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    LYONS DEMESNE COLLECTION MAKES £3,352,200 AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, July 14th, 2011

    Hugh Douglas Hamilton's Portrait of Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire (1753-1801) made £337,250. (Click on image to enlarge)

    The sale of Lyons Demesne: Works of Art from the Collection of the late Dr. Tony Ryan made £3,352,200 at Christie’s in London on July 14.  The top lot was Hugh Douglas Hamilton, R.H.A. (Dublin 1740-1808), Portrait of Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire (1753-1801).  The small full length portrait in a landscape made £337,250.  The auction was sold 90% by value and 83% by lot.

    Amelia Elborne, Specialist, Christie’s London and Christine Ryall, Director, Christie’s Ireland commented: “This excellent result is a tribute to Dr Ryan’s eclectic taste and enthusiasm for both Irish and European works of art. In spite of the current economic situation in Ireland, the depth of demand for Irish works by both international and Irish buyers remains strong. We are particularly pleased with the result for the Hugh Douglas Hamilton which attracted fierce competition in the room, on the telephone and on Christie’s LiveTM”.
    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for April 14 and July 7)

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    A SELECTION OF IRISH PIECES FROM RYAN SALE AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, July 14th, 2011

    Here is a selection from some of the Irish work sold at Christie’s

    James Latham (Tipperary 1696-1747 Dublin) Portrait of a gentleman, made £10,000.

    auction of contents from the Lyons Demesne in Co. Kildare on July 14:

    This Irish parcel gilt and dark green painted side table in the manner of Del Vecchio of Dublin made £6,000.

    Two Irish George II embossed bird pictures by Samuel Dixon c1750 made £1,750.

    This George III giltwood pier glass, probably Irish, made £39,650.

    This Irish George III style low linen press on stand, 19th century, by Butler of Dublin made £4,750.

    Sir Martin Archer Shee, P.R.A. (Dublin 1769-1850 Brighton) Portrait of a lady, full-length, in a white dress made £20,000.

    This Irish George II bureau bookcase c1750 made £5,250.

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    OCTOBER FRACTAL IN MEMORY OF MANDELBROT

    Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

    October Fractal in memory of Mandelbrot by Tadhg McSweeney. (Click on image to enlarge).

    October Fractal in memory of Mandelbrot is the title of this work by Tadhg McSweeney.  It is from the solo exhibition “Radharc”, the Irish word for view or vantage point, at Macroom Town Hall in County Cork until July 29.  Born in Kilnamartryra near Macroom in 1936 his work includes landscapes, urbanscapes, seascapes, still-life and portraits.
    Benoit Mandelbrot, the Polish born French American mathematician who died in 2010, coined the term “fractals”. In an introduction to The Fractal Geometry of Nature he pointed out that clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line. Natural fractals include the shapes of mountains, coastlines and river basins; the structures of plants, blood vessels and lungs; the clustering of galaxies. Fractals are found in music, painting, architecture and stock market prices.
    Tadhg McSweeney is primarily a self taught artist who works mostly with oils and watercolour, with occasional fresco work. His inspiration comes from the environment around Kilnamartryra and his preference is memory. He studied painting in the National College of Art, Dublin in 1959, etching, silk and screen printing in London and fresco painting in Italy in 1984-85.

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    GERMAN RELIEF FROM THE 1430’s MAKES £529,250 AT SOTHEBY’S

    Monday, July 11th, 2011

    The Death of the Virgin (click on image to enlarge).

    ONE of the highest prices for a wood sculpture was achieved by a German walnut Half-Relief with the Death of the Virgin. Dated circa 1430-40 it made £529,250 at Sotheby’s in London on July 8.  It had been estimated at  £60,000-80,000.  It had been restituted to the heirs of Ottmar Strauss in 2010 from the Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe. A Jew who rose through the ranks of industry and government  Ottmar Strauss (1878-1941) lost favour and fortune after 1933 once Hitler had seized power. The Strauss collection was dispersed in three forced sales held at Hugo Helbing in Frankfurt am Main in 1934 and 1935.

    The half relief was the top lot in a sale of Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art which made £2,657,050 against an estimate of £2,221,700-3,309,000.This carved chalcedony cover made £1,497,250. (click on image to enlarge).

    Alexander Kader, Head of Sotheby’s European Sculpture and Works of Art Department, said: “Combined with two lots offered this week in the Treasures, Princely Taste sale, the chalcedony cover attributed to Miseroni, which sold for £1,497,250,(illustrated on the right), and the pair of allegorical bronze sculptures by Francesco Bertos, which sold  for £577,250, this brings a combined total of £4,731,550 for Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art sold at Sotheby’s London over two days.”

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    SAFRA SALE AT SOTHEBY’S OFFERS REMARKABLE OPPORTUNITIES

    Sunday, July 10th, 2011

    This masterpiece of English Rococo, the Burghley Epergne, was created for the 9th Earl of Exeter. It is estimated at $800,000/1.2 million. (Click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $950,500.

    The four day sale of  the Lily and Edmond J. Safra Collections  at Sotheby’s in New York in October offers remarkable opportunities to collectors around the world.  Sotheby’s say that the six dedicated sales from October 18-21 represent the pinnacle of their respective collecting categories.

    The sales are as follows: Magnificent European Furniture & Works of Art, led by an extraordinary group of French 18th-century lacquer, arguably is the most important at auction since the 1882 sale of the Collection of the 12th Duke of Hamilton from Hamilton Palace, Scotland; Important Russian Works of Art comprised of over 100 lots of fine and important Russian porcelains, silver, enamels and other objects; Highly Important Silver, including a stunning assemblage of primarily English and French creations from the mid-18th to the early-19th centuries; Important Cosway Bindings, comprised of a magnificent group of approximately 180 Cosway bindings, the finest collection to be sold at auction in nearly 90 years; Interiors: Fine 19th Century Watercolors, presenting a collection of over 100 interior paintings, many of which document the great estates of wealthy patrons and sumptuous palaces of royalty;  European Furniture, Fine & Decorative Arts, led by a large group of 18th-century Meissen porcelain figures of birds, as well as a significant collection of extremely fine and rare ‘tour de force’ turned ivory carvings.

    Cosway binding by Riviere & Sons Concerning the True Portraiture of Mary Queen of Scots by Joshua James Foster. The cover is inset with 13 miniature portraits of Mary Stuart and François II, almost certainly painted by Miss C. B. Currie ($40/60,000). (Click to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $50,000.

    Mr. and Mrs. Safra’s collections offer unparalleled opportunities for connoisseurs worldwide. The full sale, which is estimated in excess of $40 million, will be on exhibition throughout Sotheby’s York Avenue headquarters beginning 14 October.   A two day sale of the Safra Collections at Sotheby’s in 2005 realised  $49 million.
    Born in Beirut to a family that started in banking at the time of the Ottoman Empire Edmond Safra built a business that spanned more than thirty countries across the globe. A victim of arson at his home in Monaco, he died in 1999.  He was an extraordinary philanthropist who supported tens of thousands of students, underwrote medical research, built and restored schools and synagogues, endowed professorships, and contributed to countless humanitarian, religious, educational, and cultural causes worldwide. Since 1999 Lily Safra has chaired the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation. Both personally and through the Foundation, she supports research into neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, at dozens of hospitals and universities worldwide

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    OVER 400 LOTS FROM ESTATE OF RYANAIR FOUNDER AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, July 7th, 2011
    Over 400 lots of European fine and decorative arts from the estate of Dr. Tony Ryan, the founder of Ryanair, will come under the hammer at Christie’s in London on July 14.  Spanning the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries they are from the Lyons Demesne in Co. Kildare. The sale is expected to bring in more than two million sterling.
    Highlights include an important full length portrait in pastel of Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire (1753-1801) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, R.H.A., 1736-1801  (£200,000-300,000); a pair of George III giltwood and painted satinwood console tables in the manner of Thomas Chippendale the Younger (£50,000-80,000); a Louis XV Gobelins tapestry, by Claude Audran ( £30,000-50,000) and a white marble sculpture of Love Awakened by Giovanni Battista Lombardi, Rome, circa 1870 (£30,000-50,000).
    Dr. Ryan, who died in 2007, was one of Ireland’s biggest philathropists and supporter of the arts. There was a post about the sale on antiquesandartireland.com on April 14.  Here is a further selection of lots on offer:

    One of a pair of Irish George II armchairs c1750 estimated at £20,000-40,000. (Click on image to enlarge). Copyright Christie's Images. UPDATE: THE PAIR MADE £39,650.

    Nathaniel Hone, R.A. (Dublin 1718-1784 London) Portrait of Miss Gardner. (£10,000-15,000). (Click on image to enlarge). Copyright Christie's Images. UPDATE: THIS MADE £17,500

    Thomas Roberts (Waterford 1748-1778 Lisbon) A wooded landscape with a waterfall possibly at Powerscourt. (£40,000-60,000). Click to enlarge. Copyright Christie's Images. UPDATE: THIS MADE £73,250

    William John Leech (1881-1968) A self-portrait, seated in a garden. (£25,000-35,000). Click to enlarge. Copyright Christie's Images. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

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    GUARDI’S MONUMENTAL VENETIAN MASTERPIECE MAKES £26,697,250

    Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

    Francesco Guardi's Venetian masterpiece made £26,697,250. (Click on image to enlarge)

    Francesco Guardi’s monumental masterpiece Venice, a View of the Rialto Bridge, Looking North, from the Fondamenta del Carbon made £26,697,250 at Sotheby’s on July 6.  This was a record as the second highest price paid for any Old Master painting at auction, a record for a Venetian view painting at auction and a record for Guardi.   It was bought by an anonymous bidder in a sale which achieved a total of  £47,640,900.

    Correggio - Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist made £3,625,250. (Click to enlarge)

    There were artist records for seven other paintings.  Hans Schäufelein double-sided, tempera and oil altarpiece panel, The Dormition of the Virgin, realised £2,729,250;  Madonna and child with the infant Saint John the Baptist by Antonio Allegri, better known as Correggio made £3,625,250; John de Critz the Elder oil on panel Portrait of James I made £199,250; Jacob Knyff’s painting Charles II and James, Duke of York, on board H.M.S. Triumph, with three royal yachts off Dover made £169,250; Francesco de Michele Triptych: Central panel: Saint Gregory the Great: left wing: Saint Catherine of Alexandria: right wing: Saint Jerome made £241,250;  Vittore Ghislandi called Fra G algario Portrait of a young man in a green tunic made £325,250 and Anthonie Verstraelen A winter landscape with figures skating on a frozen river beside a village made £481,250.

    Sir Anthony Van Dyck’s Portrait of a Carmelite monk, head and shoulders made £713,250 and A Bearded Man with Hands Raised by Van Dyck made £457,250.  John Constable’s Salisbury Cathedral From The Meadows made £657,250.
    A total of 50 of the 73 lots on offer found buyers in a sale that was sold  68.5% by lot and 91.6% by value.

    John Constable’s Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows made £657,250. (click to enlarge).

    The auction shot with Henry Wyndham selling the Guardi.

    The previous highest price for a Venetian view painting was £18.6 million for Canaletto’s Venice – The Grand Canal from Palazzo Balbi, at Sotheby’s London in July 2005.  The previous auction record for a monumental view painting by Francesco Guardi was  £9,889,937 at Sotheby’s in Monaco in 1989.

    (All images copyright Sotheby’s)  (See antiquesandartireland.com posts for June 21, June 19 and February 26.)

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    GIMCRACK STILL WINNING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

    Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

    Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath made £22,441,250 at Christie's.

    A racehorse famous in the 18th century is still winning in the 21st.  Gimcrack (a word defined as a cheap and showy object) belied his name and proved his worth at Christie’s Old Masters evening sale in London on July 5 by making £22,441,250.

    Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey by George Stubbs (1724-1806) depicts one of the most popular and admired of all 18th century racehorses. The estimate was £20/30 million.  As a result of this sale Stubbs now joins Rubens, Rembrandt, Turner and Pontormo as the only Old Master artists whose paintings have sold for more than £20 million at auction.

    This Michelangelo drawing of a male nude made £3,177,250.

    The Evening Sale of Old Master & British Paintings realised £49,766,050. It sold  67% by lot and 83% by value. The evening’s top price was paid for Gimcrack, a  masterpiece of both British art and sporting painting.  Bought by Piers Davies Fine Art on behalf of a client it  is the third most valuable Old Master painting ever sold at auction.  It was last sold at auction in 1951 when it realized £12,600.

    A view of the saleroom. (Click on image to enlarge)

    There was a world record price for Thomas Gainsborough when his Portait of Mrs. William Villebois made £6,537,250.  A  male nude drawing by Michaelangelo made £3,177,250 against an estimate of £3/5 million.

    Christie’s reported that  there was a noticeable demand from private clients.  There was a particularly high level of interest and bidding from new clients, including a significant number from Asia.  Another change in the market for Old Masters is the amount of collectors who buy across a range of categories, driven by quality.  These collectors are, they say, adding a new energy to certain sectors of this field.

    (See antiquesandartireland.com posts for May 31 and April 6).

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    GOYA DRAWING MAKES £2.2 MILLION AT CHRISTIE’S

    Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

    Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) Hutiles trabajos (Useful work) made £2,281,250. © Christie’s Images Limited 2011 (click on image to enlarge)

    The top lot at Christie’s day sale of Old Master and Early British Drawing and Watercolours sale in London on July 5 was this brush and indian ink and wash, with scraping, brush and black ink framing lines, on ivory laid paper by Goya.

    It sold for £2,281,250 against an estimate of £2/3 million. Altogether 130 lots were sold in an auction that brought in £6,309,788.  It was  71% sold by lot and 95% sold by value.

    From a private collection in France it had passed by descent to the artist’s son, Javier Goya y Bayeu (1784-1854), and by descent to his son Mariano Goya y Goicoechea, after 1854.

    London’s Master Paintings Week is now in full swing.  This is a collaboration between twenty-three leading galleries and three auction houses. It runs until July 8.

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    VARIETY OF LOTS AT ADAMS IN DUBLIN ON JULY 12

    Monday, July 4th, 2011

    An interiors and collectibles sale at James Adam in Dublin on July 12 will feature more than 650 varied lots.  There is furniture, silver, books of Irish historical interest,  arms, medals, militaria,  art, glass and toys.  The entire catalogue is on-line at www.adams.ie

    Here is a small selection from the catalogue:

    A large George IV giltwood girandole convex mirror is estimated at 6,000-10,000. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Sir Frederic William Burton RHA, Portrait of Mary Florence Vanderbyl, dated August 5, 1870 (2,000-4,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,200

    This William IV rosewood breakfast table is estimated at 2,000-3,000. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,000

    A Victorian display cabinet with a large collection of stuffed birds and butterflies estimated at 800-1,200. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,300

    An Edwardian painted and inlaid occasional table estimated at 400-600. UPDATE: THIS MADE 450

    This c1800 Irish sideboard is estimated at 2,000-3,000. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

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