[BRONTË, Emily (1818-1848) and Anne (1820-1849)] Wuthering Heights. A Novel. By Ellis Bell. – Agnes Grey. A Novel, by Acton Bell. London: Thomas Cautley Newby, 1847 sold for £1,206,500/ €1,399,540 setting a new world auction record for the author, as well as the highest price ever achieved for 19th-century literature and for any printed book by a woman.
A truly exceptional first edition of Wuthering Heights in the original cloth binding and of Agnes Grey by Brontë sisters Emily and Anne sold for £1.2 million at Christie’s Exceptional Sale in London today. Preserved within the same historic house library since shortly after publication in 1847, it is perhaps the finest example remaining in private hands of a masterpiece of English literature. No textually complete copy has appeared at auction in the publisher’s cloth binding since 1908.
Although both Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey were written and accepted for publication before Charlotte had completed Jane Eyre, it was the latter work which was published first, in October 1847. The immediate and enormous success of Jane Eyre prompted Thomas Cautley Newby to bring forward the release of the present works in order to capitalise on the phenomenon. The exact number of copies printed is unknown, but it was suggested by Charlotte that the run was limited to just 250. Of these, examples preserved in any form of publisher’s binding are exceedingly scarce, with those in full cloth being the rarest of all.
The original working text for Alcoholics Anonymous is at Christie’s in New York on July 1 with an estimate of $1 million – $2 million. The Big Book – which launched the 12 steps movement – changed countless lives, became one of the most influential works of the 20th century, sold more than 30 million copies and was classified by the Library of Congress as one of the 88 “Books that Shaped America”. The document, complete with extensive handwritten notations and edits by authors Bill Wilson (1895-1971) and Hank Parkhurst (1895-1954), is from the collection of late billionaire and ceo of the Indianapolis Colts Jim Irsay. Wilson was a businessman who by 1934 had lost his career on Wall St., his reputation and his health. Parkhurst was a former Standard Oil executive and gifted organiser who met Wilson in New York in 1937 after getting sober. Proceeds from the sale of this lot will go to charitable causes supported by Jim Irsay.
A rustic timber summer house from Kilkenny Castle. UPDATE: THIS MADE €3,000 AT HAMMER
A square timber summer house purchased at the dispersal sale at Kilkenny Castle in 1935 is among the rarities at Sheppards annual Glantelwe Gardens sale in Durrow next Tuesday (June 30) and Wednesday. It was designed to revolve on an iron wheel mechanism to follow the course of the sun throughout the day. The roof is now absent, steeply pitched gable ends have survived. The estimate is €3,000-€5,000.
The top lot is an impressive architectural garden folly. The circular carved stone temple is estimated at €15,000-€25,000. The sale offers everything from weathered staddle stones and 19th century turnstiles converted to tables to bronze fountains, garden seats, gazebos, stone piers, troughs, gates and architectural salvage sourced from private collections, country houses and gardens. Sheppards say that this popular annual event is Ireland’s only auction presented in a garden setting. The live and online auction with 749 lots is on view in nearly three acres of gardens from today (June 27).
A circular stone temple or garden pavilion at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS MADE €8,500 AT HAMMER
The Mayor Gallery, London shows Minding his own Business by Patrick O’Reilly at Treasure House.
From Old Master paintings, antiquities, sculpture and rare books to a prehistoric woolly mammoth head and Galileo’s first drawing of the moon the incredible London season now in full swing continues on its merry way.
London’s flagship Treasure House Fair continues at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea this weekend, it is Classic Week at Christie’s and Sotheby’s offerings next week include Scene in Braemar by Sir Edwin Landseer, a little known sister painting to The Monarch of the Glen.
In Ireland summer online sales of much more affordable art will be held at Whyte’s on Monday June 29 and Morgan O’Driscoll on Tuesday June 30. It all adds up to a very healthy market for art and collectibles.
The trove of masterpieces at Treasure House includes a 25,000 year old woolly mammoth head, drawings by Gallileo, a luxurious dog house made for Marie Antoinette’s favourite pet, a pair of commodes owned by Madame du Pompadour, jewels from the era of Henry VIII and Shakespeare, an exhibition of contemporary British women artists, a show of British Surrealism and a sculpture walk with monumental artworks by Eduardo Paolozzi, Elizabeth Frink, Ron Arad, Nicola Anthony and Patrick O’Reilly.
Sir Thomas Lawrence – Portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, at Christie’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE £9,670,000 A NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST
Christie’s has an estimate of £8 million – £12 million (€9.22 million – €13.83 million) on Sir Thomas Lawrence’s portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. In this portrait painted after Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo the artist succeeded in penetrating Wellington’s aura of heroism to capture the essence of the man. The Old Master’s sale takes place next Tuesday evening (June 30). Sales during Classic Week feature art from antiquity to the 21st century.
Sir Edwin Landseer – Scene in Braemar at Sotheby’s. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £5,946,000 A NEW AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST
The estimate for Landseer’s Scene at Braemar at Sotheby’s on the following evening (July 1) is £3 million – £4 million (€3.46 million – €4.61 million). Painted in 1857 the nearly nine foot canvas is a darker sister painting to the iconic and renowned Monarch of the Glen.
Rosaleen Brigid Ganly (1909-2002) – Stargazer Lily at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 150 AT HAMMER
There is a good selection of affordable art at Whyte’s summer online art auction which gets underway at 6 pm next Monday (June 29). The catalogue features 241 lots and includes work by Jack Butler Yeats, Walter Osborne, Estella Solomons, Eva Hamilton, Harry Kernoff, Dan O’Neill, Henry Moore, James Brohan, Liam Treacy, Banksy, Nelson Mandela, Brigid Ganly and many more artists. The most expensively estimated lots are Fishing Boats by James Brohan an d Self Portrait by Eva Hamilton, each estimated at €2,500-€3,500. The Tennis Court, a signed lithograph by Nelson Mandela from his Robben Island series, is estimated at €2,000-€3,000.
Majella O’Neill Collins (b.1964) – Returning home to Sherkin Island at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE €2,000 AT HAMMER
Morgan O’Driscoll’s off the wall online sale of affordable art is on view in Skibbereen next Monday and Tuesday. It gets underway at 6.30 pm on Tuesday (June 30) and the catalogue is online. An oil on board of Montpellier by Arthur Maderson carries the highest estimate of €4,000-€6,000. There is art by a wide variety of artists including William Crozier, Paul Henry, Damien Hirst, Robert Ballagh, Shepard Fairey, Andy Warhol, Jack B Yeats, Jim Sheehy, George Campbell and John Behan.
Sir John Lavery – The Bathing Hour, the Lido, Venice (1912)
The National Gallery of Ireland has announced two new acquisitions, the Bathing Hour, the Lido, Venice (1912) by Sir John Lavery and Young Ireland (1907) by Sir William Orpen. The Lavery was enabled by the 1997 Taxes Consolidation Act which offers tax relief in respect of donations of important heritage items. The Orpen was bequeathed by Alan and Mary Hobart whose Pym’s Gallery in London tirelessly promoted Irish art for many years. The two new works are now on display in Room 16.
Pablo Picasso – Baigneuses, sirènes, femme nue et minotaure sold for £7,044,000
June sales of Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection and Modern & Contemporary art at Sotheby’s in London realised £420,488,006 across four auctions. This is the highest result for any season of sales ever staged in Europe. There was spirited activity from around the world, with bidding from 45 countries and particularly strong participation from Asian collectors, whose purchases in The Lewis Collection evening auction accounted for over a third of the total value of the sale.
The season was led by Masterpieces from the Lewis collection. The 47 works sold in Sotheby’s rooms this week brought in £306.6 million, the highest total for any single owner sale ever staged in London. Together with the £35.8 million realised for four School of London works offered from the same collection in March, the combined total for works sold from the Lewis Collection at Sotheby’s this year now stands at £342.4 million. The Lewis evening auction realised £296.3 million for 23 work with nine breaking the £10 million barrier. La Loge, a pastel by Degas, did not find a buyer during the sale but was sold immediately afterwards to a private collector.
The contemporary day auction totalled £9.3 million and the modern day auction, with masterpieces from the Lewis collection, brought in £17.8 million.
The 1823 2nd edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Moore St. flag of Truce from the Easter Rising was the top lot at Fonsie Mealy’s rare book and collectors sale. It made a hammer price of €62,000. Other leading hammer prices were: A rare edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (€24,000), Kevin Barry’s personal crucifix and scapular (€19,000), a first edition of Adam Smith’s Inquiry into the wealth of nations (€15,000), an archive from the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin (€15,000), a programme for the 1914 All Ireland Football Final (€14,000), a 2nd edition of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (€9,500), a 1795 general atlas by Thomas Kitchin and others (€9,000), a rare 1918 Irish Proclamation (€8,500) and the Carton House music collection (€8,000).
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 20 and June 13, 2026)
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn – Let The Little Children Come Unto Me, c.1627 UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £8 MILLION
A rare and fascinating early history painting by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn comes up at Sotheby’s in London on July 1. Discovered just over a decade ago, and carefully restored since it offers insights into his working practices and reveals a powerful message of tolerance. There is a vivid self-portrait, depictions of his mother and father and, quite possibly, of his god-parents and god-sister too. In no other image does Rembrandt bring his family together so completely. He made it after his return to Leiden following his apprenticeship with leading Amsterdam artist Pieter Lastman. Rembrandt ultimately left the foreground unfinished. It was completed at a later point, by an unidentified contemporary or follower. Recent restoration has removed these additions to reveal Rembrandt’s original hand.
The tall figure in the centre of the scene had – under Rembrandt’s hand – been wearing a turban, but this was replaced during the re-painting by a more familiar-looking Dutch soft cap. The presence of this oriental (possibly Muslim) figure might here be particularly pertinent, given that the Jewish and Christian faiths are also represented in the painting. In light of this, it is possible that Rembrandt was seeking to harness the image to spotlight the question of tolerance between faiths. The 30 years war at its height and Leiden was full of refugees, a question that would have probably preoccupied him at this time.
Rivalry between religious factions was then spilling onto the street, something Rembrandt would have felt acutely, given his own mixed religious heritage (his mother had Catholic roots, his father Protestant).
Amadeo Mogliani’s Nu assis au collier sold for a record £48.2 million at Sotheby’s tonight. This was a new European record for the artist. The collection of billionaire Joe Lewis achieved £296.3 million to become the highest single owner collection ever sold in London. A 1995 nude by Lucian Freud, Sleeping by the Lion Carpet made £29.3 million and a portrait of Gertrud Loew by Gustave Klimt sold for £36.2 million. Magritte’s La Belle Promenade, with a high estimate of £4 million, sold for £16 million, a record for a work on paper by the artist. Joe Lewis, former owner of Tottenham Hotspur football club, built up the collection with his daughter Vivienne.
The Modern and Contemporary auction followed at Sotheby’s. Claude Monet’s Nymphéas was the top lot, selling for £40.7 million.
Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection and the Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction achieved a combined total of £393.4 million – the highest auction total ever achieved in a single night in Europe.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 19, June 13, June 7 and May 1, 2026)
This Qianlong Famille Rose ‘Boy and Chicken’ cup made a hammer price of €115,000 at Adam’s sale of Fine Asian Art in Dublin today. It had been estimated at €20,000-€30,000. Cups of this type derive from earlier Chenghua doucai prototypes, particularly chicken-decorated examples. All bear the mark Da Qing Qianlong Fanggu ‘made in imitation of antiquity’ reflecting the Qianlong emperor’s strong interest in archaism. The inscription praises earlier artistic traditions, especially Ming dynasty chicken cups.
A possibly imperial Le Shan Tang seal made €55,000 at hammer, a pair of Imperial copper enamel painted dragon and phoenix covered ewers made €50,000, an Imperial white jade lança bowl made €34,000 and a celadon jade carving of a horse of sea made €15,000.
