle tortoiseshell inlaid and ebonised side cabinets (€1,500-€2,000). Highlights from Springfield House include a large giltwood and gesso mirror (€2,000-€3,000), a 19th century console table with marble top (€1,000-€1,500), the Wales made longcase clock mentioned above and two 20th century recumbent bronze hounds. There is a good selection of paintings including 19th century copies of art by Caravaggio, Corregio and Rembrandt. Nearly 500 lots are to be sold and the auction gets underway at 11 am on February 25.
Alfred de Breanski snr. (1852-1928) – Burnham Beeches near Windsor (€1,000-€2,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 500 AT HAMMER
Centuries of discrimination cannot be overturned in a blink but as the search for overlooked artists gathers pace the small steps being taken at TEFAF might herald a giant leap for womankind.
Abandon by Camille Claudel at TEFAF.
In Maastricht next month The European Fine Art Fair will highlight the work of women artists. This trend is firmly established and unstoppable. New discoveries are waiting to be made.
We know the big names like Claude Lalanne, Louise Bourgeois and Hilma af Klint. But how about Camille Claudel, Emma Soyer, Gjertrud Hals, Marie Bracquemond, Hilla von Rebay, Juliana Seraphim, Bianca Boni, Hannelore Baron and Sheila Hicks. Many of them are relatively obscure, largely by virtue of their gender. Their art is about to be brought to a wider, global audience as all of them will feature at Maastricht.
Camille Claudel (1864-1943) is a renowned sculptor but her work is little represented in major international institutions, especially when compared to that of her master, Rodin. Galerie Malaquais of Paris will highlight her work at TEFAF.
The Eye by Juliana Seraphim (1934-2005) at TEFAF.
The London gallery Richard Saltoun will show work by Juliana Seraphim, a Palestinian artist and a leading member of the Middle Eastern art scene from the 1960’s to her death in 2005. Seraphim is known for her unique Surrealist style and iconography that engaged deeply with gender struggle, the liberation of female sexuality and agency, nature and spirituality.
Masque c1928 by Hilla von Rebay at TEFAF.
The visionary artist and creator Hilla von Rebay (1890-1967) was part of the first wave of abstraction to sweep across the US. She is best known for her role in the creation of the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum in New York which she founded and directed as curator. Graphic work by the artist, developed in parallel with her curatorial role, is now being rediscovered and recognised as a major influence on the American art scene, both formally and theoretically. This art will be featured by Galerie Raphael Durazzo of Paris.
The name Emma Soyer is unfamiliar to most museum goers today but she was as well known as any of her contemporaries from the mid 1830’s to the 1840’s before her tragically early death. According to Colnaghi: Elliott Fine Art of London, who will showcase her art, very few artists have fallen as dramatically from public and art historical awareness as Soyer.
The Two Inseparables by Emma Soyer at TEFAF.
No less than nine major figures of modern and contemporary art – Ella Bergmann-Michel, Hannelore Baron, Louise Bourgeois, Pierette Bloch, Marcel Cahn, Sonia Delauney, Sheila Hicks, Vera Molnar and the American feminist artist Mira Schor – will be highlighted by Galerie Zlotowski of Paris at a booth entirely dedicated to women artists.
Galerie Pauline Pavec will unveil unseen works by Marie Bracquemond, who ranks alongside Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt among the greatest figures of Impressionism, at TEFAF. The selection of art by women at the fair ranges from Roman miniatures to contemporary sculpture, Modern masters and Palestinian Surrealism.
The broad ranging European Fine Art Fair at Maastricht enjoys an unrivalled appeal as a destination for collectors, curators, art market professionals and art lovers. From March 15-20 it will feature more than 270 prestigious dealers from 22 countries in a not to be missed fair with some of the finest works currently on the market spanning 7000 years from antiquity to the present day.
PIET MONDRIAN (1872-1944) Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue, 21 ¼ x 21 in. (54 x 53.3 cm.) Painted in Paris in 1922. UPDATE: THIS MADE $47.6 million
Art by Mondrian, Magritte, Picasso, Giacometti, Warhol and other luminaries will come under the hammer at Christie’s in New York in May in a single owner evening sale. The Leonard and Louise Riggio collected works will be offered during Spring Marquee Week. The founder of Barnes and Noble died last year and his widow is downsizing from her Manhattan apartment on Park Avenue. With more than 30 works that represent an anthology of changing ideas, the works in the collection range from Surrealist musings to reflections on the influence of Classicism. Collectively, the artworks in the sale are expected to realise in excess of $250 million. The collection will be toured to London, Hong Kong, Paris, Dubai and Los Angeles.
The Mondrian is expected to be the top lot with an estimate that is expected to top the $51 million record for a work by the artist set in 2022. The selection also features two exemplary Surrealist paintings by René Magritte, including the first work from his most highly coveted series, L’empire des lumières, and Les droits de l’hommes completed just a year prior, in January 1948. Further highlights include a 1937 Pablo Picasso portrait of the renowned photographer Lee Miller and three Alberto Giacometti sculptures, includingFemme de Venise I, conceived in 1956 and cast in 1958.
Bonnie Brennan, Christie’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “It is an honour to be entrusted with this inimitable collection, a tribute to Leonard and Louise Riggio and their enduring legacy as patrons of the arts and passionate collectors. Each artwork included in this encyclopedic collection is exemplary, demonstrating the Riggios’ deep appreciation for human creativity. Christie’s strives to present exceptional art and objects, and this seminal collection, to be offered to a global audience this spring, will be a highlight of the year.”
René Magritte – L’empire des lumières. UPDATE: THIS MADE $35 million
Egon Schiele – Knabe in Matrosenanzug (Boy in a Sailor Suit) 1914. UPDATE: THIS MADE £3,307,000
Egon Schiele’s Boy in a Sailor Suit is among the highlights at Christie’s 20th/21st Century evening sale on March 5. Part of the collection of Fritz Grünbaum the work is being offered following a restitution agreement. The collection was lost when the Nazis annexed Austria in the late 1930s, and Mr. Grünbaum and his wife Lilly were sent to concentration camps where they perished. Grünbaum was a celebrated cabaret performer, writer, actor and outspoken opponent of Nazism, active in Vienna during the early twentieth century. Over the course of his life, he purchased over 80 works by Egon Schiele spanning the full range of Schiele’s creative output. The estimate is £1 million – £1.5 million and proceeds will help the Grünbaum Fischer Foundation support underrepresented performing artists.
For more than a quarter of a century, Christie’s has engaged with the legacy of Nazi-era and World War II art theft and dispossession. Losses during 1933–1945 to Europe’s collections, in particular those of Jewish collectors, through persecution, confiscation, and forced sales continue to resonate strongly in the art world today.
Paul Henry RHA (1876-1958)- LAKE AND MOUNTAINS IN CONNEMARA, 1933-6. UPDATE: THIS MADE 270,000 AT HAMMER
Viewing for Whyte’s sale of Important Irish Art on March 3 gets underway in Dublin today. The top lot, of 129, is Paul Henry’s Lake and Mountains, Connemara which is estimated at €250,000-350,000. A trio of works by Paul Henry lead the sale. West of Ireland Landscape (€150,000-200,000) and Cottages Connemara (€80,000-120,000) also feature. There is art by Rose Barton, Nano Reid, Mary Swanzy, William Leech, Colin Middleton, a collection of drawings by William Orpen from the collection of Alan and Mary Hobart, work by Sean Scully, Donald Teskey, John Shinnors, Edward Delaney, Rowan Gillespie and many more.
