Attributed to Sean Keating (1889-1977) – Irish Free State Chicken. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER
In 1928 Sean Keating painted a finished design in gouache entitled Irish Free State Chicken. Commissioned by the recently-formed Empire Marketing Board it was part of a campaign to promote the sale of agricultural produce, including Irish produce, internationally. Keating produced three images for the campaign, to be used as the basis for posters and billboards; the other two designs were for bacon and dairy. In his finished version of Irish Free State Chicken, along with a donkey and cart and a multitude of white poultry, he included the figures of men and women he had sketched on the Aran Islands, building up an image that conveyed the spirit of independence he so admired in the West of Ireland. This work, which comes up at Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth summer art sale in Castlecomer on July 10, is close to Keating’s finished design. There are also significant differences, and it is possibly a preparatory sketch. Mealys say that the provenance of this work also suggests it is by Keating. The estimate is 3,000-5,000. The catalogue for the sale is online.
There was a new world auction record to Titian at Christie’s in London this evening when his early masterpiece Rest on the Flight into Egypt made £17,560,000. The painting was offered by Lord Bath and the Longleat Trustees as part of their long-term investment strategy. It has been owned by Dukes, Archdukes and Holy Roman Emperors, by Napoleon and stolen in the late 20th century.
Lord Bath said: “It has been fabulous to see the interest in Titian’s work as this unique painting was previewed in the lead-up to this evening’s auction. It has been well-received which clearly demonstrates how the fascination with this exquisite early masterpiece has been maintained across the centuries. It has an extraordinary history, looted by Napoleon, bought by the 4th Marquess in 1878 and then stolen from Longleat in 1995 before miraculously being recovered. As the next chapter in the Rest on the Flight into Egypt’s story is written, I am pleased with the outcome of tonight; which will support our considerable long-term investment strategy at Longleat to build on the vision and legacy of my ancestors for the benefit of future generations.” The Titian was the top lot at Christie’s Classic Week evening sales, Old Masters Part I and The Exceptional sale, which realised a combined total of £50,788,420.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for April 4, 2024)
DAMIEN HIRST (B.1965) BRITISH – BUTTERFLY SPIN. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,900 AT HAMMER
Butterfly Spin by Damien Hirst comes up as lot 17 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Off the Wall online art auction which draws to a close from 6.30 pm this evening (July 2). The estimate for the acrylic on card is 3,000-5,000, making it the most expensively estimate lot in the sale. More than 450 lots of affordable art will come under the hammer and the catalogue is online.
An antique gramophone with wooden horn UPDATE: THIS MADE 420 AT HAMMER
With everything from a fine old Cork clock in need of full restoration and seascapes by Erwin Charles Gunther to an antique oak cased gramophone and a pair of Chinese Foo dogs modelled as lamps the sale at Lynes and Lynes on July 6 is brimful of specialist interest.
Viewing is underway in Carrigtwohill for a 372 lot auction made up of the remaining part of the estate of the late Roma Peare (nee Knox) of Kinsale, a residence at Templenoe, Kenmare, Co. Kerry and a house at Beaumont Avenue in Cork. A collection of old cameras is another feature.
A Cork clock by James Aickin UPDATE: THIS MADDE 360 AT HAMMER
A clock by James Aickin does not come up at auction every day. This longcase brass dial clock by one of the most eminent Cork clockmakers needs much attention and is estimated accordingly at just €300-€500. Aickin was a prominent Freemason active from 1738-1780 at a time when Cork was a major Atlantic port with extensive trade links to many European countries. Among his commissions was “repairing and putting up” the town clock in Youghal in 1777 for which £8 was set aside for him by the Corporation of Youghal. He manufactured both bracket clocks and long case clocks. One of his sons, George, became a clockmaker with premises at James St. adjacent to the Cork Courthouse, a centre for clockmaking in Cork before the advent of mass production. Other clocks include a table clock retailed by Mangan, Cork (€400-€500.), an Irish longcase clock by Robert Fishbourne, Carlow (€1,500-€2,000) and a French painted wood and ormolu Cartel clock (€1,500-€2,000).
A selection of lots on offer
The German artist Erwin Charles Gunther (1864-1927) is known for his seascapes and there are two of them in the sale, each estimated at €600-€1,000. A set of four William Harrington prints of Cork, each signed by the artist , are each estimated at €60-€100.
Collectors will be interested in an antique gramophone on a carved oak case, complete with a rare wooden horn and in full working order (€300-€500). Chinese Foo dogs are both popular and auspicious. Designed in pairs, male and female, they represent yin and yang. The female yin protects those dwelling in the home, the male yang protects the structure. The Foo dog lamps are estimated at €200-€300.
Among the more expensively estimated lots are a set of ten Cork 11-bar chairs (€1,500-€2,000), an old cut glass six branch chandelier (€1,000-€1,500), a set of six Cork 11-bar chairs (€800-€1,200), a Georgian style dining table with satinwood crossbanding
Drogheda Quay by Nano Reid (1900-1981) UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,700 AT HAMMER
Nano Reid, Colin Middleton, Banksy, Edward Delaney, Pauline Bewick, Neil Shawcross, Edward Delany, Louise Mansfield, Rita Duffy and Graham Knuttel are among the artists at Whyte’s summer online art auction which ends from 6 pm onJuly 1. The sale offers a good selection of affordable and accessible art from Ireland and is on view in Dublin this afternoon and from 10 am to 5 pm next Monday. The most expensively estimated lot is a bronze An Tostal commemorative plaque by Gabriel Hayes (€2,500-€3,500). There is a wooden postcard (€400-€600) and a lithograph (€700-€1,000) by Banksy, a charcoal self portrait by Sean Keating (€1,500-€2,000), a Canal Scene by Walter Verling (€400-€600) and an etching by Dame Elisabeth Frink (€250-€350) among more than 300 lots.
Paul Henry – Hillside Cottages – UPDATE: THIS WAS BID TO 50,000 AND WAS UNSOLD
THIS small oil on board by Paul Henry with a long Cork provenance is the feature lot at Woodwards sale in Cork today. Hillside Cottages has been authenticated by art specialist Dominic Milmo-Penny. It is possibly an untraced work exhibited under another title either at The Fine Art Society in London in 1934 or in New York and Boston in 1930. The painting has aroused significant interest. Woodwards, who last sold it at auction in 1964, say a label on the back indicates it was framed by John Gilbert, Patrick St., Cork in the 1930’s. The name M. Quinlan, 6-8 South Mall is pencilled on the back and the name “Quillivan” is written in chalk. It was acquired by Michael ‘Dick’ Donegan in the 1960’s and thence by descent.
The work is part of a small private collection with paintings by Grace Henry, Alexander Williams, John Faulkner, Joseph Poole Addey and Harry Scully also on offer. The auction gets underway at 10 am today and the catalogue is online.
SÉAMUS O’COLMÁIN (1915-1990) – OÍCHE COIS LIFE (RIVER LIFFEY AT NIGHT). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,150 AT HAMMER
OÍCHE COIS LIFE (RIVER LIFFEY AT NIGHT) by Seamus O’Colmain is at Whyte’s timed online summer art auction which runs until July 1 and is now on view at Molesworth St. in Dublin. The oil on board is estimated at 1,000-1,500. The auction offers an accessible art from Ireland and around the world. Bidding ends from 6 pm on July 1 and the catalogue is online.
The watercolour illustration for the first edition of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has become the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold. It made $1.9 million at Sotheby’s sale of the library of Dr. Rodney P. Swantko in New York after a four way bidding battle. It had been estimated at $400,000 and $600,000 – the highest pre-sale estimate for a Harry Potter-related work.
The artist Thomas Taylor used concentrated watercolours with black pencil outlines. He was only 23 in 1997 when he made the iconic image of Harry Potter standing in front of the Hogwarts Express and it took him two days.
GERALDINE M. O’BRIEN (1922-2014) – Still Life – Vase of Flowers. UPDATE: THIS MADE 380 AT HAMMER
Still Life – Vase of Flowers by popular the Irish botanical illustrator Geraldine O’Brien is lot 8 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s off the wall online art auction which runs until July 2. The oil on canvas is estimated at 400-600. O’Brien lived at Parteen, a village close to Limerick city, and brought flowers from the garden to arrange her work. She exhibited regularly with the Royal Hibernian Academy. The catalogue for the sale is online.
Mary Cassatt – Child in a Straw Hat, c.1886. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Women Impressionists, a special exhibition marking the first impressionist exhibition in 1874, is at the National Gallery of Ireland from June 27 to October 6. Women Impressionists will include around 60 fascinating works drawn from collections worldwide. It focusses on on four women artists who were integral to Impressionism – Berthe Morisot (1841-1895), Eva Gonzalès (1849-1883), Marie Bracquemond (1860-1914), and Mary Cassatt (1844-1926). All but Eva Gonzales exhibited at Impressionist exhibitions (of which there were eight over the following 12 years).
Impressionist artists are renowned for using friends and family members as models. This is especially so for women Impressionists, who had relatively restricted access to professional models and social spaces. They often painted scenes from everyday life in the quiet intimacy of their homes and gardens. These artists did not only look inwards but they travelled widely, they looked to contemporary art and to art history; they were engaged in the artworld and made visits to studios, exhibitions, and galleries.
Women Impressionists explores how each of these artists navigated complex personal and professional networks to create and exhibit their art. It highlights their collective desire to make modern art and shows how they interpreted the evolving idea of Impressionism in individual ways.
Highlights include an exceptional portrayal of an intimate domestic scene, The Artist’s Daughter, Julie, with her Nanny, c.1884. by Berthe Morisot (Minneapolis Institute of Art). The painting shows the artist’s daughter Julie watching her nanny sewing. Marie Bracquemond’s painting Le Goûter, c.1880 (Musée du Petit Palais)is set on the terrace of the Villa Brancas, the artist’s home in Sèvres. Mary Cassatt was one of the most original painters of women and children in the 19th-century. Her painting Susan Comforting the Baby, c.1881 (Columbus Museum of Art) shows a young woman soothing one of the artist’s infant nieces or nephews. In keeping with her Impressionism, Cassatt has left areas of canvas unpainted, and others sketched in with loose visible brushstrokes.
Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said: “In an anniversary year for the National Gallery of Ireland, as we celebrate our 160th birthday, it is very exciting to mark another important anniversary in the history of art by bringing this exhibition to Ireland. 150 years on from the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris, we look forward to opening our doors to visitors from Ireland and abroad to discover works by these four women artists. The works in our permanent collection by Berthe Morisot and Eva Gonzalès are firm favourites of our audiences so we hope that this exhibition will delight and intrigue throughout the summer.”
The exhibition was devised by Ordrupgaard, Denmark, where it was on display from February 9 to May 20, 2024.
Berthe Morisot – The Artist’s Daughter, Julie, with her Nanny, c. 1884 Minneapolis Institute of Art, The John R. Van Derlip Fund. Courtesy Minneapolis Institute of Art. Licenced under CC BY 4.0
