Rene Gruau – Panache, La Nouvelle Revue du Lido (€150-€200). UPDATE: THIS MADE 200 AT HAMMER
Nothing evokes a bygone era or jogs a memory quite like a poster. There are some wonderful ones at the James Adam online sale of the collection of John Rogers which runs until July 27. On offer are 420 posters, many anonymous, others designed by famous and collectible artists from Andy Warhol to Rene Gruau. There is highly affordable work here from artists like Walter Hofmann, Niki de Saint Phalle, Dick Eiffers, Ludwig Hohlwein, David Klein and Piet Sluis, the late Dutch artist who came to live in Ireland in the 1950’s.
A poster advertising train travel in Spain put me in mind of Dorothy Parker travelling from France to Madrid with a linguistically gifted companion. At the border he spoke no Spanish. By the time they reached their destination she reported that he was helping the natives along with their subjunctives. Armed with a post grad in Art History and some experience gained at Christie’s the late John Rogers opened Gallery 29 in Dublin in 2004. This was a lot more than just another poster shop and the sale is a tribute to his discriminating eye for quality.
Spanish train poster by an anonymous artist (€150-€200). UPDATE: THIS MADE 340 AT HAMMER
An exhibition of new works by Sean Scully opens today at Thaddeus Ropac in Salzburg, Austria. It brings together large scale paintings from his most formative series including Wall of Light and Landline. A monumental 2020 sculpture entitled Indoor Sleeper in the gallery’s outdoor space offers and insight into his sculptural practice. This show follows the acclaimed 50 year retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art until July 31. Major institutional exhibitions of Scully’s are currently underway in Neuss Germany, Bologna Italy and Torun in Poland.
SUNLIGHT ON THE RIVER BANN, 1975 – JOHN SKELTON (1923-2009). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Sunlight on the River Bann by John Skelton comes up as lot 28 at Whyte’s summer online art auction, which runs until July 25. It is estimated at €600-€800. This is a sale designed to encourage both first time buyers and seasoned bidders. The catalogue is online and viewing continues at Whyte’s galleries on Molesworth St. in Dublin. The sale is on view until 5 pm today, from 2 pm to 5 pm tomorrow and from 10 am to 5 pm on Monday.
THOMAS RYAN PPRHA (1929-2021) – Silver Cup and Pink Rose. UPDATE: THIS LOT ATTRACTED 49 BIDS AND MADE 5,800 AT HAMMER OVER A TOP ESTIMATE OF 1,200.
This oil on board by Thomas Ryan is lot 49 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale of Irish art which runs until August 2. Silver Cup and Pink Rose, measuring just 5.9′ x 7.9′ was exhibited at the Lee Gallery in Cork in 2004 and is estimated at €800-€1,200. The artist attended the Limerick School of Art, then the National College of Art in Dublin, where he studied under Seán Keating and Maurice MacGonigal. He first exhibited at the RHA in 1957, became an associate member in 1968, was elected President of the RHA in 1982 and served until 1992.
His many commissions for portraits included Presidents, Taoisigh, cardinals and archbishops, provosts and University Presidents. He was known for his sensitive still-life and genre paintings and for Irish historical scenes, especially those of the 1916 Rising.
The catalogue is online and the sale will be on view in Skibbereen, west Cork from July 28.
An auction dedication to art, editions and photographs by David Hockney will take place at Phillips in London on September 13. Robert Kennan, Head of Editions, Europe, said, “This sale looks to celebrate the achievements of David Hockney to date with a vibrant selection in all media. The auction is an opportunity to acquire a Hockney work at all price points, from entry level works priced at £1000 to those higher value pieces at £250,000 and above. Contemporary edition collecting is something we feel incredibly passionate about and creating curated sales such as David Hockney allows us to engage with our community of collectors, whilst reflecting our innovative approach to meet current collecting demands.”
Three highlights of the sale, Tyler Dining Room, Celia in a Wicker Chair, and arguably Hockney’s most sought after edition, Afternoon Swimming, come from prominent South African collectors Andrew and Sandy Ovenstone, owners of Stellenberg, Cape Town. This historic house is the last remaining private Cape Dutch homestead in the central southern suburbs of Cape Town and home to world-renowned gardens overseen by Sandy Ovenstone. Proceeds from the will help to fund new acquisitions by contemporary South African artists. Afternoon Swimming from 1979 will leads the auction. Viewing is from September 6-13 at 30 Berkeley Square.
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen – Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture in Minneapolis
Claes Oldenburg, the Swedish born New York based sculptor, has died aged 93. His death was announced by Pace Gallery, which represented him. Renowned for his sculptures, drawings, and colossal public monuments that transform familiar, everyday objects into animated entities, Oldenburg was a leading voice of the Pop Art movement who, over the course of more than six decades, redefined the history of art. Together with his wife and longtime collaborator Coosje van Bruggen (who died in 2009), Oldenburg realised over 40 large-scale public projects around the world. Oldenburg and Pace Founder and Chairman Arne Glimcher maintained a friendship for 60 years, working closely since the early years of the artist’s career.
Monumental sculptures have been installed across the United States, Europe, and Asia at Rincon Park in San Francisco, Piazzale Cadorna in Milan, Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seoul, and many other sites. Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s large-scale sculpture Spoonbridge and Cherry (1985-88) at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has become a symbol of the city.
Abstract Landscape by Maurice Desmond UPDATE: THIS MADE 750 AT HAMMER
Viewers can lose themselves in the work of the Cork based artist Maurice Desmond, who sadly left us on June 30. Just look and keep on looking and it is surprising what you can find. When Maurice was on song a five minute visit to his studio could last an entire afternoon without ever knowing or even noticing where the time had gone. The first painting by the artist to come up at auction since his unexpected death is an abstract landscape once in the collection of the late Jim O’Driscoll SC. Lot 114 at Whyte’s summer online art auction, which runs until the evening of July 25, is an oil on board estimated at just €500-€700.
This is an auction of affordable art by well known Irish artists designed to attract new collectors without breaking the bank. According to Whyte’s there has never been a better time to dive in and immerse yourself. Among the artists represented are Kenneth Webb, Henry Healy, Gwen O’Dowd, John Morris, Rose Ganly, Stephen Cullen, Cecily Brennan, Colin Gibson, Desmond Carrick, Patricia Jorgensen, John Skelton, Maurice MacGonigal, Muriel Brandt, Liam Treacy, Pauline Bewick, Hughie O’Donoghue, Dorothy Cross, Felim Egan, Stella Steyn and William Orpen. Viewing gets underway next Wednesday on Molesworth St. and the catalogue is online.
Rembrandt van Rijn – Self-portrait with beret, wide eyed 1630 (etching) Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
Rich pickings for art lovers at summer exhibitions in Dublin range from remarkable drawings on loan from the Rijksmuseum at the National Gallery of Ireland to an artistic examination of the science fiction of the present at IMMA. Intimate insights into 17th century life in the Netherlands can be seen at Dutch Drawings: highlights from the Rijksmuseum which opens at the National Gallery today. This rare loan exhibition selected from the world renowned collection in Amsterdam offers 48 works by 31 different artists. Among them are Rembrandt, Hendrick Avercamp, Nicolaes Berchem, Jacob van Ruisdael, Gerard ter Boch, Ferdinand Bol and Albert Cuyp.
This show offers Irish audiences a unique opportunity to view at close quarters works which range from studies of plants and animals, daily life, portraits, architecture and landscape. This art conveys a strong sense of what life as it was lived then was like. Drawing was a portable and inexpensive medium. There are differing techniques with works in graphite, ink, watercolour, chalks, etchings and woodcuts plus a small number of prints by Rembrandt. The exhibition shows artists striving to understand the world around them. It continues at the National Gallery runs until November 6.
Aelbert Cuyp – View of Dordrecht c1650. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
The exhibition at IMMA is concerned with insights by artists into the world as we know it now. On show here is a cross section of works produced between 2022 and 2018 by The Otolith Group, a London based collective founded in 2002 by Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun. Otoliths are bodies in the inner ear involved with sensing gravity and movement. These pioneering artworks utilising film, video and multi-screen installations address contemporary, social and planetary issues, the disruptions of neo-colonialism, the way in which humans have impacted the earth and the influence of new technology on consciousness. The exhibition is entitled Xenogenesis (the production of an organism unlike the parent) and it reflects the commitment by the artists to creating what they think of as ‘a science fiction of the present’ through images, voices, sounds and performance. Themes are both universal and relevant to contemporary life. IMMA director and curator of the exhibition Annie Fletcher said: “The Otolith Group’s films and installations address the forces and events that have shaped our world while offering inspiring examples and models of how we might collectively imagine a different future”.
Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, painted in 1964, made a record $195 million at Christie’s.
Global sales at Christie’s in the first half of 2022 reached $4.1 billion, made up from $3.5 billion in auction sales and $0.6 billion in private sales. This is the best performance since 2015 and even surpasses the first half year of 2018 when Christie’s sold the Rockefeller Collection. Andy Warhol’s Short Sage Blue Marilyn was the most valuable lot sold, at $195 million. There was remarkable results for major collections like those of Thomas and Doris Ammann, Anne H. Bass, Rosalind Gersten Jacobs and Melvin Jacobs and Hubert de Givenchy. The sell through rate across all auctions was 87%. A strong influx of new and younger clients was noted. In the half year so far 30% of all buyers are new to Christie’s, and 34% of these new buyers are millennials.
Philanthropic sales raised nearly $440 million with $13.7 million in aid to Ukraine. The outlook for the autumn is good, led by the Ann and Gordon Getty Collection in New York.
A new acquisition at the National Gallery of Ireland celebrates the contribution to Irish society by former Supreme Court judge Catherine McGuinness. A portrait of Justice McGuinness, commissioned by fellow members of the legal community and painted by artist Miseon Lee, is the latest addition to the national portrait collection at the Gallery. The portrait, on display at the gallery from today, was unveiled in the presence of the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.
Catherine McGuinness (née Ellis) was born in Belfast and educated at Alexandra College, Trinity College Dublin and the King’s Inns. She was called to the Bar in 1977, and to the Inner Bar in 1989. She worked for the Labour Party in the 1960s, but was elected an independent candidate to Seanad Éireann for the Dublin University constituency in 1979, and served a senator until 1987. In 1988 she was appointed to the Council of State by President Patrick Hillery, a position she held until 1990. In 1994, she became the first woman to be appointed as a judge of the Circuit Court, and two years later was elevated to the High Court. In January 2000, she was promoted to the Supreme Court, where she served as a judge until 2006. She was appointed adjunct professor of law at NUIG in 2005, and in the same year became President of the Law Reform Commission, a position she held until 2011.
In 2009, McGuinness received a Lord Mayor’s Award for her ‘contribution to the lives of children and families through her pioneering work’, and was chosen as one of the People of the Year the following year. McGuinness has served on the Employment Equality Agency, the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, the National Council of the Forum on End of Life in Ireland, and in 2011 was appointed Chairperson of the Campaign for Children. She has given her name to academic fellowships and prizes at the Children’s Rights Alliance, and the University of Limerick.
Artist Miseon Lee lives and works in Dublin and is a portrait specialist. She has been shortlisted for the annual portrait prize at the National Gallery of Ireland on three occasions and the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London twice. She has shown her work in both solo and group shows in Ireland, the UK and South Korea. Her work was also shortlisted for the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year in 2013, and the Davy Portrait Awards in 2010. She was awarded the James Adam’s Salesroom Award and the Keating/McLaughlin Award for Outstanding Artwork at the RHA in 2010 and 2012 respectively.
