This 1904 portrait of James Hugh Smith-Barry by Sir William Orpen comes up as lot 123 at Fonsie Mealy’s sale of Irish and international art on March 23. Closely associated with Barryscourt Castle and the Fota estate in Cork the Barry family were prominent from Anglo-Norman times. With the death in 1823 of the 8th Earl of Barrymore the title became extinct. It was revived in 1902 when Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry was created Baron Barrymore. He commissioned Orpen to paint a posthumous portrait of his father to be hung at Fota with the Barry ancestors. It was based on a pastel sketch made in 1854 by James Rannie Swinton. The estimate is €20,000-€30,000. UPDATE: THIS MADE 19,000 AT HAMMER
Original Sins by Hughie O’Donoghue at the National Gallery of Ireland until June 19 addresses memory, history and questions of identity. The series of six large paintings depicts six historical figures drawn from ancient history, modern history, and the contemporary world and paired together. Best known to many as a central figure in Daniel Maclise’s The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife, princess Aoife is paired with William the Conqueror. Represented very differently from the way in which she appears in the famous Irish work, the painting will hang alongside the others in this installation under the gaze of Maclise’s monumental masterpiece in the Gallery’s Shaw Room.
Dr Brendan Rooney, Head Curator at the National Gallery of Ireland, commented: “The Gallery is delighted to be collaborating with Hughie as part of its contribution to the Decade of Centenaries. It is very exciting to see Daniel Maclise’s monumental The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife subjected to the scrutiny of an artist for whom history and memory are so important. The installation of Hughie’s six new paintings in the Shaw Room represents an unprecedented repurposing of the Gallery’s most famous display space, and casts Maclise’s picture, which inspired them, in a new light.”
The National Gallery marks the conclusion of the Decade of Centenaries with three special displays in 2022. Two exhibitions will open later in the year. Keating’s Allegories of Change(from August 20) centres around Seán Keating’s 1924 painting An Allegory, which addresses the divisive nature of the conflict of the Irish Civil War. Estella Solomons: Still Moments (from September 3) features a number of portraits by Solomons of leading revolutionary and cultural figures of the time.
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) – Figures Gossiping UPDATE: THIS MADE 12,000 AT HAMMER
This painting by Mary Swanzy is lot 12 at the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin on March 30. It is estimated at 8,000-12,000. The live and online sale offers a rich selection of paintings and sculpture from some Dublin collections. A number of works have not been seen on the market for a very long time. Among the highlights are works by James Arthur O’Connor, Roderic O’Conor and Jack B Yeats. The catalogue is online now and viewing at St. Stephen’s Green gets underway on March 25.
Courtyard lounge, ground floor, Givenchy’s Hotel d’Orrouer with Picasso’s Faun with a Spear. Courtesy, Christie’s Images Ltd. UPDATE: THIS PICASSO MADE €3,500,000 AT HAMMER
The first highlights from the collection of Hubert de Givenchy were unveiled by Christie’s today. They include Woman Walking by Alberto Giacometti (€20-30 million); Passage of the Migratory Bird by Joan Miro (€2.5 – €3.5 million) and Faun with a Spear by Pablo Picasso (€1.5 – 2 million). With over 1,200 lots dating from the 17th to the 20th century, this collection features a remarkable gathering of nearly 800 pieces of French and European furniture, including many masterpieces of classical furniture from the French Regency period to the Neoclassical period and onwards.
In the decoration of his homes, Hubert de Givenchy always considered the furniture in constant dialogue with the works of art, both ancient and modern. Alongside numerous major sculptures and paintings by old masters such as Hubert Robert, the collection includes several masterpieces of modern art: from the couturier’s friend and collaborator Alberto Giacometti’s Woman Walking, a key painting by Joan Miró never before presented on the market, several works by Alberto’s brother, Diego Giacometti and more contemporary works by Claudio Bravo and François-Xavier Lalanne.
Already underway in Palm Beach, a selection of works from the collection will be previewed in several cities including New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Sales will take place in Paris from June 14-17 and online from June 8-23.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 2, 2022)
Joan Miró – Passage of the Migratory Bird. UPDATE: THIS MADE €5,750,000 AT HAMMER
FLOWER SELLERS, GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN – NORMAN TEELING (B.1944). UPDATE: THIS MADE 800 AT HAMMER
THIS painting of flower sellers in Grafton St. by Norman Teeling comes up as Lot 38 at Whyte’s Spring online art auction which runs until March 28. It is estimated at 800-1,200. The auction of 273 lots features many well known Irish artists, who are represented with affordable lots. The auction will be on view at Whyte’s at Molesworth St., Dublin from March 23 and the catalogue is online now.
STEVE BURGESS (B.1960) CANADIAN – Pint and a Packet (2021). UPDATE: THIS MADE 850 AT HAMMER
REDOLENT of a pub culture slowly returning to Ireland Pint and a acket by Canadian artist Steve Burgess is lot 6 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s off the wall online art auction which runs until March 14. The oil on board, signed and dated ’21, is estimated at 800-1,200. There is a selection of highly affordable art and sculpture on offer. The catalogue is online and the sale is on view on March 10, 11 and 14 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s offices in Skibbereen.
Pair of sandstone urns. UPDATE: THE CLOSING BID WAS RECORDED AS 8,000
These impressive sandstone urns, each 220 cm high, come up at Mullen’s timed classic and contemporary interiors sale which runs in Bray until March 13. The ovoid tapering urns, hung with ribbon tied floral festoons, are flanked by figural handles above a waisted sockel with square base. The estimate is 8,000-10,000, making this the most expensively estimated lot in an auction of 656 lots which is on view from March 10. Lot 2, an Arts and Crafts oak hat, coat and stick stand, is modestly estimated at 100-150. The catalogue is online.
Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A. – Hosiery & Factory. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £32,670
Hosiery and Factory by L.S. Lowry comes up as lot 114 at Sotheby’s Made in Britain sale online, which runs from today until March 15. It is signed and dated 1970. The artist also signed the backboard – L S Lowry and inscribed In a Fishing Village about/ 30 miles north of Ireland. The estimate is £30,000-40,000. Sotheby’s say the sale offers something for everyone at every price point. The auction is led by a selection of Damien Hirst prints, exceptional ceramics by Damie Lucie Rie and Gwyn Hanssen Piggot and a trio of beautiful Alfred Wallis works from the family of artist Basil Rakoczi, who was a prominent member of the Irish White Stag art group.
Sir John Lavery – The Croquet Party (1890-93). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £2,922,000, A WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR LAVERY
THE Croquet Party by Sir John Lavery comes up at Christie’s Modern British and Irish Art evening sale on March 22. The work powerfully showcases Lavery’s abiding interest in modern life, transforming a traditional group portrait into a dynamic composition that revels in the elegant fashions and pastimes of his subjects. It is estimated at £1,200,000-1,800,000. The auction is now online for browsing.
Paul Henry’s Lobster Fishermen off Achill made a hammer price of 200,000 at Whyte’s sale of Irish and International Art in Dublin this evening. Among other leading hammer prices were Sir John Lavery’s The Earl of Lonsdale KG 1931, 25,000; Louis le Brocquy, Adam, 22,000; John Shinnors, The baby, 20,000; Guggi, Vessels, 20,000; Patrick Scott, The White and Orange Device, 16,000 and Colin Middleton, Evening Boa Island, Co. Fermanagh, 16,000.
