This Chinese Chippendale display cabinet, possibly by Hicks of Dublin, dates to c1890-1910. The piece is unsigned, but that is not unusual with furniture made by Hicks during this period. It comes up at Sean Eacrett’s auction of 856 lots online on February 27 as lot 634 with an estimate of 3,000-5,000. The catalogue is online at easyliveauction.com. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Joseph Gibson, John Williams, James Warner, William Reynolds, Carden Terry Jane Williams, John Nicholson, Joseph Johns, William Ward and William Egan are names laden with meaning for collectors of Irish Provincial silver. They are all represented in the James Adam At Home timed online auction which will begin to close at 11 am on February 23. It is unusual to have such an array of Cork and Limerick makers in one auction.A pair of chased sauceboats by William Egan is dated to 1911. Otherwise all the pieces on offer – bowls, jugs, ladles, beakers, sugar tongs, serving spoons – range in date from 1760 to 1820. Estimates are from €120 for a c1820 fiddle pattern serving spoon by Joseph Gibson to €800, the top estimate for three lots: a pair of c1760 Hanoverian patterned spoons by Joseph Johns of Limerick; a pair of hook handle serving spoons by the same maker and a c1790 silver beaker by John Nicholson. Limerick silver is even rarer than Cork silver and a soup ladle by William Ward of Limerick is estimated at €300-€500.There are 431 lots on offer including more than 100 lots of furniture and 74 lots of jewellery. UPDATE: A pair of Hanoverian spoons c1760 and a pair of hook handled serving spoons c1760 both by Joseph Johns of Limerick made 4,200 and 2,000 respectively at hammer. A silver helmeted cream jug by James Warner, Cork made 1,500 and a c1790 sugar bowl by John Williams, Cork made 1,400.
Biophilia, the affinity between human beings and the natural world, is the title of this work by Deirdre Frost. The solo show by the Lavit Gallery Student of the Year, 2020 online until February 28 is all about nature and our man made environment. Using shapes and structures from discarded cardboard packaging she investigates the experience of the individual in the built environment and examines our relationship with the natural world through this prism. Oil paintings are created on a primed plywood surface, allowing the grain of wood to enhance and inform the composition. Deirdre Frost, originally from Inniscarra and now living in Cork city, is an artist and musician. She graduated from Cork School of Music in 2002 as a double bassist and bass guitarist and has worked with the RTE Concert Orchestra and taken part in a number of musicals at Cork Opera House and the Bord Gais Theatre. Frost began a BA in Fine Art at the Crawford in 2017, graduating in 2020 with numerous awards and bursaries.
Warrior by Jean Michel Basquiat is poised to become the most expensive Western artwork ever offered in Asia. It comes up at a live and livestreamed single lot sale by Christie’s in Hong Kong on March 23 with an estimate of US$31-41 million. The evening sale – We Are All Warriors – The Basquiat Auction – is part of the spring season of 20th century sales at Christie’s.
Painted in 1982 Basquiat’s Warrior is a commanding and authoritative portrait that amply demonstrates why the artist is regarded as one of the most important painters of the last half century. It comes up at a sale format that highlights Basquiat’s international appeal.
New York based artist Lawrence Weiner celebrates his 79th birthday with an exhibition at Dublin’s Kerlin Gallery. It is available to view online until lockdown restrictions live. The artist defines his sculptural medium simply as ‘language + the material referred to’ and sees himself as a sculptor rather than a conceptualist. The Dublin exhibition is comprised of three sculptures and three works on paper. The sculptures in text, ‘HELD JUST ABOVE THE CURRENT’, ‘IN LINE WITH SOMETHING ELSE’ and ‘PUT WITH THE OTHER THINGS’ are presented in Irish and English and are scaled to fill the length of the walls, creating a new, immersive experience in the gallery space.
Gustave Caillebotte’s Petit bras de la Seine près d’Argenteuil will highlight the sale of an exceptional private collection at Christie’s Paris on March 30. Assembled over four decades by a Parisian collector it focuses on modern and post-war art by artists such as Raoul Dufy, Alexander Calder, Maurice Utrillo, Serge Poliakoff and Sanyu. The collection brings together important international figures from the end of the 19th century to the 1950’s, illustrating the Parisian art scene from Post-Impressionism to the Ecole de Paris and the Seconde Ecole de Paris. Some works from the collection will be included in various owner sales in the first half of 2021.
UPDATE: THE SALE REALISED €9,323,000 WITH REGISTERED BIDDERS FROM 23 COUNTRIES.
Until we Meet Again by Jack B Yeats comes up at Christie’s Modern British Art evening sale in London on March 1. Painted in 1949 it personifies his expressionistic style of the late 1940’s. Characterised by dynamic brush strokes and thick impasto Christie’s say that Yeats’s treatment of the medium can be readily compared to the paintings of his European Expressionist contemporaries, most notably the work of his good friend Oskar Kokoschka. The work is estimated at £500,000-800,000. UPDATE: THIS MADE £598.500
An Edwardian dolls house, a marble topped giltwood console table and a Victorian rosewood work table are among the lots at Woodwards online only auction of antiques, fine art and collectibles ON February 13. This first sale of 2021 by the Cork auctioneers will include three house contents from residences in Douglas and Carrigaline. The selection on offer includes an inlaid walnut demi lune card table (€500-€800), a William IV breakfast table (€400-€500), a set of Georgian dining chairs (€400-€600), a large Iranian rug (€400-€600), a Georgian Pembroke table (€200-€400), a Coalbrookdale garden seat (€600-€800), a Georgian bureau bookcase (€400-€600), an Edwardian tea table (€200-€400) and a longcase clock by Sterling, Limerick (€400-€600). The dolls house is estimated at €300-€400, the Louis XV style console table at €400-€600 and the worktable at €300-€400. The auction will include a selection of mirrors, glassware, marine items, porcelian and paintings.
One of a pair of Art Deco style club armchairs at Hegarty’s timed online auction which runs from now until February 9. There is art, jewellery, glass and collectibles among more than 340 lots. The armchairs are estimated at 3,000-4,000 and the catalogue for the sale is online. UPDATE: THE ARMCHAIRS SOLD FOR 2,500 AT HAMMER
A triptych portrait of cervical cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan sold for a hammer price of £46,500 at Sheppards in Durrow today. Sold for Heroes Aid, a newly registered charity dedicated to healthcare workers during the pandemic, it is by the Tullamore based artist Vincent Devine. Vicky Phelan’s narrative is conveyed as past, present and future acted out on Doonbeg beach in the west of Ireland. The left-hand panel is dominated by a powerful assemblage of equine flesh and bone whose forward motion is suddenly halted. The sitter engages directly with the viewer in the centre panel. Events, both joyful and traumatic are rendered symbolically. Her outstretched right hand supports a bird, a young crimson rosella, representative of her daughter; on her left hand, her son as a sapling oak. Beneath her left foot, a colonnade represents a legal triumph while shamrocks close to her heart are emblematic of the continuous support she has received from the people of Ireland and beyond. In the right-hand panel a horse is looking backwards and a flickering candle reminds the viewer of the fragility of life itself. The portrait was unveiled on the Late Late Show in January. Vicky Phelan is currently trialling a new cancer drug in the US.
