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    ADVENTURE CAPITAL BY SEAN LYNCH AT THE RHA

    Wednesday, July 13th, 2016
    Pictured at the RHA launch are artist Sean Lynch and Curator of Adventure: Capital and Director of EVA International, Woodrow Kernohan. Pic: Marc O'Sullivan

    Pictured at the RHA launch are artist Sean Lynch and Curator of Adventure: Capital and Director of EVA International, Woodrow Kernohan. Pic: Marc O’Sullivan

    The official tour of Ireland’s entry into the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015 Adventure: Capital by artist Sean Lynch is at the RHA Gallery in Dublin until August 21. Combining sculpture, video and graphic elements, Adventure: Capital explores the allegories and underlying narratives of the contemporary architectural and social environment – through encounters with the sculptures of John Burke, the quarries of Cornwall, megalithic ‘cursing’ stones, urban vandalism, and Irish Free State banknotes.

    Alongside Adventure: Capital, Lynch presents a new video installation, Campaign to Change the National Monuments Acts (2016), that investigates the legal status of metal detectors in Ireland. Following controversy around the unearthing of a medieval treasure trove,  the Derrynaflan Hoard, in the 1980s, the Irish state placed a blanket ban on the public use of all devices used to search for archaeological objects. This legislation effectively destroyed the fledgling Irish metal detectorist community of Ireland. Using the tropes of promotional videos, Campaign to Change the National Monuments Acts advocates for a change in these authoritarian laws. Ideas of nationhood, individual freedom, and the need for new forms of community-led heritage are all explored on a journey narrated by Lynch’s long-time collaborator Gina Moxley.

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    SUCCESSFUL SUMMER SALE AT MEALY’S, CASTLECOMER

    Tuesday, July 12th, 2016

    A painting attributed to Franz Snyders (1579-1657) made a hammer price of 37,000 at Mealy’s summer sale in Castlecomer today. It had been estimated at 35,000-55,000.  The auction included paintings, furniture, silver, glass, ceramics and decorative objects from the collection of art history Professor Anne Crookshank, now living in retirement in Donegal.  The Francis Johnston (PRHA) gold medal presented to Anne Crookshank in 2004 sold for 750 and a large Regency period Irish circular dining table made a hammer price of 5,000 in a successful sale where most lots found buyers.

    The sale realised 240,000 with 77% of lots sold.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for July 9, 2016)

    THE FRANCIS JOHNSTON (PRHA) 9K GOLD MEDALLION, presented to Anne Crookshank made 750 at hammer.

    THE FRANCIS JOHNSTON (PRHA) 9K GOLD MEDALLION, presented to Anne Crookshank made 750 at hammer.

    An Irish regency mahogany circular table made 5,000 at hammer.

    An Irish regency mahogany circular table made 5,000 at hammer.

    This unusual 19th century flip top occasional table sold for 375 at hammer

    This unusual 19th century flip top occasional table sold for 375 at hammer

    This French provincial walnut commode sold for 900 at hammer.

    This French provincial walnut commode sold for 900 at hammer.

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    A MEISSEN EWER AND AN ARTWORK ATTRIBUTED TO FRANZ SNYDERS

    Saturday, July 9th, 2016

    The 660 lot summer sale by Mealy’s in Castlecomer on July 12 offers treasures including a Meissen porcelain ewer emblematic of the element fire (7,000-11,000), a painting of a Wild Boar attacked by a pack of dogs attributed to Franz Snyders (35,000-55,000) and a heavy large Georgian carved white mantle piece. This most interesting auction will include Oriental and European porcelain, antique furniture, portraits, silver and paintings.  The catalogue is online and live internet bidding is available.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for July 6, 2016)

    A Chinese porcelain butterfly vase

    A Chinese porcelain butterfly vase  UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,000 AT HAMMER

    A HEAVY LATE GEORGIAN CARVED WHITE MARBLE MANTEL PIECE

    A HEAVY LATE GEORGIAN CARVED WHITE MARBLE MANTEL PIECE  UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,400 AT HAMMER

    A FACSIMILE REPRODUCTION OF A MASTERPIECE, Les Tres Riches Heures de Jean, Duc de Berry,edited by Franco Cosimo Panini, copy 508/550,

    A FACSIMILE REPRODUCTION OF A MASTERPIECE, Les Tres Riches Heures de Jean, Duc de Berry,edited by Franco Cosimo Panini, copy 508/550, UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,900 AT HAMMER

    A wild boar attacked by a pack of dogs attributed to Franz Snyders

    A wild boar attacked by a pack of dogs attributed to Franz Snyders  UPDATE: THIS MADE 37,000 ON THE HAMMER

    A Meissen ewer representing the element fire.

    A Meissen ewer representing the element fire.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 12,000 AT HAMMER

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    RUSSBOROUGH ARTWORKS SOLD AT CHRISTIE’S

    Friday, July 8th, 2016

    Three works of art from the Alfred Beit Foundation at Russborough House in Co. Wicklow, originally due to have been sold at Christie’s in London a year ago, were sold this week.  Venus Supplicating Jupiter by Sir Peter Paul Rubens sold for £1,314,500.  Two Views of Venice by Francesco Guardi each sold for  £164,500.  There was controversy over the sale by the Foundation, a charitable trust at runs Russborough, which led to its postponement.  The Trust said they needed the money for necessary repairs and maintenance.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 1, 2015)

    SIR PETER PAUL RUBENS (SIEGEN, WESTPHALIA 1577-1640 ANTWERP) VENUS SUPPLICATING JUPITER sold for £1,314,500

    SIR PETER PAUL RUBENS (SIEGEN, WESTPHALIA 1577-1640 ANTWERP)
    VENUS SUPPLICATING JUPITER sold for £1,314,500

    Francesco Guardi - Piazza San Marco, Venice sold for £164,500

    Francesco Guardi – Piazza San Marco, Venice sold for £164,500

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    THE HIGHEST PRICE EVER ACHIEVED BY AN OLD MASTER AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, July 7th, 2016
    SIR PETER PAUL RUBENS (Seigen 1577-1640 Antwerp), Lot and his Daughters, circa 1613-1614. Courtesy CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2016

    SIR PETER PAUL RUBENS (Seigen 1577-1640 Antwerp), Lot and his Daughters, circa 1613-1614. Courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2016

    Peter Paul Rubens’s Lot and his Daughters) achieved £44,882,500, the highest price ever achieved for an Old Master painting at Christie’s in London this evening. Painted c1613-14 it was sold to a collector on the phone in Christie’s Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale, part of Classic Week in London. The hammer came down after a bidding battle lasting fourteen minutes.  There were four bidders involved. One of the most important paintings by the artist to have remained in private hands, it is an outstanding example of Rubens’s early maturity.

    “The sale of this significant painting demonstrates that Christie’s continues to lead the masterpiece market at auction and in this field. A stunning work of psychological complexity, Lot and his Daughters was created at a time when Rubens’s reputation as the most renowned artists in Antwerp had already placed him firmly at the centre of the European artistic stage.” said Paul Raison, Deputy Chairman, Old Master Pictures. Lot and his Daughters boasts a distinguished provenance, once forming part of the collections of wealthy Antwerp merchants; a Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands; Joseph I Holy Roman Emperor; and the Dukes of Marlborough where it hung in Blenheim Palace and was sold in its original Blenheim frame. This biblical canvas illustrates the events after Lot and his family have fled the immoral city of Sodom having escaped to the desolate mountain town of Zoar.

    It was the second highest price ever paid for an Old Master painting at auction. The record is also held by Rubens whose The Massacre of the Innocents sold for £49,506,648 at auction in 2002.  The Old Master and British Evening Sale totalled  £65,390,100 achieving sell through rates of 93% by value and 77% by lot.  UPDATE: This turned out to be the highest price paid for a painting at auction in Europe in 2016.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for March 11, 2016)

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    WORLD AUCTION RECORDS FOR MASTERPIECES AT SOTHEBY’S

    Thursday, July 7th, 2016

    There was world auction records for Jean Etienne Leotard, Jan Brueghel the Elder and a work on paper by Sir Peter Lely at two days of sales of masterpieces from the past at Sotheby’s in London this week.  The auctions attracted collectors from over 50 countries and a participation at sales of Old Master paintings, sculpture, works of art and drawings that was up by 40%.  The four sales brought a combined total of £31,831,191.   A Dutch Girl at Breakfast by Jean Etienne Leotard made £4,405,000: Still Life of flowers in a stoneware vase by Jan Brueghel the Elder made £3,845,000 and a self portrait by Sir Peter Lely sold for £869,000.  The Orpheus Cup sold for £1.06 million.

    Jean Etienne Liotard - A Dutch Girl at Breakfast

    Jean Etienne Liotard – A Dutch Girl at Breakfast

    Jan Brueghel the Elder - A still life with flowers in a stoneware vase

    Jan Brueghel the Elder – A still life with flowers in a stoneware vase

    Sir Peter Lely's self portrait.

    Sir Peter Lely’s self portrait.

    SOUTH GERMAN, AUGSBURG, AROUND 1600 THE ROTHSCHILD ORPHEUS CUP

    SOUTH GERMAN, AUGSBURG, AROUND 1600
    THE ROTHSCHILD ORPHEUS CUP

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    A PORTRAIT ATTRIBUTED TO MARTIN CREGAN AT MEALY’S

    Wednesday, July 6th, 2016
    Attributed to Martin Cregan (1788-1870) - Portrait of a Lady

    Attributed to Martin Cregan (1788-1870) – Portrait of a Lady (700-1,100) UPDATE:  THIS MADE 550 AT HAMMER

    This portrait of a lady, by repute Lady Mary Stewart, by Martin Cregan comes up at Mealy’s summer sale in Castlecomer on July 12.  A noted portrait painter Martin Cregan (1788-1870) was one of the founders of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1823. Subsequently as president of the RHA Cregan, who was very involved with artistic circles in London, became anxious about the quality and standards in the annual RHA exhibition in Ireland. So he wrote to his friend John Constable for assistance.  Constable replied by sending two pictures for inclusion in the Irish annual exhibition.

    Mealy’s sale includes paintings, furniture, silver, ceramics, glass, rare books, works of art, and other decorative arts, from the collection of Professor Anne Crookshank, one of Ireland’s most distinguished art historians. Formerly Keeper of Art at the Ulster Museum, Belfast, Professor Crookshank founded the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Trinity College Dublin and has played a leading role in the establishing of Irish art history.  She now lives in retirement in Donegal.

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    NEW WORK BY BRIAN MAGUIRE AT KERLIN

    Sunday, July 3rd, 2016
    Brian Maguire - Over Our Heads the Hollow Seas Closed Up, 2016, acrylic on linen

    Brian Maguire – Over Our Heads the Hollow Seas Closed Up, 2016, acrylic on linenerline

    Over our heads the Hollow Seas Closed Up is the title of an exhibition  of new work by the celebrated Irish artist Brian Maguire at Kerlin Gallery in Dublin until August 20.  In these paintings Maguire directly confronts issues of human migration, displacement and dignity in the face of current global unrest.  Maguire has approached painting as an act of solidarity since early in his career in the 1970’s, working in shelters, prisons and psychiatric institutions to produce art that deeply challenges the viewer.  The title is taken from Primo Levi’s If This be a Man, which in turn is quoting from Dante’s Inferno.

    The paintings in this exhibition are some of Maguire’s most nuanced and ambitious to date, which he has crafted with larger brushes and thinned-down acrylic on canvas. He works slowly, using photographic sources, searching for that point where illustration ceases and art begins. This growing contrast between the seductive painterly aesthetic and the subject matter only adds to the potential impact of these formidable canvases.

    Maguire’s most recent solo exhibitions include The Void, Derry (2015–2016); and Fergus McCaffrey, New York (2015). Group exhibitions and biennales include the Irish Museum of Modern Art; WIELS, Brussels; VISUAL, Carlow; Dublin CityGallery The Hugh Lane; National Gallery of Contemporary Art, Korea; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan; Dublin Contemporary (2011); the Beijing Biennale (2008) and the 24th S?o Paolo Bienal (1998).

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    THE WARWICK VASE FROM HADRIAN’S VILLA AT MASTERPIECE

    Friday, July 1st, 2016
    The monumental Warwick Vase.

    The monumental Warwick Vase.

    The massive mid 19th century Warwick Vase is a highlight at Anthony Outred’s stand at Masterpiece, which runs until next Wednesday at the Royal Hospital at Chelsea in London. It is of ancient Roman origin and Bacchic inspiration and was discovered in fragments at Hadrian’s Villa in 1771 by Gavin Hamilton. It was restored to Piranesi’s designs by Sir William Hamilton and passed to his nephew George Greville, Second Earl of Warwick. It now resides in Glasgow as part of the Burrell Collection.

    England is represented on the stand by a pair of panoramic views of Westminster that span 300 years.  One shows the buildings of 1895, the other is based on engravings from the time of Henry VIII.  They are based on aerial studies and engravings by English artists William Brewer and William Lionel Wyllie executed from a balloon 1,400 up.  They were published in May 1884 in the weekly illustrated magazine The Graphic.

    Westminster in the late 19th century

    Westminster in the late 19th century

    A view of Westminster c1584.

    A view of Westminster c1584.

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    RECORDS TUMBLE AT CHRISTIE’S DEFINING BRITISH ART 250TH ANNIVERSARY SALE

    Thursday, June 30th, 2016
    Henry Moore - Festival. The 1951 work was commissioned for the Festival of Britain.

    Henry Moore – Festival. The 1951 work was commissioned for the Festival of Britain.

    Christie’s Defining British Art: Evening Sale, curated as part of the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the company, was led by an iconic sculpture by Henry Moore in London tonight. His Reclining Figure, Festival sold for a record £24.7 million in a sale that brought in £99,479,500. There were records for Frank Auerbach, Lynn Chadwick, Frederick Lord Leighton, Henry Moore, Samuel John Peploe, Bridget Riley, David Roberts and Thomas Daneill. Registered bidders from 32 countries from across four continents demonstrated continuing global demand. The sale was 87% sold by lot and 83% sold by value.  The diverse works of art represented provided a journey through British art over four centuries. Version No. 2 of Lying Figure with Hypodermic Syringe by Francis Bacon made £20.2 million.

    Ever since James Christie first opened his doors in 1766 the company has championed art and artists and artists like Reynolds and Gainsborough were regular visitors to the rooms in early years.

     “We saw global participation tonight with strong bidding from the Americas and are very pleased with establishing so many artist world records in this sale that celebrated British art and our long relationship with artists and collectors,” said Jussi Pylkkänen, Global President and lead auctioneer. “We thank all our clients, vendors and buyers, past, present or future, for entrusting us now and over the centuries with the safe passage of precious and historic objects – from one country to another, and from one generation to its successor.”

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for June 2 and June 9, 2016)

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