Paul Henry – In Connemara. UPDATE: THIS MADE 90,000 AT HAMMER
This oil on panel by Paul Henry with an estimate of €90,000-€120,000 is among the leading lots at Whyte’s sale of Irish and International art in Dublin on September 29. Painted in the open air three cottages viewed from above are located in the bottom third of the image. In a catalogue note Dr. Mary Cosgrove observes that: The freedom and spontaneity that this little sketch demonstrates was learnt by Henry in Paris. The technique derives from the ébauche stage of the academic system of painting that affected the practice of landscape painting in particular and led to the development of Impressionism. Henry’s genius lay in amalgamating his artist’s eye with this training whilst still leaving space for the emotion to dwell in. At the same time he was painting what he saw and what people recognised, a new realism in Irish art.
NEW CORK AIRPORT MURAL BY Shane O’Driscoll & Peter Martin
The new Cork Airport Mural by Shane O’Driscoll and Peter Martin is the latest project by Ardú Street Art, the open-air gallery which has been working in Cork city since 2020. This years projects will bring more colour and creativity to the streets of the city. The Wonder of Travel at Cork Airport is the first of three projects in 2025. It celebrates the history of air travel through Cork Airport since 1961 while looking forward to a bright future and further development. The creation of two new large scale murals in the city centre is now underway. With deep roots in graffiti culture the multidisciplinary artist Kone.one is working at Water Street in the city centre. The other by Jo Hicks (aka Hixxy) is located at Liberty St. Ardu is supported by Creative Ireland, Cork City Council Arts Office, Pat McDonnell Paints, and Cork Airport.
Thorvald Hellesen – Abstract Constructivist Composition (Study) UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,000 AT HAMMER
Viewing is underway in Durrow for Sheppards evening sale of important Irish art on September 16. With 263 lots the sale spans two centuries, from 19th century landscapes from artists like William Ashford (1746-1824) to bold contemporary work from artists like Felim Egan and Sean Scully. My Country, a c1956 work by Dan O’Neill is estimated at €20,000-€30,000 as is Ballycastle Bay, Co. Mayo (2021) by Donald Teskey. There is sculpture by John Behan, Sionbhan Bulfin, Rory Breslin and others, a box set by Banksy of the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem City, Palestine, a watercolour by Jean Dufy and a c1920’s Abstract Constructivist Composition (Study) by the Norwegian artist Thorvald Hellesen (1888-1937), an early adopter of Cubism in Scandinavia, influenced by Leger and the Parisian avant-garde.
Getting to see Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Banksy, Julian Opie and Salvador Dale in Kerry – where Jack B Yeats went to study Irish in 1913 – is not an opportunity that arises every day. In latter years Gormley’s have attracted tens of thousands of people to exhibitions of Irish and international art and sculpture in luxurious settings like the K Club, the Culloden Estate and Spa and Castlemartyr Resort.
Set in stunning natural surroundings Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare will be added to this list from tomorrow.
There will be a striking collection of outdoor sculpture along with an exhibition of new work by the renowned Kerry artist Liam O’Neill. Art at the Falls runs from tomorrow until October 12, but there are certain days when it will be closed so it is advisable to check before travelling.
The artist Jack B Yeats spent time learning Irish in Kerry in 1913 and produced a series of landscapes from around Mount Brandon, Lough Gill, Castlegregory and Tralee Bay. A small oil on board from that period entitled Hot Weather/A Hot Day will feature at the sale of Important Irish Art at James Adam in Dublin on September 24. The estimate is €40,000-€60,000.
Jack B Yeats – Hot Weather/A Hot Day 1913. UPDATE: THIS MADE 69,OOO AT HAMMER
Some of the guns to be sold from the collection at Castle Matrix.
Hidden in plain sight the treasures of Castle Matrix – mostly to be sold without reserve at three online evening sales by Aidan Foley – are many and varied. Militaria, books and collectibles from a collector with an inquiring mind who led a fascinating life will come under the hammer.
Col. Sean O’Driscoll was aide to General Douglas MacArthur when he accepted the Japanese surrender in 1945. On retirement in 1961 the Irish-American officer bought and restored Castle Matrix near Rathkeale, originally built around 1420, opening it for mediaeval banquets in 1971. Castle Matrix served as headquarters of the International Institute of Military History and the Heraldry Society of Ireland and it remained open for tours until the colonel’s death in 1991.
A large rug and some uniforms
Take a deep dive into the auction by Aidan Foley in Doneraile on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday week (September 22, 23 and 24) and there is no knowing what you might find. More than 300 lots of books will be sold in an auction with a total of 997 lots.
The extensive library contains works on everything from war, ancient and modern Irish culture, English homes and Scottish castles to mystic Madame Blavatsky who once told WB Yeats: “There are only about half a dozen real Theosophists in the world. And one of those is stupid”. O’Driscoll must have had a real interest in the occult. His castle is reputedly haunted by the murdered 9th Earl of Desmond and in an address to the Fellowship of Isis in 1976 he claimed the poet Edmund Spenser, Sir Walter Raleigh and the wizard Earl of Desmond had practiced magic there.
Isis Unveiled by Madame Blavatsky
You can’t shoot a ghost but more than 50 guns from a military man and a collector are on offer. Flintlock pistols, double barrel shotguns, rifles with bayonets and even a Colt revolver along with accoutrements like an armoured tank telescope and the tunic of an American platoon sergeant are there to be picked up.
In storage at Collins Barracks, Cork over the years the guns will be sold under strict conditions. Some are decommissioned, others not, and no drug dealers need apply. There will be limited viewing of the firearms at the Doneraile auction rooms where the sale will be on view for four days from next Friday (September 19).
Many of the Japanese swords he collected with discrimination were sold by Whyte’s in 2017. Available now is a selection of art, Irish silver, Persian rugs, porcelain, antique and vintage furniture. Among the artists featured are Ivan Sutton, Markey Robinson, Graham Knuttel, John Kingerlee, James Humbert Craig, Michael Hales, Louis le Brocquy, Picasso (a lithograph) and pencil drawings by John Butler Yeats. The catalogue is online.
Mark O’Neill (b.1963) – Sunlight in the Old Town, Nice (2010). UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,000 AT HAMMER
This oil on board by Mark O’Neill is at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current Irish art online auction which runs until September 15. The estimate is €4,000-6,000. The auction offers a wide variety of artists, from Graham Knuttel and Mr. Brainwash to Sir William Orpen and Sean Scully. The catalogue is online.
William Gronow-Davis – Seefin Castle, Co. Galway at Sheppards. UPDATE: These were unsold
More than 60 years later the name John Profumo retains a whiff of scandal. The Tory politician resigned in 1963 after lying about his affair with Christine Keeler to the House of Commons – politicians caught out in a lie had to resign in those far off days – but ultimately rehabilitated himself through charity work in east London. It all adds interest to a pair of oils on board by William Gronow-Davis at Sheppards sale of Important Irish Art in Durrow on September 16.
The paintings of Seefin Castle near Craughwell were presented to Major Philip Profumo, younger brother of John, by the Galway Blazers. The presentation was made by members of the County Galway Hunt for the seasons 1966-69. Both paintings retain their original frames and presentation packs. The estimate is €2,000-€3,000.
The auction offers 263 lots of Irish and international art spanning two centuries. Top lots include a complete set of 14 Custom House Keystones representing Irish rivers by Rory Breslin along with art by William Ashford, Dan O’Neill, Peter Curling, Donald Teskey, James Brohan, James Humbert Craig and a watercolour by Jean Dufy. The catalogue is online and there will be viewing in Durrow from September 12 until September 15.
Donald Teskey – Ballycastle Bay, Co. Mayo (2021) UPDATE: THIS MADE 19,000 AT HAMMER
Ireland is changing and so is our art. The exhibition of New Irish Art at the Lavit Gallery in Cork reflects some of this. For this inaugural show the gallery with a long track record of support both for local and national artists has extended its reach. Cork is represented by Tom Climent, Deirdre Frost, Nuala O’Donovan and Amna Walayat, Galway by John Behan and Cecilia Danell, Clare by Kaye Maahs, Dublin by Samir Mahmood and Dominic Turner, Wicklow by Conor Walton, Sligo by Martha Quinn and Belfast by Jennifer Trouton. Not all are based in their counties and the New Irish part of the title references the idea of a more fluid and multi-cultural Irish society. Included in the show are artists represented by Solomon Fine Art, Taylor Galleries and the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery. It runs until September 27.
Claude Lalanne – Unique Structure Vegetale bed. UPDATE: THIS MADE £889,000
Prices everywhere are skyrocketing so how about a bed for €346,000. Not imaginary, not just any old bed and probably not a bad investment. The Unique Structure Vegetale bed in gold patinated bronze was commissioned directly from Claude Lalanne in 2012 by Pauline Karpidas. It is described by Sotheby’s, who estimate it at £200,000-£300,000 (€230,880-€346,000), as a fusion of nature, surrealism and personal sanctuary.
Pauline Karpidas first met the Lalannes – Francois Xavier (1927-2008) and Claude (1924-2019) – in 1978 at their magical home and workshop at Ury, outside Paris, in 1978. Long before they became synonymous with global superstardom in the worlds of art and interiors she was one of their first collectors. No less than 60 works by Les Lalannes, including many uniquely designed commissions, will feature at Sotheby’s day and evening sales of her collection on September 17 and 18 and the online sale which runs from September 8 until September 19.
Claude Lalanne – detail, Structure Vegetale
The Surrealistic contents of the London home of this trailblazing collector, 250 lots with an estimate of £60 million (€69.34 million) in total, constitute the most valuable designated collection ever to be offered in Europe. She shares with Les Lalannes a knack of seamlessly merging high art and functional living and the sale offers masterpieces by Hans Bellmer, Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy, René Magritte, Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons.
Leonora Carrington – The Hour of the Angelus. UPDATE: THIS MADE £952,500
Among them are La Statue volante (The Flying Statue), one of Magritte’s most enigmatic paintings from the last decade of his career (£9 million – £12 million)(€10.4 million – €13.87 million). A 1949 work by Leonora Carrington, The Hour of the Angelus (£600,000-£800,000)(€693,420-€924,560) reflects the inspiration she drew from Mexico’s traditions where Aztec, Mayan and Catholic beliefs coexisted in harmony. It echoes the myths passed down to Carrington by her Irish grandmother. The treasure trove of paintings includes two works by Andy Warhol inspired by Munch, his favourite artist alongside Henri Matisse.
The Manchester born collector credits her late husband Constantine (Dinos) Karpidas, a Greek shipping magnate, with opening her eyes to the beauty of wonderful things. After coming face to face with exceptional Surrealist paintings at the Athens home of gallerist Alexander Iolas in 1974 her love of art took on an entirely new life. She studied Surrealism, visiting galleries and libraries and museums and became friends with Les Lalanne, Warhol and others along the way. This is the lifetime journey of a true collector who honed her eye and her sensibility as she delved deep into her subject.
An immersive exhibition telling the story of the journey of Pauline Karpidas over half a century gets underway at Sotheby’s in London on September 8.
Rene Magritte – La Statue volante. UPDATE: THIS MADE £10,120,000
Portraits of renowned Irish actors Ruth Negga and Stephen Rea have been unveiled at the National Gallery of Ireland. The works are by Dublin painter David Booth (Ruth, 2025, oil on board) and Wicklow-based photographer David Stephenson (Stephen Rea (b.1946 Belfast), actor, 2025, photograph on archival paper). Both artists were winners of the Portrait Prize at the National Gallery of Ireland: Booth in 2022 for his work Salvatore, a portrait of his friend and fellow artist Salvatore of Lucan; and Stephenson in 2023 for his photograph Ann and Ollie, Main Street, Wexford.
Actor and producer Ruth Negga was born in Addis Ababa, raised in Limerick, and studied at Trinity College Dublin and the British American Drama Academy. She is known for her critically acclaimed performances on stage and screen, among them roles in the movies Breakfast on Pluto (2005), Loving (2021) and Passing (2021). She has appeared in many television productions, and received several nominations and awards. In 2025 she received her second Emmy nomination, for her role in the television series Presumed Innocent. In 2017, she received an Oscar nomination in the Actress in a Lead Role category for her performance in Loving, directed by Jeff Nichols.
Actor Stephen Rea was born in Belfast. He attended Belfast High School and Queen’s University before enrolling at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin. His international breakthrough came with his portrayal of Fergus in The Crying Game (1992), directed by Neil Jordan, for which he received an Oscar nomination. Other movie credits include Interview with a Vampire (1994), Michael Collins (1996), and The End of the Affair (1999). He has been involved in several notable television productions. Rea has also enjoyed a celebrated career on stage, collaborating on several occasions with American playwright Sam Shepard. Rea has received many nominations and awards for his performances on stage and screen, and has been conferred with honorary degrees from both Queen’s University, Belfast, and the University of Ulster.
