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In Dublin viewing opens today for the online art auction which runs at James Adam until February 8. It features a number of lots by the late Fergus O’Ryan and a wide variety of artists. The sale will again be on view at St. Stephen’s Green on Sunday afternoon and on Monday. Pictured here is lot 131, an oil on canvas by Desmond Turner which is estimated at 300-500.
The peripatetic life of the 19th century Irish painter George Chinnery (1774-1852) took him from the Tipperary of his birth to London, then to Serampore in West Bengal via Madras, Calcutta and Dacca. Fleeing his creditors, he arrived in Macau in 1825 and made the island his home until his death in 1852. He became fascinated by the artistic possibilities of Macau’s shoreline and the local tradespeople going about their everyday lives. One of his paintings on this theme, A Tanka boat dwelling with Tanka boatwomen and pigs, Macau highlights Bonhams Travel and Exploration sale in Knightsbridge on March 2. It is estimated at £15,000-20,000.
Rhyanon Demery, Bonhams senior picture specialist, said: “A Tanka boat dwelling with Tanka boatwomen and pigs, Macau vividly depicts members of the Tanka people – a distinct and ancient ethnic group who lived along the shore of Macau. Often viewed as outcasts by the Chinese authorities Tankas lived on junks, tank being the Cantonese word for boat and ka the word for family. Today they are more usually known as Boat People and, although many have now built lives on dry land, they preserve the unique culture that so captivated George Chinnery nearly 200 years ago.”
Christie’s has announced the sale of the exceptional fine and decorative arts collection of legendary fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy (1927-2018), featuring more than 1,200 lots of French and European Furniture and works of art, including sculpture and paintings from Old Masters to Modern and Contemporary works. Each object was chosen with Hubert de Givenchy’s meticulous eye and reflects his exquisite taste. Drawn from two of de Givenchy’s most iconic and elegant homes—the Hôtel d’Orrouer in Paris and the Château du Jonchet in the Loire Valley—the collection includes many exceptional objects unseen on the market for decades as well as more recent works acquired towards the end of his collecting journey. Christie’s will offer this extraordinary collection at auction in Paris from June 14 to 17 (live sales) and from June 8 to 23 in a dedicated online sale. The timing of the announcement of the sale coincides with the 70th anniversary of the first haute couture collection Hubert de Givenchy presented in Paris on February 2, 1952, which was a resounding international success.
His family stated: “Through this sale, we are very pleased to be able to celebrate the exceptional taste of Hubert de Givenchy and his lifelong companion Philippe Venet. We wish to share the elegance and aesthetic heritage that they have passed on to us in order to inscribe their vision in the history of art and interior design in a universal way.”
This Irish wake table comes up as lot 440 at Victor Mee’s decorative interiors sale which takes place on February 2 and 3. It is estimated at 2,000-4,000. The auction of 1,272 lots kicks off at 5.30 pm on February 2. It includes a wide range of seating in a variety of styles, antique furniture, art and a good selection of collectibles and curiousities.
Joni Mitchell, who has joined Neil Young in asking for her music to be removed from Spotify over Covid misinformation concerns, has always thought of herself as a painter derailed by circumstances. “I sing my sorrow and I paint my joy” she said once. An artists proof by the singer songwriter of an original oil painting of Jimi Hendrix is one of many highly collectible highlights at Julien’s MusiCares charity relief auction live and online from Hollywood on January 30. Signed and framed by the writer of global hits like Both Sides Now, Big Yellow Taxi and Woodstock, it is estimated at $2,000-$4,000.
Christ & His Cousin: Renaissance Rediscoveries opens today at the National Gallery of Ireland. The exhibition showcases eight little-known restored sixteenth-century Italian paintings. For over a decade, the Gallery’s head of conservation Simone Mancini has carefully treated these paintings to reveal quality that was previously unrecognised. Exploring natural portrayals of human behaviour, such as warm and playful moments between the infants and the Madonna, these paintings tell the story of an imaginary encounter between a young Christ and his cousin, a meeting not referenced in the bible. According to the Bible, the two cousins did not meet until later in life, however, their relationship as children was described in later texts which proved incredibly popular and inspired many Italian artists to represent the two infant cousins in their works during the Renaissance period. Tying in with the exhibition, the paintings will be accompanied by four rare volumes drawn from the Gallery’s Library & Archives, some of which were instrumental in defining the development of sixteenth-century art. The exhibition runs until May 8.
There is furniture and jewellery to choose from at Hegarty’s live online auction from Bandon 2 pm on January 30. A late 18th century Georgian demi lune tea table has an appealing satinwood cross banded top and a flame mahogany frieze. It is estimated at €800-€900. An 18 carat white gold Ceylon sapphire and diamond cluster ring might be just the thing for Valentine’s Day but it does not come cheap. The sapphire weighs 4.72 carats and the ring is estimated at €12,000-€13,000. Among the collectibles on offer is a Cork silver salt spoon (€100-€200) and there are a number of items made by Tiffany including a 14 carat yellow gold compartmented pill box (€250-€450). The catalogue is online.
The Man of Sorrows by Botticelli sold for $45.5 million at Sotheby’s in New York on January 27. The hammer price was $39.3 million, just under the estimate of around $40 million. From an American collection the work had last changed hands in 1963 for £10,000. Works by Botticelli (about 1445-1510), best known for his various portraits of Madonna and Child, The Birth of Venus and Primavera, rarely appear on the auction market. The Man of Sorrows is one of only four of his late works known to be in private hands according to Sotheby’s.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for October 8, 2021 and January 2, 2022)
This oil on canvas by Gwen O’Dowd is entitled Claddagh 14 and comes up at the James Adam sale of the Jacqueline Stanley and Campbell Bruce collection. It is estimated at 700-1,000. Viewing for this timed online art sale gets underway in Dublin today and continues over the weekend and on Monday. Bidding is now open and it will begin to close from 1 pm on Tuesday, February 1.
The Study by Arthur Armstrong comes up at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current online sale of Irish art which runs until January 31. The oil on canvas measuring 13.6″ x 10.6″ is estimated at 600-900. The catalogue is online and the auction of 449 lots is on view in Skibbereen on today, tomorrow and Monday.
