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    A LOT TO CHOOSE FROM AT MEALY’S

    Friday, July 1st, 2011

    An Irish longcase clock by Heroman of Dublin (8,500-9,500). UPDATE: UNSOLD AT THE AUCTION, UNDER ACTIVE NEGOTIATION AFTERWARDS.

    Mealy’s two day fine and decorative art sale takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday July 5-6 at Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny.  There is decorative art, furniture, carpets, art, garden furniture, light fittings, glassware and militaria.
    Here is a small selection of some of the lots on offer.  The entire catalogue is on-line at www.mealys.com
    UPDATE:  The sale brought in 300,000 at hammer.  It was 80 per cent sold on day one, 65 per cent sold on day two giving an overall sell rate of 72 per cent.  Mealy’s used lived internet bidding for the first time at this sale and found it spectacularly successful.  There were 500 registered internet bidders from 57 countries.  About 15 per cent of the entire auction went to internet bidders.
    See antiquesandartireland.com post for June 27.

    A 19th century Italian fruit walnut and marquetry commode at Mealy's. It is estimated at 3,000-5,000. (Click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,800

    A c1900 card table in the style of E.W. Godwin (400-600). (Click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS MADE 380

    One of a pair of carved giltwood girandoles. (1,500-2,500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,400.

    A pair of brass mounted walnut and rosewood encoignure (3,500-5,500). UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD.

    A kingwood and ormolu mounted gueridon (800-1,500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700.

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    MAGNIFICENT IRISH PIECES AT MASTERPIECE LONDON FAIR

    Thursday, June 30th, 2011

    THE discriminating (and wealthy) collector can acquire anything from a World War II Spitfire fighter plane to the fourth bible ever printed at the Masterpiece London Fair.  Collectors of Irish pieces have plenty to choose from.  Masterpiece is at the South Grounds, Royal Hospital, Chelsea until July 5.

    Masterpiece was launched in 2010 to fill the gap left by the Grosvenor House Fair. It is a showcase for top quality antiques, art and luxury goods.  The World War II Spitfire, the only surviving fighter used by the RAF in World War II, is a cool £8 million, the bible from 1462 a mere £1 million.

    The eye of antiquesandartireland.com landed on some great rarities.  Here is a selection.

    This George II giltwood mirror c1750 by John Booker of Dublin is distinguished by its scale. It measures eight feet by fifty five and a quarter inches. The asking price? £320,000.

    The wonderful patina of this mid 18th century Irish hunt table shows all the signs of centuries of use. It is 79 inches long and asking £38,000.

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    BACON AGAIN SHOWS STRENGTH AT SOTHEBY’S RECORD BREAKING CONTEMPORARY SALE

    Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

    The scene at Sotheby's contemporary evening sale.

    Sotheby’s evening Contemporary Art sale on June 29 brought in £108,803,550 the highest total ever for such a sale in London.  Francis Bacon’s Crouching Nude from 1961 was the top selling lot.  It made  £8,329,250.

    The Duerckheim Collection of contemporary German art, which comprised the first 34 lots, realised £60,401,650.  Almost every lot here was contested by multiple bidders. New artist records were established for Blinky Palermo, Sigmar Polke, Eugen Schönebeck, Markus Lüpertz and Georg Baselitz.
    Andy Warhol’s electric pink acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas of Blondie’s lead singer Debbie Harry – the only major painting of renowned lead singer of the new wave and punk rock band ever to come to auction – sold for £3,737,250/ against an estimate of £3.5-5.5 million.  An early Jean-Michel Basquiat painting, Untitled, made £5,417,250 to become the second highest priced lot.
    Headlining the Duerckheim collection were a number of paintings by Sigmar Polke. His record was broken three times in quick succession.  Dschungel, the largest of the Rasterbilder (dot paintings) from the 1960s ever to appear for public sale, made £5,753,250.  A new record was set for Georg Baselitz when Spekulatius from the celebrated ‘Hero’ series sold for £3,233,250. Baselitz’s Grosse Nacht made £2,393,250.  There was exceptional prices for Gerhard Richter whose 1024 Farben from 1974 more than doubled its pre-sale high estimate to make £4,297,250. Buyers from 14 countries took part in an auction which was 89.8% sold by lot and 93.9% by value.  No less than 29 works sold for over £1 million, and 45 lots made over $1 million.
    See antiquesandartireland.com posts for April 26 and June 7.

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    BACON TOPS CHRISTIE’S POST WAR AND CONTEMPORARY EVENING SALE

    Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

    Francis Bacon (1909-1992) Study for a Portrait made £17,961,250. (Click on image to enlarge). Copyright Christie's.

    Study for a Portrait by Irish born Francis Bacon was the top lot at Christie’s Post War and Contemporary Art evening auction on June 28.  It made £17,961,250.  Bought by an anonymous telephone bidder it had been estimated to make around £11 million.

    The work was previously owned by Rodrigo Moynihan, a pioneer of abstract painting in the 1930’s, and the Irish artist Louis Le Brocquy.

    An untitled work by Damien Hirst executed in 1996 of butterflies and household gloss paint on canvas sold for £601,250.

    Damien Hirst (b. 1965) Untitled made £601,250 at Christie's. (Click on image to enlarge), Copyright Christie's Images.

    The sale realised £78,817,050. This was the second highest total for the category. A total of 19 lots sold for over £1 million (25 over $1 million). Buyers came from 16 different countries and the breakdown was 59% Europe including UK, 26% Americas and 15% Asia.  Artist records were set for Juan Muñoz, Ron Mueck, Paula Rego, Domenico Gnoli and Miquel Barceló, who set a record for any living Spanish artist.

    Red Boat (Imaginary Boys), 2003-04, by Peter Doig (b.1959) sold for £6,201,250; Faena de muleta, 1990, by Miquel Barceló (b.1957) sold for £3,961,250 and seven works from the collection of Kay Saatchi sold for a total of £3,992,750.

    See antiquesandartireland.com posts for June 27, May 24 and March 31.

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    IRISH FURNITURE AND ART AT LYNES AND LYNES

    Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
    Irish furniture and art work will feature at a carefully selected sale at Lynes and Lynes on Saturday, July 2 at noon. Lynes and Lynes have re-located from Cork city centre to Eastlink Business Park at Carrigtwohill in east Cork.
    This is a sale of under 150 lots.  Here is a small selection of what is on offer. The catalogue is on-line at www.lynesandlynes.com

    This Irish antique mahogany hall bench of curved shape, circa 1860 is estimated at 1,500-2,000. (Click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400

    George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson 1806-1884 Naval Squadron in Cork harbour 1862, estimated at 10,000-15,000. (Click to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD, BUT UNDER NEGOTIATION AFTERWARDS.

    A Regency two door bookcase fitted with drawers c1840 estimated at 2,000-3,000. (Click to enlarge) UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500

    A Regency mahogany bookcase with brass trellis doors and panelled sides, circa 1830, estimated at 3,000-5,000. (Click to enlarge). UPDATE: SOLD AFTER AUCTION FOR 3,000

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    ANDY WARHOL’S MAO A HIGHLIGHT AT CHRISTIE’S

    Monday, June 27th, 2011

    Andy Warhol (1928-1987) Mao, signed and dated 'Andy Warhol 73', is estimated at £6-8 million. (Click on image to enlarge). Copyright Christie's Images. UPDATE: IT MADE £6,985,250

    Andy Warhol’s Mao is one of a number of highlights of Christie’s Post War and Contemporary art evening auction in London on June 28.  The sale of 67 works is expected to realised a combined total of £55.8-77.6 milion.

    The iconic large scale Mao (1973) was shown at the first exhibition of Mao paintings at Musée Galliera, Paris in 1974.  Other highlights are Warhol’s vivid emerald green Little Electric Chair (1964), Miquel Barceló’s Faena de muleta (1990), the largest and most important example of the artist’s celebrated bullfight paintings ever to come to auction and Juan Muñoz’s Esquina positiva (1992), first unveiled to great acclaim at the landmark Documenta IV in Kassel in 1992, which launched the artist’s international career.
    Francis Outred, European Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, said: “At a time when the global art world unites to celebrate the Venice Biennale, Christie’s is delighted to bring together works from 14 countries for this June’s Post War and Contemporary Art auction. At the heart of the forthcoming season is one of the finest groups of British Art ever to be assembled at auction, spanning from the early 1940s to the present day. Looking across the generations, one begins to see continuities between the inky-blue washes of paint in Francis Bacon’s landmark Study for a Portrait (1953) and Peter Doig’s liquid application of the medium in Red Boat (Imaginary Boys) (2003-04), undoubtedly one of his best paintings this century. Indeed the drive to depict real, physical presence is equally apparent in Lucian Freud’s pivotal painting Woman Smiling (1958-59) as in Ron Mueck’s mesmerising, hyper-real Big Baby (1996). Assembled from a variety of collections including that of Kay Saatchi, we are delighted to have brought together such a cohesive group of masterworks.”
    UPDATE: IT MADE £6,985,250
    See antiquesandartireland.com post for March 31.

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    SUMMER SALE IN SKIBBEREEN ON SUNDAY

    Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

    A summer auction with 539 lots on the catalogue takes place in Skibbereen in west Cork on Sunday June 26.    Auctioneer Morgan O’Driscoll will offer a variety of lots including furniture, art, porcelain, silver, plate and collectibles.

    The venue is Railway House, Bypass Road, Skibbereen.  The sale starts at 4 p.m.  Here is small selection of what is on offer.  The entire catalogue is on-line.

    UPDATE:   Around 84 per cent of lots on offer found buyers at a sale which attracted a good number of people on a warm summer day.

    Brian Ballard RUA (b.1943) 'Poppies and Books' is estimated at 1,700-2,500. UPDATE: IT MADE 1,700

    Two from a set of eight 19th century Hepplewhite dining chairs estimated at 2,500-3,500. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR 2,200

    Peter Richard Atkinson (1840-1882) 'Two 90 Gun Ships of the Line Entering Cork Harbour' watercolour signed and dated Oct 11th 1860 estimated at 1,000-1,500. UPDATE: IT MADE 1,010

    This Georgian bureau is estimated at 1,000-1,400. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    A Victorian club fender estimated at 450-550. UPDATE: THIS MADE 450

    A walnut 19th century sewing table estimated at 500-600. UPDATE: THIS MADE 525

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    WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR EGON SCHIELE AT SOTHEBY’S

    Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

    Egon Schiele's world record painting entitled Houses with Laundry (Suburb II). (Click on image to enlarge).

    There was a world auction record for Egon Schiele at Sotheby’s on June 22. His Häuser mit bunter Wäsche (Vorstadt II) / Houses with Laundry (Suburb II) made £24,681,250, almost double the previous auction record for the Austrian artist.

    The painting, sold by the Leopold Museum in Vienna, was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder.  Executed in 1914 at the height of Egon Schiele’s short career (he died in 1918 at the age of just 28), the painting is one of the most impressive of the artist’s few monumental cityscapes and is loosely based on motifs drawn from Krumau, the town known to have inspired some of his greatest works. It was this town in Southern Bohemia in which Schiele’s mother was born, and to which Schiele and his lover Valerie (Wally) Neuzil moved in 1911 in order to escape what they perceived as the claustrophobic atmosphere of Vienna.

    Overall, the sale achieved £96,968,000, within the pre-sale estimate of £77 to £111 million. It was  91.4% sold by lot and 98.4% by value. Records were also set for Marc Chagall’s Au-Dessus de la ville, which made £1,833,250, a record for a work on paper by the artist  and Tamara de Lempicka’s  La Dormeuse of 1930 which made  £4,073,250/$6,617,809, a US dollar record for the artist.

    The June Impressionist & Modern Art sale at Sotheby’s made £14,622,250, bringing the total for the June series to £111,590,250.

    See antiquesandartireland.com post for May 5.

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    FOLIO OF 18TH CENTURY IRISH LANDSCAPE DRAWINGS AT SOTHEBY’S

    Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

    An Irish landscape by John Laporte (click on image to enlarge).

    Ross Castle and the Lakes of Killarney by Paul Sandby. (Click on image to enlarge).

    A folio of 62 Irish landscapes by John Laport (Dublin 1761-1839 London) will be offered at Sotheby’s sale of Old Master and British drawings in London on July 7. It includes views of Belleek near Ballyshannon; Muckross Abbey, Killarney ; Killarney Lake from Innisfallen; Kenmare Church with Landsdown Lodge in the distance; Turk Lake, Killarney; Glenflesk near Killarney; the Brickeen Bridge, Killarney; the Ardtully Bridge on the Rowdy River; Blackwater Bridge; Loch Derg; the Dublin Lighthouse; and others.  Each one is inscribed with a title and two are dated to 1798.  The estimate is £6,000-8,000.

    A bodycolour over pencil drawing by Paul Sandby R.A. of Ross Castle in Killarney features at the same sale.  Sandby was born in Nottingham in 1730 and died in London in 1809.  The work was sold by the Fine Art Society, London in 1957.  It is estimated at £6,000-8,000.

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    PICASSO MASTERPIECE MAKES £13.48 MILLION FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AT CHRISTIE’S

    Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

    Picasso Jeune fille endormie. (Click on image to enlarge)

    An important and rarely-seen masterpiece by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Jeune fille endormie made £13,481,250 at Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on June 21.

    The intimate portrait of the artist’s lover Marie-Thérèse Walter,  subject of many of Picasso’s most celebrated pictures, had been expected to realize £9 million to £12 million.

    Having resided in just two private collections since it was painted, Jeune fille endormie was given to the University of Sydney in 2010 by an anonymous donor on condition that it would be sold and that the University would dedicate the proceeds to scientific research. It was acquired by an anonymous bidder.

    The auction brought in £140,019,200 and sold  87% by lot and 80% by value. This is the third highest total for the category at Christie’s in London. Buyers were 54% from Europe, 42% from the Americas and 4% from Asia.

    The top three prices were paid for portraits of three different lovers of Picasso, led by Femme assise, robe bleue, a portrait of Dora Maar, which made £17,961,250 over a top estimate of  £8 million. Buste de Françoise, a 1946 portrait of  Picasso’s lover Françoise Gilot made £10,681,250.

    See antiquesandartireland.com post for April 27.

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