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THE summer art and collectibles sales by Dolan’s at Ballyconneely in Connemara on August 3 and 4 are now on view, and the auctions will be online only at 12.30 p.m. on each day. There is a range of Irish art, including various treatments of the landscapes of the west of Ireland, included among work by established and emerging artists.
There was a welcome shot in the arm for the fundraising efforts of a hospital in Bethlehem this evening thanks to a very generous charitable donation by the anonymous street artist Banksy. His trio of found seascape paintings reworked into a pointed response to the refugee crisis sold for £2,235,000 at Sotheby’s cross departmental global online Rembrandt to Richter sale. The tripartite work by Banksy, Mediterranean Sea View 2017, features empty orange life jackets symbolising European bound migrants who drowned.
Donated by the artist the paintings had been estimated at £800,000-1.2 million. They were the focus of spirited bidding. Since being created they have hung above the fireplace of Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem in Jerusalem’s West Bank. The proceeds will go towards a new acute stroke unit and children’s rehabilitation equipment at the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation.
The flagship summer Rembrandt to Richter sale realised £150 million.
A small self-portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn made £14,549,400 setting a new auction record for a self-portrait by the artist at auction at Sotheby’s marquee sale in London today. It was chased by six bidders. The previous record of £6.9 million for a self-portrait by the artist was in 2003.
Rembrandt recorded his own physiognomy in no fewer than 80 paintings, etchings and drawings, throughout his career. Dated to 1632, this self-portrait of the artist aged 26-years, was created at a pivotal moment in his life, when he was just establishing himself in Amsterdam and enjoying new-found commercial success. The work is one of only two self-portraits in which he shows himself formally dressed. Self-portrait, wearing a ruff and black hat is one of only three remaining in private hands. Sotheby’s believe it is the only one ever likely to come to auction.
More than 300 lots including a Georgian solid oak Welsh dresser will come under the hammer at Hegarty’s online sale in Bandon at 6 pm on July 28. The Georgian dresser, with open shelves and six small drawers, is estimated at €2,600-€2,800; a 19th century Irish oak and mahogany inlaid dresser has an estimate of €700-€1,000. Other prime furniture pieces include a c1790 satinwood card table with canted corners (€800-€1,000), an early 19th century simulated rosewood chaise longue (€1,400-€1,600) and a Georgian Chinoiserie corner cabinet (€2,500-€3,500). An 18 carat white gold ring with fancy yellow pear shaped diamond surrounded by two rows of brilliant cut diamonds is estimated at €2,300-€2,600, a hand knotted Tabriz rug has an estimate of €1,400-€1,500 and a set of silver condiment containers is estimated at €50-€100.
From 1960’s Italian armchairs and a chaise longue designed by Le Corbusier to the art of Bridget Riley, John Doherty and Callum Innes the Mid Century Modern sale at Adams in Dublin at 2 pm on July 28 represents modernity in all its glorious diversity. The catalogue will undoubtedly appeal to well heeled younger collectors who still tend to turn their backs on the glories of previous ages, more is the pity. The rewards of a keen appreciation for art, craft, skill, creativity and design span every era and can eclipse the angst of this one. If lockdown has highlighted a necessity for change in your domestic environment this sale offers a chance to pick up a conversation piece, brighten up a dull corner and generally ease the pain of a pandemic that is not going away.
Would a c1960 Italian sideboard by Dassi (€2,000-€3,000) offer both form and function to suit you? An appealing set of six c1940 dining chairs in the manner of Louis Majorelle (€1,000-€1,500) would look good anywhere and could be set off to great effect with Pink Dawn by Felim Egan (€4,000-€6,000). A rosewood swivel chair by Ico Parisi for Mim (€600-€800) would definitely draw the eye at a zoom meeting in your home office.The most expensively estimated lots in the sale are all artworks, headed by Untitled No. 76 (2010) by Callum Innes (€15,000-€20,000). The most expensive furniture lots are a pair of upholstered lounge chairs and a pair of glass topped tables both by Ico Parisi and estimated at €4,000-€6,000.The sale offers Murano glass, a black lacquered console table, ceiling lights, floor lights, wall lights and lamps, Eames chairs, tables, drinks trolleys and lockers in a variety of styles and designs.
Going Quietly to Post by Peter Curling is among the lots at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale of affordable Irish art which runs to the evening of July 27. Based in Cashel, Co. Tipperary the artist is widely appreciated for his hunting and horse racing paintings. The 1973 watercolour and pen drawing is estimated at 1,000-1,500. The catalogue for the sale is online and it features work by Arthur Maderson, Jack B. Yeats, Cecil Maguire, Tony O’Malley, Barbara Warren, Graham Knuttel, Markey Robinson, Majella O’Neill Collins and many other artists.
TOP lots at de Veres sale of outstanding Irish Art and Sculpture online in Dublin this evening included the following hammer prices: The Street Performer by Jack B. Yeats (184,000); Achill Cottage, Lough Corrib by Pau Henry (116,000); Life Study by Louis le Brocquy (114,000); Head of Francis Bacon by le Brocquy (90,000) and Peonies and Iris in a vase and a bowl of fruit by Roderic O’Conor (78,000). The most expensively estimated lot in the auction, Double Window by Sean Scully (600,000-900,000) failed to sell.
The auction totalled 1.25 million and 85% of lots were sold.
Sir Robert Walpole, widely regarded as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain under George I and George II, once owned this c1480 Portrait of a Man holding a Prayer Book by a Burgundian Master. It comes up as Lot 6 at Christie’s Classic Art evening sale, Antiquity to the 20th century, in London on July 29 with an estimate of £400,000-600,000.
A total of 74 lots of Irish art and sculpture come up at de Veres in Dublin on July 23. Bidding opened on July 13 for an auction which includes major work by leading artists like Sean Scully, Louis le Brocquy and Jack Butler Yeats. There is work from sculptors including Oisin Kelly, Rowan Gillespie, Orla de Bri, Eilis O’Connell and John Behan. Pictured here is The Spanish Fruit Seller by Mary Swanzy, estimated at 15,000-20,000.
The Garden of Orpheus, Summer (1985) by Tony O’Malley is among the highlights at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current sale of Irish and International Art. The online auction runs to the evening of July 20 between 6.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. The catalogue is online.
