Even though he made it at a time when he was confronting his own mortality there is a sense of exuberance, joy even, in this late painting by Yeats. Running Man dates to 1947, the year the artist lost his wife Cottie, and centres on a male figure running alone in an open space, towards the viewer. This small work in a classical Yeats west of Ireland setting is full of life, action, mystery and movement. It highlights Dolan’s art auction online from May 17 – 26. In a catalogue note Dr. Roisin Kennedy writes: “The focus on the figure’s physicality reflects what Samuel Beckett described as Yeats’s paintings’ embodiment of ‘the impenetrability of the world, and the subject’s helpless solipsism before it…’ Once in the collection of Nol Gogarty it is estimated at €100,000-€150,000.
Specifically created for the Spanish virtuoso AndrésSegovia – who never played it – the classical guitar known as La Inedita was crafted in Madrid in 1935 by legendary luthier Santos Hernández (1874-1943). Through twists of fate, this exceptional instrument never reached the master’s hands, becoming a mysterious piece of musical lore. Upon completion, instead of personally visiting Santos Hernández’s workshop, Segovia merely requested that the guitar be delivered to his hotel. This deeply offended the master luthier, who felt slighted and decided not only to refuse to sell it to Segovia but also to store it away untouched, ensuring no one else could play it. In the early 1970s Spanish Mexican businessman, philanthropist and renowned art collector Plácido Arango Arias acquired the guitar. Now this long-lost treasure emerges from history. It will be sold by Bonham’s an online sale from May 19-28 in Paris. The estimate is €125,000 – 185,000 with all proceeds benefitting children battling cancer through Fundación Aladina.
LARGE IONIC COLUMN PORTICO. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
One of the more unusual lots of architectural salvage at the James Adam House to Garden sale on May 20 is this ionic column portico from Mote Park House in Co. Roscommon. The disassembled unit comprises four columns and capitals, a dentil frieze and some steps. The pillars were a major part of the refurbishment designed by architect Sir Richard Morrison (1767-1849) in the mid-19th Century for the Crofton family. The Croftons have been in residence around the Mote region of Roscommon since at least 1579 when John Crofton was appointed Auditor General of Ireland by Queen Elizabeth I. When the family eventually dispersed in the 1950’s the house fell into disrepair and it was demolished by the Irish Land Commission in 1959. The portico was salvaged by Fr. Brian Hanley prior to the demolition and placed on display at his own home Kedagh House, Galway, where it then entered the public sphere after his passing in 2012. It is estimated at €50,000-€70,000.
Evie Hone HRHA (1894-1955) – Study for Stained Glass Window. UPDATE: THIS MADE 850 AT HAMMER
This gouache on paper study for a stained glass window by Evie Hone is at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current Off the Wall online auction which runs until May 19. From a private collection it is estimated at €500-750. The sale offers a wide variety of art from Arthur Maderson and Graham Knuttel to Percy French and Kenneth Webb. The catalogue is online.
Alberto Giacometti – Grande Tete Mince (Grande Tete de Diego)
This bust by Giacometti of his brother Diego, once in the collection of Marguerite and Aime Maeght, failed to sell at Sotheby’s in New York last night. The headline lot of the auction had been estimated at around $70 million, but the bids made failed to reach this figure. The work from 1955 was shown at the 1956 Venice Biennale. The Modern evening auction realised $196,225,600. The top lot of the evening was Homme Assis by Picasso which made $15.1 million. Leaves of a Plant by Georgia O’Keeffe made £12.9 million and La Traversee difficile by Magritte made $10 million.
See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 1, 2025
This retro tank design Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring from the 1940’s sold for a hammer price of €550,000 at the James Adam Jewellery sale in Dublin today. It had been estimated at €150,000-250,000. The ring is centred on a cushion-shaped sapphire weighing 6.22cts, between old brilliant and tapered baguette-cut diamond shoulders and baguette-cut diamond borders, mounted in 18 carat gold. The diamonds are approximately 2.00 carats in total.
In 1880 a landslide in the Himalayas revealed an unusual type of rock previously buried under layers of soil from which blue stones protruded. Mining began in 1882 and by 1887, despite the intensely hot summers, the mine had been exhausted. With the assistance of British geologists a new mine was found in the valley below but this too was quickly depleted. No other deposits have since been found. Kashmir sapphires command a high price because they contain a top-quality specimen. You may come across other blue sapphires, Burmese or Ceylonese, but only those from Kashmir possess a distinctive tint. Experts call it blue velvet.
See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 3, 2025
CLAUDE MONET – PEUPLIERS au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule
Monet’s Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule made $43 million and set a new record for his celebrated Peupliers series at Christie’s in New York last night. The sale total for the collected works of Leonard and Louise Riggio and the 20th Century evening sale was $489 million, with $272 million for the Riggio collection and $217 for the 20th Century sale. The sales were 99% sold by lot and 98% sold by value.
The top lot of the evening was a Mondrian canvas – Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue – which made $47.6 million. It was from the Riggio collection. This is among the top three prices for the artist at auction. The sale was further highlighted by Magritte’s L’empire des lumieres which made $35 million, and a portrait of Lee Miller by Picasso, which made $28 million.
See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for May 4 and February 21, 2025
The death after a short illness yesterday of George Stacpoole has occasioned deep regret throughout the antique trade in Ireland. Aged 88 George was a founder member of the Irish Antique Dealers Association and its former longstanding President. He was a tireless promoter of art, books and antiques, of which he had a deep knowledge which he was always glad to share. He opened his first shop at Cecil St. in Limerick in 1964 and later moved to Adare. Early clients at his shop included John and Gertrude Hunt, Sybil Connolly, Jackie Kennedy during her 1967 visit to Ireland, Edna O’Brien and Catherine Deneuve.
This c1955 diamond and ruby necklace with 107 Burmese rubies is at Adams in Dublin (€90,000-€110,000). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A total of 259 lots headed by a diamond ring with three old cut stones (€26,000-€29,000) will come under the hammer at the Design sale by O’Reilly’s of Francis St. in Dublin at noon on May 14. The auction of fine watches at James Adam is at 6 pm on the same day. The top lot is a Patek Philippe perpetual calendar c1980 watch (€30,000-€50,000). The sale of fine jewellery and ladies watches at Adams at 2 pm on May 13 is now on view in Dublin.
Maria Spilsbury – Portrait of Jane Bryan of Cong at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,000 AT HAMMER
Art from Irish old masters to the contemporary will take centre stage at auctions by Morgan O’Driscoll on May 12, Sheppards on May 14 and Adams on May 15.
The catalogue cover lot for the Irish Old Masters evening sale at Adams is an arresting portrait of Jane Bryan of Cong by Maria Spilsbury (€8,000-€10,000). The London born artist relocated to Ireland in 1813. Her work is represented in major institutional collections like the National Gallery of Ireland, the British Museum, Tate Britain and the Museum of Methodism in London. Spilsbury painted portraits, genre scenes and religious work. Her depiction of Patron’s Day at the Seven Churches, Glendalough c1816 at the National Gallery is regarded as one of the most significant visual records of early 19th century devotional life in Ireland.
The most expensively estimated painting in the sale is Figures by the Temple in the Park at Mount Merrion by William Ashford (€50,000-€80,000). The auction offers a choice of Irish landscapes by artists like James Arthur O’Connor, Thomas Roberts, George Mullins, William Sadler and George Barret. There are portraits by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Nathanial Hone, Robert Hunter and others along with seascapes by Edwin Hayes, Richard Brydges Beechey and John Thomas Serres. The sale kicks off with six etchings and engravings by James Barry, offers a set of Malton’s Views of Dublin and a preparatory scheme for the mythological murals at Lyons, Co. Kildare by Gaspare Gabrielli among 66 lots.
Ya Tsai Chiu (1949-2013) – Female Profile at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE 32,000 AT HAMMER
Two names from the east stand out in Morgan O’Driscoll’s current online auction. Ya Tsai Chiu paints gracefully elongated figures that, though different, somehow recall Modigliani while the sensitive female subjects of Zhao Kailin are endowed with a wistful, enigmatic quality. Both artists have wide appeal and thriving market records.
The auction offers highly collectible work by Peter Curling, Donald Teskey, Michael Flatley, Evie Hone, Mr Brainwash, Dan O’Neill, Conor Fallon, Sean Scully and many other artists. A study of The Grey Mare, Renvyle was painted in 1933 by Harry Kernoff. A le Brocquy tapestry titled Shimmering Light was woven by Donegal Carpets in 1956 and George Campbell’s affectionate study of flamenco performers has all the elan of a man who could play the guitar and well as wield the brush.
Graham Knuttel – Still Life Table Top at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An Aubusson tapestry, Garlanded Goat by le Brocquy, leads the Irish and International art auction at Sheppards with an estimate of €80,000-€120,000. Emer, a unique life sized bronze horse by Anthony Scott, is a significant example of Irish contemporary bronze sculpture. Scott’s sculpture dedicated to the champion racehorse Sea the Stars was unveiled at the National Stud by the late Queen Elizabeth during her State visit to Ireland. Sheppards estimate this one at €30,000-€50,000.
Among 166 lots In Memory by Daniel O’Neill was last at auction at The Irish Sale at Christie’s in 2007. It is now estimated at €20,000-€30,000. A rare Still Life with Jug and Shapes by William Crozier, painted in oil on a tin metal tray, is estimated at €2,000-€3,000. There is a similar estimate on a Taurus watercolour by Pauline Bewick. With art by Markey Robinson, Arthur Maderson, Evie Hone, Fr. Jack Hanlon, Mark O’Neill, Henry Healy, Roderic O’Conor, Melanie le Brocquy, Michael Mulcahy, John Doherty, Michael Hales, Hughie O’Donoghue, John Luke and many more renowned Irish artists this sale has much to hold the interest.
Howard Helmick – Whiskey by the Hearth at Adams. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
