Flora Yukhnovich – Warm, Wet ‘N’ Wild (£150,000-£200,000). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £2,697,000 GBP
The London edition of the Now evening auction at Sotheby’s on March 2 brings together a tightly curated selection of works by some of the most sensational artists of the 21st century. The sale will offer works by Rachel Jones, Shara Hughes and Flora Yukhnovich, and provide a masterpiece context for well-established artists such as Cecily Brown, George Condo and Banksy. Addressing the outstanding demand for young and emerging artists the sale follows the highly successful launch of the format in New York last November.
Banksy – Kissing Coppers (£2.5 – £3.5 million). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A large oak bookcase believed to have been made for the Cork Exhibition. UPDATE: THIS MADE €1,600 AT HAMMER
A large carved oak bookcase believed to have been made for the Cork Exhibition of 1902-03 is a centrepiece at Lynes and Lynes online sale in Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork on March 5. Contents from two house clearances which had been in storage and property from a religious order of nuns feature in this auction. The bookcase, which contained a note saying that it had been purchased by a Sr. Teresa, is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. Another piece almost certainly from the Cork Exhibition is a long oak coffer (€200-€400) with a carved front panel marked 1902.
Late Victorian and Edwardian Cork was eclipsed by the War of Independence and all the horrors it brought but the Great Exhibition of 1902, repeated in 1903, was the most comprehensive show the city ever mounted. Fitzgerald Park is among the legacies it brought to the people of Cork.The auction offers a wide variety of antique furniture, art and collectibles. A circular dining table with a diameter of 6’4″ is estimated at €3,000-€4,000 and there is an estimate of €300-€500 on a pair of reliquary stands believed to be from Mount Mellary. A late 19th century ships washbasin is estimated at €100-€200 and an American rug is expected to make €200-€300. A large 17th century painting of The Madonna and Child in a carved giltwood frame is estimated at €1,000-€2,000, a watercolour by Alexander Williams of Dromana on the River Blackwater is estimated at €100-€200 and a folding triptych with biblical scenes is estimated at just €60-€100. The catalogue is online.
George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson (1806-1888) – one of a pair of large seascapes of Dutch sailing vessels on rough seas UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The impressive four day sale which gets underway at Sheppards on March 1 goes on view in Durrow from today. The sale of the Governey Collection from Erindale House and other important Irish estates offers 1,584 lots with much to tempt collectors at all levels. A pair of Louis XVI gilt console tables is, at €10,000-€14,000, the most expensively estimated furniture lot. The highly ornate c1780 tables have rouge royale demi lune shaped marble tops above a central bell petal cartouche each one is raised on four square tapered and fluted legs. A pair of Edwardian satinwood bookcases is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
When it comes to top lots these days jewellery tends to trump furniture every time. This sale is no exception. A platinum diamond and sapphire ring (€20,000-€25,000) is the most expensively estimated lot.Undoubtedly there will be Cork interest in a pair of large seascapes by renowned Cobh artist George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson. Featured are Dutch sailing vessels in rough seas. Lot 1019 is estimated at €5,000-€7,000. Collectors of all things Irish will be interested in a large Dun Emer carpet on a red ground with a circular Celtic cartouche and enclosed by Celtic bird quadrants (€4,000-€6,000). The Dun Emer Guild (1902-1964) was an Irish Arts and Crafts textile studio founded in 1902 by Evelyn Gleeson initially in partnership with Elizabeth and Lily Yeats. They made tapestries for the Honan Chapel in Cork and a carpet presented to Pope Pius XI in 1931 as part of Ireland’s effort to host the 1932 Eucharistic Congress. Another lot of great interest to Irish collectors is a 19th century Killarney arbutus wood chess set. The tallest of the 32 pieces measures 10 cms. Lot 97 is estimated at €2,000-€3,000. Lot 98 is the profusely inlaid Killarney wood chess folding board with backgammon to the interior (€800-€1,200. Sales get underway at 10 am next Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with over 400 lots on most days.
A Killarney wood chess set UPDATE: THE CHESS SET MADE 3,600 AT HAMMER, THE BOARD 850
Andy Warhol(1928-1987) American – Marilyn (Announcement Castelli Graphics 1981) offset lithograph in colours on wove paper. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,800 AT HAMMER
Andy Warhol’s Marilyn lithograph comes up as lot 51 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current online auction of Important Art which runs to March 8. The signed image, printed by Colour Editions, Inc. and published by Castelli Graphics, New York, as an announcement for their exhibition ‘Warhol: A Print Retrospective 1963 – 1981’, is estimated at €4,000-€6,000. With art by Pauline Bewick, Damien Hirst, Paul Henry, Donald Teskey, Mr. Brainwash, Maurice Wilks and Cecil Maguire the sale offers a wide variety of art to collectors of every sort. The catalogue is online.
Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) – The Nymph of the Spring. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £9,449,500, A NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST
Lucas Cranach the Elder’s (1472-1553) The Nymph of the Spring and Jan Jansz den Uyl’s (1595-1639) Pewter jug and silver tazza on a table will be highlights at Christie’s Old Masters evening sale in London on July 7. The paintings are from thecollection of Cecil and Hilda Lewis who supported wide-ranging charitable and cultural endeavours from the V&A and National Gallery to the Weizman Institute of Science. The Nymph of the Spring, painted around 1540, is estimated at £6,000,000-8,000,000, Pewter jug and silver tazza on a table is estimated at £2,500,000-3,500,000.
BUHL EBONY AND TORTOISESHELL BUREAU PLAT. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This bureau plat with ormolu mounts is lot 22 at Sheppards four day say of contents from Erindale House and other clients on March 1, 2, 3 and 4. Nearly 1,600 lots are to be sold with around 400 coming under the hammer on each day. A wide range of quality antique furniture, silver, art and collectibles is to be sold. The catalogue is online.
BRIDGET RILEY (B. 1931) – Reverse courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2022. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The 20th/21st century Shanghai to London evening sale and the Art of the Surreal evening sale at Christie’s on March 1 are now live online for browsing. The 20/21 Shanghai to London series of sales will also be live and livestreamed to salerooms in Hong Kong and New York. This unique platform showcases the finest examples of art that span the dynamic art movements. Offered from the Neumann Family Collection, Bridget Riley’s Reverse (1963) (£3,000,000-5,000,000) alternates triangles of black and white across a hypnotic expanse. The painting was acquired in 1965 and has been unseen in public since then. Lucian Freud’s intimate and tender portrait, Girl with Closed Eyes (1986-87) (£10,000,000-15,000,000) will also make its auction debut.
Lucian Freud (1922-2011) – Girl with Closed Eyes. courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2022. UPDATE: THIS MADE £15,174,500
Victorian Cast Iron Bench with Hound Motif Arm Supports. UPDATE: THIS MADE 820 AT HAMMER
Spring may not be in the air quite yet but this Victorian cast iron bench, which comes up at Matthews sale of contents from Knockboyne House, Navan, Co. Meath and other clients on February 27, is a welcome reminder of warmer outdoor days to come. It comes up as lot number 2 in a sale of 674 lots which includes antique furniture, mirrors, rugs,, collectibles and silver.
AN INTERIOR VIEW OF KNOCKBOYNE HOUSE. UPDATE: THE TABLE MADE 600 AT HAMMER, THE CHAIRS 500
Andy Warhol, American (1928-1987) – Crosses (Twelve) (1981-82).
The profound impact of his Byzantine catholic upbringing on one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century is explored in Andy Warhol: Revelation at the Brooklyn Museum in New York until June 19. Catholicism is not the first thing that springs to mind when considering Andy Warhol but it greatly influenced his art and appeared frequently in his artworks.
From iconic portraits of celebrities to appropriated Renaissance masterpieces Warhol played with styles and symbolism from Catholic art history, reframing them within the context of Pop art. He retained some catholic rituals throughout his life while unapologetically living as a gay man. The show examines themes like life and death, Renaissance imagery, immigrant traditions and depictions of Christ. There are major paintings from his iconic Last Supper series (1986), a photo with Pope John Paul II and an unfinished film of the setting sun commissioned by the de Menil family and funded by the Roman Catholic Church.
The catalogue cover shot for Adams At Home sale showing antique furniture in a Georgian townhouse in Dublin. UPDATE: THE TWO SEATER MADE 1,150 AT HAMMER, THE MIRROR MADE 650
Serious collectors of fine antique furniture will have much to choose from at auctions in Ireland in the coming week. The At Home sale at James Adam in Dublin on February 22 and Marshs auction of contents from the Ursuline Convent, Blackrock, Cork on February 26 offer opportunities to bag something rare and functional that might also serve as a conversation piece.
It can be difficult to display furniture to full advantage in an auction room so Adams imaginatively chose to photograph and depict some pieces in the authentic setting of a decayed but graceful Georgian townhouse on Henrietta St. in Dublin. This they felt would serve to show the timeless quality of antique furnishings and demonstrate how they can be incorporated into our modern homes.The arresting catalogue cover image is of a George III style two seater mahogany framed settee in cream damask against an unrestored rendered wall on an uncarpeted wooden floor in an alcove beside a white marble fireplace. It is estimated at just €600-€800. Above it hangs a William and Mary cushion framed mirror with an oxidised glass plate reflecting an unusual and muted view of the room. It is estimated at just €300-€400.
Lot 261 is a Georgian mahogany chest on chest depicted in an alcove in a more pared back image which highlights the quality of the craftsmanship and demonstrates how a single piece can command a space. It is estimated at €800-€1,200. With arresting images and a good selection of fine antique furniture such as a set of 12 Regency dining chairs, a Georgian chest on stand, a George IV armchair, an oak framed settee with Art Nouveau upholstery and two overmantle mirrors there is more than enough here to give the imagination a major workout.A gem set diamond bracelet of tutti frutti design is, at €7,000-€8,000, the most expensively estimated lot in this sale of nearly 500 lots. As well as jewellery the auction offers silver, porcelain, Asian decorative arts, contemporary pieces, art, sculpture and collectibles.
Gothic oak carved bench at Marsh. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER
There are antique pieces that you would not come across everyday like a pair of Gothic reliquary cabinets at Marshs sale. Creating a suitable domestic setting for fine French Empire, Gothic and Regency furniture from the Ursuline Convent in Blackrock, Cork is another real challenge that many imaginative home designers will yearn to take on. There are five early 19th century Gothic oak carved bench seats of various sizes (€800-€1,000), a pair of Gothic carved high back chairs (€300-€500) and an antique Victorian bergere invalid chair that looks like it still functions perfectly (€300-€400).
A French Empire ebonized mahogany inlaid breakfront side cabinet is estimated at just €800-€1,000 and a William IV brass inlaid rent table is estimated at €2,000-€2,500.It is unusual to come across a pair of Victorian circular flame mahogany breakfast tables. These ones come with foliate centre decoration and are estimated at €2,000-€4,000. A Regency library table stamped Gillingtons is estimated at €1,500-€2,000.There will be viewing at the Ursulines in Blackrock from next Wednesday. The catalogue is online and the auction will be too.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for February 13 and February 16, 2022)
