Horse paintings by Basil Blackshaw usually attract plenty of interest. This one comes up as Lot 21 at Morgan O’Driscolls Irish art online auction which runs until the evening of September 13. The oil on board measures 12″ x 14″ and is estimated at 4,000-6,000. There is an Emer Gallery, Belfast label on the back. The sale offers a wide variety of art and sculpture including Everyday Life (2019) by the French born Los Angeles based street artist known as Mr. Brainwash exhorting us all to: “Follow Your Dreams”.
UPDATE: THE BLACKSHAW MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER, EVERYDAY LIFE BY MR. BRAINWASH MADE 16,000 AT HAMMER
SEAN MCSWEENEY HRHA (1935-2018) – The Red Road. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,800 AT HAMMER
THE Red Road by Sean McSweeney comes up as lot 12 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online art sale, which runs until September 13 with an estimate of €2,000-3,000. The auction features more than 220 lots of art and sculpture by artists ranging from William Crozier and Kenneth Maguire to Kenneth Webb and Pauline Bewick. There is sculpture by John Behan, Imogen Stuart, Patrick O’Reilly, Melanie le Brocquy, Michael Foley and others.
There is water everywhere in William Roe’s 1837/38 views of Cork which come up as lot 17 at Mullens Collectors Cabinet online sale on September 11. Much of the city as we know it today is built on reclaimed land. The lot consists of seven framed sheets each with between two and four views of Cork city and environs. It is estimated at €2,000-€3,000. Works by Roe were displayed at the Cork Exhibition of 1852. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,000 AT HAMMER
One of a pair of George II architectural pier mirrors by John Booker UPDATE: THE PAIR SOLD FOR 106,000 AT HAMMER
From Booker mirrors to an original portrait of Jonathan Swift to a clock garniture gift from Marie-Antoinette and a pair of commodes attributed to James Hicks the Howth Castle sale by Fonsie Mealy next week promises to be a humdinger. This auction of 800 years of history for the Gaisford-St. Lawrence family and other important clients offers an appetising variety of antique furniture, art, ceramics, glass and all sorts of historic collectibles like a painted wooden model of HMS Victory, an 18th century Irish School relief of the legend of Grainne Uaile, a mourning dress worn by Queen Victoria and the Great Sword of Howth which has been in the St. Lawrence family for many generations. According to tradition, the sword was used by Sir Armoricus Tristram, who arrived at Howth with Sir John de Courcy in the year 1177 and commanded the Norman army which defeated the local inhabitants. A more sober assessment dates the sword to the late 15th century. It is estimated at €10,000-€15,000. The live and online auction will take place at the Grand Hotel, Malahide on September 8 and 9 with admission subject to prevailing Covid conditions. The most expensively estimated lot, at €300,000-€400,000, is a unique full length portrait of Jonathan Swift painted in 1735 by Francis Bindon (1690-1765). There is an estimate of €50,000-€70,000 on Bull by Moonlight by Roderic O’Conor and A Birds Eye View of Howth Castle attributed to William Van Der Hagen or Joseph Tudor is estimated at €40,000-€60,000.. There are several Bruxelles and Flemish tapestries and an impressive set of prehistoric Giant Irish Elk antlers and skull.
This Louis XVI French mantle clock by Regnault of Paris together with two candlesticks was a gift from Marie Antoinette to her lady in waiting Marie Therese de Barmont. UPDATE: THIS MADE 28,000 AT HAMMER.
Among a number of lots certain to attract international interest is a pair of Irish George II carved giltwood and gesso architectural mirrors attributed to John Booker. These are estimated at €50,000-€70,000. A c1738 pair of Irish giltwood and gesso carved side tables believed to have been supplied to the 14th Lord Howth come with an estimate of €30,000-€50,000.A pair of satinwood and bow fronted commodes attributed to James Hicks are estimated at €7,000-€9,000 and a mid 18th century Irish side table is estimated at €8,000-€12,000. A magnificent Georgian mahogany dining table (€30,000-€40,000), a mid 18th century Irish mahogany decanter stand (€20,000-€30,000) and a Gothic Revival side table or alter attributed to Pugin (€4,000-€6,000) are among other remarkable furniture lots.A Louis XVI French ormolu mantel clock by Regnault of Paris with two matching candlesticks was a gift from Marie Antoinette to her lady in waiting Marie Therese de Barmont. Marie Antoinette was 14 at the time of her wedding in 1770, Marie Therese de Barmont was 13. The set is estimated at €4,000-€6,000.
A mid 18th century Irish mahogany decanter stand. UPDATE: THIS MADE 48,000 AT HAMMER
There is silver and plate, militaria, ceramics, porcelain, glassware and some estimates are as low as €80. With more than 970 lots on the catalogue and this truly a sale with something for everyone. Lot 787 is a George IV silver gilt model of the Warwick Vase by Phillip Rundell, London 1820 (€8,000-€12,000), there are early Netherlandish School portraits of the Bishop of Meath George Montgomery and his wife Susan Steyning (€10,000-€15,000) and an early 19th century Cantonese bowl and cover is ex the collection of the O’Briens at Dromoland Castle with an estimate of just €180-€220.The clearance sale of Howth Castle will continue with the sale of the library on September 22 and 23. The castle has been home to the St. Lawrence family since the Norman Invasion. Since 1919 it has been held by the distraff heirs, the Gaisford-St. Lawrences. In 2018 the family agreed to sell the castle, demesne and Ireland’s Eye to the Tetrarch investment group who intend to develop a hotel and a luxury resort. A seven acre portion has been sold to Glenveagh Homes who plan to build 200 apartments.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for August 12, 23 and 31)
This untitled mixed media work by Felim Egan, dated 1981, comes up as lot 27 at de Veres art and furniture online auction which runs to September 14. It is estimated at just 200-400. Felim Egan, who died last December, was one of Ireland’s leading contemporary artists. He exhibited in Ireland and Europe and represented Ireland at the Paris Biennale of 1981 and the Sao Paolo Biennale of 1985. His work hangs in numerous public and private collections. There are 132 lots in the sale. UPDATE: THIS MADE 340 AT HAMMER
Banksy’s shredded Love is in the Bin will return to Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries this October, at four to six times the price. Passing through a hidden shredder just seconds after the hammer fell on a million pound bid, the “nation’s favourite artwork” – Girl with a Balloon – seemingly auto-destructed in 2018 while hanging on the wall in Sotheby’s packed auction room. Capturing the world by surprise, this unexpected piece of performance art became instant art history, making it the first time a new work had been created in the course of an auction.
In the days that followed, the shredded artwork was granted a new certificate and date by Pest Control, Banksy’s authentication body, and given the new title, Love is in the Bin. The collector who had placed the record winning bid on Girl with Balloon decided to keep the new work.* Looking back on the event, she explains: “That surreal evening three years ago, I became the accidental – but very privileged – owner of Love is in the Bin. It has been an incredible journey to have been part of the story of how one of the most famous artworks in the world came to be, but now it is time to let the painting go.”
It will come up at the Contemporary Art evening auction at Sotheby’s in London on October 14 – this time with an estimate of £4-£6 million.
ATTRIBUTED TO LAURENT DE LA HYRE (1606-1656) Artemisia at the Mausoleum of Her Husband. UPDATE: THIS MADE 32,000 AT HAMMER
This subject matter of this oil on canvas attributed to Laurent de la Hyre exercised numerous colleagues and friends of Homan Potterton over the years. Artemesia was agreed as the most likely. She was the wife of Mausolus, the Provincial Governor of Caria in Asia Minor. On her husband’s death in 353 B.C. she erected a great elevated tomb and monument to his memory at Halicarnassus, thus providing the origin of the word ‘mausoleum’. The structure was designed by the Greek architects Satyros and Pythius of Priene. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The painting, which is estimated at €15,000-20,000, comes up at James Adam in Dublin on September 7 at the sale of the late Homan Potterton’s collection of old master paintings, Irish Art, engravings, furniture and silver from his homes in Dublin and in the Gaillac region in France. UPDATE: THIS MADE 32,000 AT HAMMER.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for August 22, 2021)
Lovely objects are made to be seen, used and enjoyed according to the English designer Jasper Conran. Now downsizing to a 17th century house in West Dorset – much smaller than its predecessors – Conran is regretfully parting with an amazing collection of art, antique furniture and objects through two sales at Christie’s this September. An online auction with 223 lots gets underway today and will run to September 21. There will be a live auction at Christie’s in London with 213 lots on September 14. These sales offer a window into the magical interiors that Conran created at Flemings Hall, Suffolk: Walpole House, Chiswick; Ven House, Somerset and most recently his six bedroomed apartment at the Palladian mansion that is New Wardour Castle in Wiltshire, one of England’s finest country houses. The castle played a part as the dance school in the film Billy Elliot. UPDATE: THE LIVE SALE REALISED £5,835,500
ROBERT PEAKE (LINCOLNSHIRE 1551-1619 LONDON) Portrait of Cecilia Neville (b.c.1604). Courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2021.UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £562,500
Christie’s say the sale of this iconic collection will be a landmark in the history of English taste, and a celebration of the fabulous interiors that Jasper Conran has created over many years. One of Conran’s lifelong passions has been English portraiture and the London sale is led by a portrait of Cecilia Neville by Robert Peake, portrait painter at the Elizabethan and Jacobean court. It is estimated at £500,000-£800,000. The top furniture lot, with an estimate of £200,000-£300,000, is an elegant pair of George III gilt console tables after a design by Thomas Chippendale.
Among the highlights are the magnificent Longleat giltwood chandelier, c1720-30, attributed to Benjamin Goodison, the court cabinet-maker of theday: a George II grey-painted pier mirror c1735-40, in the manner of William Kent; a pair of early George III white-painted simulated bamboo window seats by William Vile and John Cobb, signed by Vile’s nephew the cabinet maker William Strickland, dated 1764 and made for Forde Abbey, Somerset; a George II mahogany serpentine sofa attributed to Paul Saunders, c1755-60; the Rousham wall brackets, a pair of George II mahogany wall brackets designed and supplied by William Kent, c1740 and the late 19th century Medici Vase.
GEORGE III GRAINED-PINE SEMI-ELLIPTICAL SIDE TABLE CIRCA 1780, POSSIBLY IRISH. Courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2021. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £23,750
A number of Irish or possibly Irish lots are included in the main sale. Among them are lot 18, a pair of Irish George II side chairs; lot 107, a George II giltwood mirror; lot 143, an Irish white marble and scagliola Bossi chimneypiece; lot 168, a set of six George II dining chairs; lot 179, a c1760 elliptical side table and lot 194, an Irish brass bound and mahogany wine cooler. Jasper Conran, who had long relationships with the writer Bruce Chatwin and the fashion designer John Galliano has, since 2015, been married to the Irish artist and filmmaker Oisin Byrne. Jasper Conran OBE has designed collections of womens wear, for the home, and productions for the stage in ballet, opera and theatre.
A Gauguin painting in the collection of the Tate Gallery has been labelled a fake. Tahitans (c1891) an unfinished work has been in the Tate collection since 1917. It was purchased in 1910 by Roger Fry, the art critic who invented the word Post-Impressionism from Druet, a Paris art gallery then located at the Rue Royale which closed in 1938. The work is not entirely in Gauguin’s style and the gallery is not revealing the reason for the rejection.
The first auction of Indian master artists who were commissioned by East India Company officials in the 18th and 19th centuries takes place at Sotheby’s in London on October 27. Ranging in their subject matter from individual animal and human studies to complex architectural panoramas these Company School Paintings encapsulate on paper the rich fauna, flora and architecture of the Subcontinent.
They are from the American collector and art dealer Carlton C. Rochell, Jr. Rochell spent the first 18 years of his career at Sotheby’s, where he founded the Indian and Southeast Asian Art Department in 1988. He was on the Board of Directors and served as Managing Director of Sotheby’s Asia. In 2002, Rochell opened his own gallery in New York. Highlights of In an Indian Garden will go on view in Sotheby’s in New York from September 17-20, in Hong Kong from October 7-11 and London from October 22-26.
A Painted Stork Eating a Snail from the Impey Album, Signed by Shaykh Zayn al-Din, Company School, Calcutta, dated 1781 (est. £200,000-300,000) – formerly in the collection of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
