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This west Cork watercolour by William Crozier kicks off Morgan O’Driscoll’s current Off the Wall online art auction which runs until January 9. Signed and dated 1990 it is estimated at 1,500-2,500. The catalogue is online and the auction will be on view in Skibbereen on January 5, 6 and 9.
THE 121st annual Turner exhibition which opens on New Year’s Day today at the National Gallery of Ireland wlll be the most exciting yet. It coincides with the magnificent exhibition Turner: The Sun is God which continues at the Gallery until February 6. Right now the National Gallery of Ireland is offering a visual feast of wonderful work by a rare master who was far ahead of his time. Turner’s art is as contemporary today as when it was painted a couple of centuries ago. An Impressionist 50 years before Impressionism, an abstract artist when abstraction was unknown, Turner as artist and innovator was far ahead of his time. It is always instructive when assessing any art to refer back to the greatest artists by visiting galleries. They set the benchmark. They did it right. Their work shouts it out when lesser artworks fall short. Brutal and frustrating as this may be for artists, it is always an important learning oppprtunity. Ask Jackson Pollock, the great mid 20th century American artist who once said memorably: “F… Picasso”.
In the world of art everyone, including collectors, needs to keep their eye in. Don’t miss these shows. An appreciation of the fact that great art isn’t easy is an important first step. The Sun is God at the National Gallery is a show to be savoured slowly. Turner draws the viewer in as he reveals his fascination with the forces of nature, the sun, moon and clouds. This glowing show traces the development of his compositions from early sketches and exploratory ‘colour beginnings’ to finished watercolours, oil paintings and published prints. It covers a range of themes including memory, imagination, nature, light and atmosphere. This unique opportunity to see 89 artworks from the Tate Collection in London never before displayed in Ireland coincides this January with the annual display of Turner watercolours bequeathed in 1900 by the English collector Henry Vaughan. This year’s selection will include the 31 Vaughan Bequest works, and five additional Turner watercolours, alongside eight of the artist’s much-loved Liber Studiorum prints of landscape and seascape compositions recreated as prints.There is much to celebrate. Turner has always been popular in Ireland. The annual watercolour show had to be cancelled two years ago for the first time in 120 years because of the pandemic. The show last January was the 120th instead of the 121st. This year, uniquely, we will get to see Turner twice.
It has been a very good year in 2022 for the art and collectibles market in Ireland. Generally prices were strong and the auction houses had a busy time. Yet it is abundantly clear that one particular New Year Resolution for 2023 – to buy antique furniture – would be highly rewarding. No matter what the future holds for us there is enormous value to be had right now. In this furniture buyers market a few examples from Cork city sales earlier this month – a situation repeated up and down the country – make the point. At Marshs a Victorian toilet mirror on barley twist uprights sold for €50 at hammer, a pair of Georgian brass firedogs made €30, an Irish Georgian side table on pad feet made €190, an Edwardian two tier centre table made €45, a Victorian hall table on turned legs made €60 and an inlaid Edwardian centre table made €50. At Woodwards a pair of Edwardian wine tables made €20, a carved ships wheel with brass mounts made €90, a Georgian bureau bookcase made €130, an Edwardian Pembroke table made €25, a serpentine fronted hall table with shaped drawer made €100 as did a Georgian mahogany card table, a circular Victorian occasional table made €40 and a Victorian two tier sewing table made €70. Not everything was at a giveaway price and many other lots made more. Nevertheless there are rich pickings for those of us who love old furniture.
That was the year that was. With more than €16 billion worth of sales at the worlds three biggest auction houses – Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips – 2022 broke all sorts of records. Consolidated sales at Sotheby’s are projected to reach $8 billion, the highest in its 278 year history. One single owner sale at Christie’s made $1.5 billion and millions of people all around the world tuned in to livestreamed auctions to see paintings like Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn sell for $195 million at Christie’s in May to become the most expensive 20th Century artwork ever sold at auction. The market was driven by fresh to market single owner collections like that of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen whose collection – not yet entirely sold – has already made $1.5 billion. Phillips’s total sales reached $1.3 billion. Its highest-valued lot was an untitled painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat of a horned devil which sold in New York for $85 million in November.
It is an exciting time for the market as the year turns. The burning question is: What will 2023 bring?
This early 19th century mahogany four poster bed comes up as lot 134 at Sean Eacrett’s timed online auction from Ballybrittas, Co. Laois on December 30. The contents of Donnybrook House, Ballymackey, Nenagh are offer in a sale of 410 lots which includes art, furniture, rugs, lighting and collectibles. The four poster is estimated at €1,200-1,500. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 4,000 AT HAMMER.
Winter’s Jewel, an oil on board by the Canadian wildlife artist Steve Burgess, comes up at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current Off the Wall online art auction. The catalogue goes online today and the auction runs until January 9. There will be viewing in Skibbereen on January 5, 6 and 9. Among the artists featured are William Crozier, John Shinnors, Cecil Maguire, Robert Chailloux and Charles McAuley.
We wish all our readers a very happy and peaceful Christmas.
This vintage French tapestry measuring 40 inches across by 22 inches high comes up at Hegarty’s timed online auction of antiques and interiors which runs until January 5. The estimate for this outdoor Rococo scene is €80-€120. The auction offers more than 200 lots of furniture, art, silver, jewellery and collectibles.
Global sales at Christie’s reached $8.4 billion in 2022, the highest annual sales total in art market history. In November Paul G Allen’s landmark sales maDe $1.62 billion to become the most valuable collection sale of all time. Five works sold above $100 million and there was four million online viewers. in 2022 the auction house sold Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn for $195 million, the second highest price ever achieved for an artwork at auction. They sold the top three collections of the year, Allen, Ammann ($359.2 million) and Bass ($363.1 million) as well as the top collection outside the US this year, Hubert de Givenchy (€118 million) in Paris.
In 2022 35% of all buyers in 2022 were new to Christie’s, and 34% of these new buyers were millennials (up from 31% in 2021). A total of 46,322 lots were sold at auction. Altogether the Americas accounted for 40% of buyers, Europe, the Middle East and Africa for 34% and Asia-Pacific for 26%.
This watercolour, ink and pencil drawing of Two Female Nudes by the Irish sculptor John Behan sold for £828.75 at Bonhams in London. From the collection of the late design guru Sir Terence Conran the work came up at the sale of the contents of Barton Court, his country house in Berkshire. Conran died in 2020.
