This History of the Life of James Duke of Ormonde (1610-1688) by Thomas Carte is at Hegarty’s online sale in Bandon on November 5. James Butler, Duke of Ormonde was an important Irish statesmen and soldier, the 12th Earl and 1st Duke of Ormond known as the ‘Great Earl’. Butle was born at Clerkenwell, London, in 1610, in the house of his grandfather, Sir John Poyntz. His parents returned to Ireland shortly after his birth. He succeeded to the earldom in 1633 and was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland six times. He arranged a cease fire with Irish rebels in 1643 and offered a treaty in 1646 which granted religious tolerance to Catholics. He fought for the king in the senate and the field until 1650, when he retired to France. He played an important role in the restoration of Charles II and was afterwards created Marquis and Duke by him. He retired to Dorset and died there in 1688. The two volume set was published in London in 1736 it was printed for J. J. and P. Knapton; G. Strahan; W. Innys and R. Manby; F. Giles; and T. Wotton. It is estimated at €200-€400.
A Family of Cheetahs in a Rocky Landscape, attributed to Basawan made £10.2 million.
There was a world record for a Mughal painting at Christie’s when this c1575-80 painting attributed to Basawan made £10.2 million (€11.6 million). This was 14 times over estimate. The auction of exceptional paintings from the personal collection of Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan achieved £45.7 million (€52.2 million) and was 100% sold.
PAIR OF CHINESE CLOISONNÉ ENAMELLED CENSERS. UPDATE: THESE MADE €1,900 at hammer
This pair of Chinese cloisonné enamelled censers will be included in Sheppards sale of a private collection of Asian art on November 5. A total of 155 lots will be sold without reserve. Estimated at €8,000-€12,000 the censers are among the highlights of the sale. The catalogue is online and the auction will be on view in Durrow on November 3 and 4.
A walnut and gilt metal chest by Luciano Frigerio. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER
The appetite for design has grown greatly since de Veres first introduced sales of designer furniture and contemporary art in this country. Design classics by Eileen Gray, Mies Van Der Rohe, Arne Jacobsen, Niels Moller and Finn Juhl and contemporary labelled pieces by makers like Ligne Roset, Roche Bobois and Knoll will come under the hammer at de Veres current timed online art and design sale which runs until November 4.
This is the 25th design auction by de Veres, who have seen interest grow and grow. There is statement art by Anne Madden, Mainie Jellett, Manar Al Shouha, Patrick Scott, Donald Teskey and John Shinnors and many other artists whose work sits particulary well with mid 20th century design. The auctioneers say that this is their biggest and best sale to date. It will be on view at the RHA from November 1-4.
A wool rug handwoven to a design by Mainie Jellett by Ceadogan Rugs. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Amedeo Modigliani – Elvire en buste sold for €27 million.
There was a record for a painting by Modigliani sold at auction in France when Elvire en buste sold for €27 million at Sotheby’s in Paris. Spirited competition between seven bidders led to a result that far exceeded the pre-sale high estimate of €7.5 million making it the most valuable work of art ever sold by Sotheby’s Paris. A second work by Modigliani entitled Raymond (thought to be a portrait of the young novelist Raymond Radiguet) made €10.6 million over a top estimate of €7.5 million.
The White Sail, Crosshaven by Annemarie Bourke at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,000 AT HAMMER
Big ticket art is a headline grabber even in a year like this when the top end of the market is relatively slim. Sales with estimates of up to €5,000 do not grab the same level of attention and often operate under the radar.
Auctions with art of lower monetary value have become a very important part of the art market in Ireland and right around the world. Interest in art has grown exponentially as more and more people collect and enjoy an enduring fascination with art.
The online ‘Off the Wall’ sale by Morgan O’Driscoll which runs until October 28 follows on from his sale of Irish and international art earlier this week with important lots by Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy, Sir John Lavery, Andy Warhol and many others. Off the Wall sales of affordable art are a regular part of Skibbereen based Morgan O’Driscoll’s calendar and often feature big names.
Pink Flowers by Jack Donovan at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500 AT HAMMER
Lower value sales reflect the fact that artists make work all the time. Not everything is major. Highly desirable atchings, drawings, preparatory works, maquettes and small pieces galore are available. Nearly everyone who ends up as a big collector starts as a small collector. A sale with plenty of pickings at prices that won’t break the bank is as good a place as any to start.
Pink Flowers by the late Jack Donovan, former head of the Limerick School of Art, is at Morgan O’Driscoll’s sale on Tuesday with an estimate of just €600-€800. A pastel on board by Victor Richardson of Drake’s Pool near Crosshaven is similarly estimated. An oil on canvas of Crosshaven by Annemarie Bourke is estimated at €1,000-€1,500, Outside the Basilica by Mark O’Neill is estimated at €2,500-€3,500 and The Red Door by John Verling has an estimate of €1,200-€1,800. The catalogue, with several hundred lots, is online.
Meantime over in Lismore a new art auction business is gaining traction. Lot 100 was founded earlier this year by Ken Madden and Beth Ann Smith, creators of the highly successful Lismore Food Company. They have held four art sales to date and the latest auction – with 80 lots of painting, prints, sculpture, vintage posters and photography – is online until November 4.
La Tristesse du Roi, a poster by Henri Matisse, from the online sale by Lot 100. UPDATE; THIS WAS UNSOLD
There is work by Irish abstract expressionist Anne Harkin-Petersen, British pop artist Richard Smith and Italian sculptor Virginio Pessina. Among those featured are William Scott, Damien Hirst, Katherine Boucher Beug, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Patrick Scott, Charles Tyrrell and John Behan. The sales offer art for €10,000 and under and most of the work is €1,500 and under.
The aim is to achieve broad art market appeal and already the founders have noticed that people who previously bought art are interested in trading up.
With its distinctive packaging the Lismore Food Company was well known and renowned and this has proved an advantage in setting up the new art auction business countrywide, as is the Dublin collection and drop off point offered by this Co. Waterford enterprise. The catalogue for the sale is online and the auction will be on view at Chapel St., Lismore on October 31 and November 1 and 2 from noon to 4 pm.
Woman with Horse by Virginio Passina at Lot 100. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Eurydice (dead again…) and Orpheus 2022 by Isabel Nolan at Kerlin.
Look at the Harlequins, a solo exhibition by Isabel Nolan, is at Kerlin in Dublin until November 22. The show offers an insight into the practice of the artist who will represent Ireland at the 61st Venice Biennale next year. Sculpture, textiles and works on paper are held in lively dialogue celebrating historical figures and works of art that speak across centuries.
Louis Le Brocquy (1916-2012) – The Táin – Mare and Foal (1969). UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,700 AT HAMMER
This striking le Brocquy lithograph from 1969, numbered 61 from an edition of 70, is at Morgan O’Driscoll’s off the wall online art auction which runs until October 28. The estimate is €1,500-€2,500. An oil on board by Mark O’Neill – Outside the Basilica – is at €2,500-€3,500, the most expensively estimated lot. The auction offers more than 450 lots of affordable art and the catalogue is online.
On the face of it you might think the invisible people represented in this powerful and unique bronze sculpture by John Behan did not have much to be grateful for. But at least the downtrodden, starving migrants represented in the ragged, torn and limping Bantry Famine Ship arrived in the 19th century and not the 21st in Europe or the United States. If they made it into Ireland or any other country now they might have to run a gauntlet of attack by social media organised anti immigrant thugs with petrol bombs and other handy implements in a world where basic humanity is in dwindling supply. The sculpture made a hammer price of €14,000 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International art sale.
Paul Henry’s Cottages on Achill Sound was the top lot of the sale. It made €120,000 at hammer. Other top hammer prices were achieved by Andy Warhol for screenprints of Ingrid Bergman (€70,000) and Jane Fonda (€28,000) and an oil by Donald Teskey (€32,000).
EARL BISS (NATIVE AMERICAN, 1947-1998) – ‘The Rain is Falling Down and Rainbow Cloud the Day like Diamonds in the Snow, I’ll Miss You’
A 1991 oil on canvas by the native American artist Earl Biss known for his colourful depictions of Plains Indians was the top lot at the mid-century modern sale at James Adam in Dublin. It made a hammer price of €19,000. Grill Sergeants by Graham Knuttel made €14,000 and an untitled lithograph by Miro made €14,000. Two paintings with dance titles by John Boyd, Galliard and Pavane each sold for €11,000 and the top furniture was a Petalas coffee table by Jorge Zalszupin which made €10,000 at hammer. A c1950 rosewood Italian sideboard with marble top made €8,000 at hammer over a top estimate of €3,000.
