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    ROMAN EMPEROR BUSTS FROM GUINNESS FAMILY COLLECTION

    Friday, July 3rd, 2015

    A pair of white marble busts of Roman Emperors from the Guinness family come up at Sotheby’s in London on July 9.  Estimated at £50,000-70,000 the late 17th/early 18th century busts are classified as Irish or British.  By tradition they were in the collection of the Earls of Mayo, Palmerstown House, Co. Kildare and in the collection of Desmond Guinness at Leixlip Castle from around 1960 and thence by family descent.  Sotheby’s say the over life size busts are likely to have been carved  by a Flemish or Dutch sculptor operating in Britain or Ireland.  The pre-eminent sculptors active at that time were Dutch or Flemings drawn to the country in the wake of the Restoration.  The figures will come up at the sale of Old Master Sculpture and works of art.

    UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD

    One from a pair of monumental busts of Roman Emperors.

    One from a pair of monumental busts of Roman Emperors.

    One from a pair of monumental busts of Roman Emperors

    One from a pair of monumental busts of Roman Emperors

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    ONE DOLLAR BILL BY ANDY WARHOL SELLS FOR £20.9 MILLION

    Wednesday, July 1st, 2015
    Andy Warhol - One Dollar Bill (Silver Certificate) sold for £20.9 million.

    Andy Warhol – One Dollar Bill (Silver Certificate) sold for £20.9 million.

    Andy Warhol’s One Dollar Bill made £20.9 million to become the top lot at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art sale in London tonight. Painted in 1962 it was his first dollar painting. The sale brought in £130.4 million, a 40% increase on the same sale a year ago.  However the painting billed as the highlight of the sale, a Francis Bacon Pope, did not sell and neither did two Warhol silkscreens. Nonetheless this was the highest ever total for an auction of contemporary art in Europe. Two newly discovered works by Francis Bacon made £30 million and Four Eggs on a Plate, a present from Lucian Freud to the late Dowager Duchess of Devonshire made just short of one million after being chased by seven bidders.

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 26, June 9 and June 1, 2015).

    Francis Bacon - Three Studies for a Self-Portrait (1980) sold for £14.7 million.

    Francis Bacon – Three Studies for a Self-Portrait (1980) sold for £14.7 million.

    Francis Bacon - Self-Portrait 1975 sold for £15.3 million..

    Francis Bacon – Self-Portrait 1975 sold for £15.3 million..

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    FRANCIS BACON TOPS CHRISTIE’S £95.6 MILLION SALE IN LONDON

    Wednesday, July 1st, 2015
    Bidding in progress for Bacon's Study for Head of Isabel Rawsthorne and George Dyer.

    Bidding in progress for Bacon’s Study for Head of Isabel Rawsthorne and George Dyer.

    Francis Bacon’s Study for Head of Isabel Rawsthorne and George Dyer  was the top lot at Christie’s post war and contemporary art evening sale in London last night. It made £12,178,500 in an auction that achieved £95,646,500.  Bidding was particularly active for collections from the Museum of Old and New Art (£4,630,000) and The Jacobs Collection (£6,993,000).  There was enthusiasm for artists including Jean Dubuffet, Richard Hamilton and Morris Louis.

    Bidders from 34 countries across three continents competed for works by exciting contemporary artists alongside classics of the category. Records included Chris Ofili’s Holy Virgin Mary (£2,882,500), Malcolm Morley (£1,202,500), R.H Quaytman (£578,500), Jeff Elrod (£218,500), Brent Wadden (£122,500) and The Chapman Brothers (£422,500). Christie’s said the auction showed further evidence of the momentum in market that has been witnessed over a record-breaking season of sales for Christie’s across Europe and the US, with strong results not only in New York but also Amsterdam, Milan and Paris.

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    AN ABUNDANT SELECTION AT SHEPPARDS

    Monday, June 29th, 2015
    Fine furniture, Oriental porcelain, carpets and rugs, art, silver, jewellery and collectibles come up in abundance at Sheppards two day sale in Durrow, Co. Laois on June 30 and July 1. A c1780 carved gilt wood Chippendale pier mirror is estimated at 8,000-12,000 while an Arts and Craft silver serving spoon is estimated at just 50-80. The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for June 19, 2015).

    Irish eighteenth-century period silver table, circa 1760 (6,000-9,000)

    Irish eighteenth-century period silver table, circa 1760 (6,000-9,000)

    Irish nineteenth-century carved gilt wood centre table (14,000-18,000)

    Irish nineteenth-century carved gilt wood centre table (14,000-18,000)

    John Singleton Copley (1737-1813) Portrait of a gentleman (15,000-25,000).

    John Singleton Copley (1737-1813) Portrait of a gentleman (15,000-25,000).

    A Coalbrookedale garden seat (1,400-1,800).

    A Coalbrookedale garden seat (1,400-1,800).

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    A CONTEMPORARY ART SALE SET TO BE MOST VALUABLE EVER IN EUROPE

    Friday, June 26th, 2015

    The Contemporary art evening auction at Sotheby’s on July 1 is set to be the most valuable sale of its kind ever staged in Europe.  The sale features masterpieces by the greatest names in contemporary art including Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Lucien Freud, Gerhard Richter and David Hockney.  The pre-sale estimate if £143.2-204.6 million.

    Sotheby’s announced today that the Impressionist and Modern art sales series at Sotheby’s in London this week achieved a combined total of £207.8 million, an increase of almost 40%  on last years equivalent sales. There was a 10% increase in participation and global reach went up by almost 20%. Here are some of the upcoming contemporary lots.

    UPDATE:  The auction realised £130,376,500.

    David Hockney ARRANGED FELLED TREES Estimate: £1,500,000 — 2,000,000

    David Hockney
    ARRANGED FELLED TREES
    Estimate: £1,500,000 — 2,000,000  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £3.4 MILLION

    Gerhard Richter A B, BRICK TOWER signed, dated 1987 (£12-16 million)

    Gerhard Richter
    A B, BRICK TOWER
    signed, dated 1987 (£12-16 million) UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £14,149,000

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    IRISH ART AND SCULPTURE AT MORGAN O’DRISCOLL

    Friday, June 26th, 2015

    The catalogue for Morgan O’Driscoll’s latest off the wall online auction of Irish art is now live.  It features a variety of affordable artworks including sculpture.  The sale runs until July 6 at 6.30 pm.  Here is a small selection:

    Daniel O'Neill (1920-1974) Ruined Cottage, Rathmullen (8,000-12,000)

    Daniel O’Neill (1920-1974)
    Ruined Cottage, Rathmullen (8,000-12,000)  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Jan Sweeney (b.1939) Harry the Hare bronze sculpture edition 1/12 (2,000-3,000)

    Jan Sweeney (b.1939)
    Harry the Hare
    bronze sculpture edition 1/12 (2,000-3,000)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,600 AT HAMMER

    ohn Behan RHA (b.1938) Famine Ship bronze sculpture edition 1/9 (2,500-3,500)

    John Behan RHA (b.1938)
    Famine Ship
    bronze sculpture edition 1/9 (2,500-3,500)  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 2,600 AT HAMMER

    William Conor RHA RUA ROI (1881-1968) Bringing Home The Turf (3,000-4,000)

    William Conor RHA RUA ROI (1881-1968)
    Bringing Home The Turf (3,000-4,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,600

    George Gillespie RUA (1924-1996) River Derg (2,000-3,000)

    George Gillespie RUA (1924-1996)
    River Derg (2,000-3,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500 AT HAMMER

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    JOHN CRAXTON’S SEATED FIGURE THE TOP LOT AT ADAMS

    Thursday, June 25th, 2015

    John Craxton’s Seated Figure was the top lot at the James Adam sale of the collection of Conor Fallon and Nancy Wynne-Jones in Dublin last night. It made 40,000 at hammer.  Craxton, who died in 2009, once shared a studio with Lucian Freud and was the subject of a retrospective at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1967.  Composition in Blue by Peter Kinley sold for a hammer price of 15,000, Trout by Conor Fallon made 8,000, Interior with Figure, St. Ives by Tony O’Malley made 6,400, Church Town, Zennor by Peter Lanyon made 4,800, Kinsale Harbour by Nancy Wynne Jones made 2,600 and La Rencontre by Michael Farrell made 7,500.

    Seated Figure by John Craxton made 40,000.

    Seated Figure by John Craxton made 40,000.

    Trout by Conor Fallon made 8,000 at hammer

    Trout by Conor Fallon made 8,000 at hammer

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    SEVEN WORKS SELL FOR MORE THAN £10 MILLION AT SOTHEBY’S

    Wednesday, June 24th, 2015
    Klimt's portrait of Gertrud Loew sold for £39.1 million.

    Klimt’s portrait of Gertrud Loew sold for £39.1 million.

    Petite danseuse by Edgar Degas sold for a record of £15.8 million.

    Petite danseuse by Edgar Degas sold for a record of £15.8 million.

    No less than seven works sold for more than £10 million at Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern art sale in London this evening. Gustav Klimt’s portrait of Gertrud Loew made £39.1 million;  Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematism, 18th construction sold for £21.4 million; Manet’s Le Bar aux Folies Bergere made £16.9 million and there was a record for a sculpture by Edgar Degas when Petite Danseuse a quatorze ans sold for £15.8 million.

    The sale realized £178.6 million.  This is the second highest total for any sale ever held in London.  Melanie Clore, Chairman, Sotheby’s Europe & Co-Chairman Worldwide, Impressionist & Modern Art, said: “Tonight’s result is testament to the truly outstanding quality of the works on offer.  To follow our highest totals for Impressionist and Modern art sales in New York, with another sensational sale in London, emphasises the strength of what is undoubtedly a truly global market. Our worldwide network of specialists are working with a broader collector base than ever before, so whether it’s New York, London, or any of our worldwide selling locations, we are seeing incredibly strong results across the board.”

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 10, June 4, June 2, May 22 and May 13, 2015)

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    MONET AND PICASSO TOP CHRISTIE’S EVENING SALE

    Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015
    Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Tête sold for £4,450,500. Courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2015.

    Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
    Tête sold for £4,450,500. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2015.

    Claude Monet (1840-1926) Iris mauves

    Claude Monet (1840-1926) Iris mauves Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2015

    Claude Monet’s Iris mauves was the top lot at Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in London tonight.  It made £10,834,500 at an auction that brought in £71,461,000. Sell-through rates were 84% by lot and 92% by value. In total, 24 works of art sold for over £1 million and 29 for over $1 million. Bidders from 32 countries across 5 continents competed in the room and on the telephone,

    Jay Vincze, International Director said: “This evening’s sale of Impressionist & Modern Art saw notable demand for highly covetable works by the masters of late 19th and 20th century art, led by Claude Monet’s remarkable ‘Iris mauves’. Once again, this auction attracted global participation from bidders around the world, further evidencing the deep international demand for the category witnessed in our New York Sales in May. This resulted in strong prices across the full breadth of the category, from the birth of Impressionism – illustrated by the rare 1872 work by Alfred Sisley – to the energy of the late 1969 portrait by Pablo Picasso. For the second year, this Evening Sale marks the start of a week of ‘Impressionist & Modern Art’ and ‘Modern British & Irish Art’ auctions at Christie’s London, collectively presenting new and established buyers with opportunities across price levels.”

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    IRISH ART SALES TO RESUME AT SOTHEBY’S

    Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015
    Sir William Orpen - Nude Girl Reading

    Sir William Orpen – Nude Girl Reading  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    In a nod to the recovering Irish economy Sotheby’s will resume stand alone Irish art sales in London on October 21.  Highlighting that sale is  Nude Girl Reading by Sir William Orpen, described by Sotheby’s as one of his most sensational nudes.  Not on the market for 30 years, it is estimated at £300,000-500,000.  The work was painted in 1921 and the subject was Orpen’s lover Yvonne Aubicq, daughter of the mayor of Lille.  Their affair continued until 1928.

    In 1995 Sotheby’s was the first London auction house to hold sales of Irish art.  Arabella Bishop, Head of Sotheby’s Ireland, said: “Over the last couple of years, interest has increased and we have seen new collectors, not only from Ireland but internationally, actively buying and bidding in this field. We anticipate that the market for Irish art will continue to gather pace and feel that the moment is right to re-launch an annual dedicated sale. We are also thrilled to be opening our new 1,350 square-foot office in Dublin. This larger space, with excellent private viewing conditions, further cements our commitment to the Irish market.”

    In Dublin Sotheby’s will open new premises at 29 Molesworth Street on June 27, a move from the previous location at 16 Molesworth St.  Stand alone sales of Irish art have not been held at Sotheby’s since 2011.

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