This painting of the Holy Family by Nicolas Poussin dates to 1649 and is in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. Seated at the centre of the composition is the Virgin with the Christ Child on her lap. Behind them stand St Joseph and St Anne, who gaze downwards fondly. Anne rests one hand on the Virgin’s shoulder and the other on Christ. In the foreground, St Elizabeth holds the infant John the Baptist. Putti pick flowers and present garlands to Christ, their inclusion adding an antique note to the Christian scene.
Andy Warhol Three Times Out continues at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin until January 28. The exhibition of paintings, prints, photographs, films and installations covers a range that spans four decades. It includes more than 250 works on loan from museums and private collections in the US, Canada, Europe and the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. There is everything from the iconic Campbell’s Soup Cans, Flowers, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy and Chairman Mao, to his observations on identity and mortality in his multiple self-portraits, skulls, electric chairs and avant garde films Empire, Sleep, Kiss and Outer and Inner Space. In addition, visitors to the exhibition can experience Warhol’s immersive Silver Clouds sculpture.
A section unique to the show focuses on collaborations both Andy Warhol and Francis Bacon had with acclaimed US artist and photographer Peter Beard, provoking new thinking on the status of these two titans of the 20th century.
A pair of early 19th century Neoclassical porphyry vases
The erudite collection of Philip Hewat-Jaboor (1953-2022), chairman of the Masterpiece Fair in London, at Christie’s next February 8 will offer objects of antiquity, antique furniture and important collectibles. An old style connoisseur he had a particular passion for porphyry and the auction will offer a notable collection headed by early 19th century neoclassical vases. He collected work from legendary British patrons and collectors William Beckford (1760-1844) and Thomas Hope (1769-1831) like a pair of c1815 Roman giltwood armchairs probably purchased by Beckford from Cardinal Fesch in Paris in 1816 (£30,000-£50,000)(€34,960-€58,270). Joseph Fesch was Napoleon’s half uncle and one of the most famous art collectors of his period. Hewat-Jaboor’s collection of antiquities includes a 2nd century AD Roman marble bust of Bacchus (£70,000-£100,000) (€81,570-€116,530). The 200 works in the collection are expected to realise more than £1.5 million (€1.75 million) and estimates range from £700 to £120,000 (€815-€139,840).
A pair of Roman giltwood armchairs at Christie’s, probably purchased from Cardinal Fesch.
This Ming Dynasty white jade carved group with an egret amongst flowering stems made a hammer price of €34,000 over an estimated of €2,000-€3,000 at the Fine Asian Art sale at James Adam in Dublin on December 18. It had been in an Irish private collection since the early 20th century. The top lot of the sale was A Charioteer by Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar (1911-1996) which made €65,000 at hammer over a top estimate of €40,000. A Ding Kilns white stoneware bowl from the Northern Song Dynasty made €23,000, a celadon glazed jar and cover made €20,000 and a Qing Dynasty soapstone seal made €10,000.
More than 650,000 people were able to see the Vermeer Exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam this year. An online 360 degree tour of the exhibition launches today. Just go to Rijksmuseum site and scroll down til youy come to Watch the Vermeer Exhibition at Home. You can click on any image for more detail. It’s been a historic year at the Rijksmuseum, thanks in part to the Vermeer exhibition, which ran for four months this spring. It was the best-attended exhibition in the history of the museum. A total of 2.7 million people visited the museum in 2023.
In the current exhibition at the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin until next March the renowned Irish-Parsee sculptor Siobhan Hapaska uses the Medici lion to explore current crises, democratic failure, war and climate. Ideas of shifting power and loss are expressed through a large scale lion which is fractured and suspended at the centre of the double height space in the gallery. The ambient sound was captured at Westminster Abbey as Queen Elizabeth lay in state. The artist likes ideas that are adrift, to suggest rather than dictate a reaction. Her singular voice in contemporary sculpture expresses hope, desire and longing in the face of adversity.
An important Qing Dynasty celadon jade. UPDATE: THIS WAS WITHDRWN PRIOR TO THE SALE
A Qing Dynasty celadon jade seal heads up the Fine Asian Art sale at James Adam in Dublin on December 18. The base is carved with six characters meaning: “A treasure in auspicious celebration of a seventeenth birthday”, Set on a small square platform surmounted by a mythical double headed beast carved with a scaly body it will attract international interest and is estimated at €120,000-€150,000. Dr. Wei Wang, who has taken over as head of the Asian art department at Adams explained that seals symbolise power and can be crafted from various materials,with jades being particularly prized for their precious nature. “Our seal stands out for its impressive size and intricate carving work” she said.
A Meiji period ivory okimono of a grimacing fisherman holding giant conch shells being tackled by a large crab at Adams. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A total of 455 lots will come under the hammer on Monday in an auction divided across four sections originating from China, the Himalayas, Vietnam and Japan. Offerings from each country have been divided into categories including ceramics, jade and stones, accessories, bronzes and paintings. A Meiji period (1868-1912) Imari charger from Japan is estimated at just €300-€400, a very rare Ding kilns white stoneware bowl of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) carved with a peony spray is estimated at €15,000-€20,000). Ding bowls with peony designs are rare. This one is from an Irish private collection. A bronze stupa with four directionals Buddhas made in 18th century Tibet is estimated at €1,500-€2,000.
Two kingfisher feather hairpins, one with carved amber. UPDATE: THESE MADE 420 AT HAMMER
The sale offers a European collection of Qing Dynasty kingfisher feather ornaments worn as head pieces and accessories within an estimate range of €300-€1,500. For over 2,000 years, the Chinese have utilized the iridescent blue feathers of kingfisher birds as inlays for fine art objects and adornments, ranging from hairpins, headdresses, and fans to panels and screens. Dr. Wang said that In the past decade, a rising trend has emerged among the younger generation in China seeking to incorporate historical Chinese elements into the design of modern fashion. This has created a revival and appreciation of Hanfu culture and traditional Chinese handicrafts.
An 18th century Bleu de Hue porcelain bowl finely painted in shades of cobalt blue from Vietnam – commissioned from China – has an estimate of €8,000-€10,000. A fantastic carved ivory Japanese okimono of a fisherman with giant conch shells being tackled by a crab is estimated at €3,000-€5,000.Or how about an armchair made of deer antlers. One of the top lots of the auction is a Qing Imperial style antler armchair. There are seven known surviving deer antler chairs in China, with five in the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City. The one at Adams is a late copy, but it remains rare in the market, hence the estimate of €85,000-€95,000.
A rare Qing Imperial style antler armchair at Adam. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The Crawford Art Gallery in Cork has acquired The Colloquy of Monus and Una, a pencil, ink and watercolour by Harry Clarke, which made €70,000 at the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin earlier this month. The colour plate illustration for a 1923 edition of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination is the first addition to the popular Harry Clarke collection at the Gallery in almost a century. Two other illustrations from the same series, ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ and ‘Marie Rogêt’, were purchased in 1924 alongside over 20 other pieces by Clarke. The acquisition brings to 27 the number of Clarke artworks in Crawford Art Gallery’s collection, including the three earliest examples of his stained glass work, which were conserved in 2023 with Heritage Council support. It is now on display at the Crawford.
This is the second Harry Clarke piece brought into public ownership in weeks. The National Gallery announced this month that it had acquired a rare Clarke stained glass piece, Titania Enchanting Bottom (1922). It is undergoing conservation treatment and will be on display in the New Year. The luminous stained glass panel was sold by Morgan O’Driscoll last October 24 for a hammer price of €160,000.
David Stephenson – Ann and Ollie, Main Street, Wexford,
This is David Stephenson’s prizewinning entry to the Zurich Portrait Prize. The winner was announced this evening at the National Gallery. His portrait of Ann and Ollie, Main St., Wexford was taken while he was recovering from Covid. The judges were Dorothy Cross RHA, artist, Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director, National Portrait Gallery, London, and Anne Stewart, Senior Curator of Art, National Museums Northern Ireland.
The artist explained that: “During lockdown, I made a short film in which I tried to portray what we all experienced: the isolation that enhanced one’s sense of aloneness. Something of that silence and separateness resonates in this image. What drew my eye was Ann’s red coat, the condensation that made a ghost of Ollie, and how they were separated yet connected by the cracked paint of the window frame. These details made a transitory stage suffused with pristine light, the same ordinary light that falls into every window on every street.” Along with a prize of €15,000 the Dublin born artist will receive a commission worth €5,000 to produce a new work for the National Portrait Collection.
MARKEY ROBINSON (1918-1999) – SHAWLIE ON A ROAD INTO A VILLAGE. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,200 AT HAMMER
This oil on board by Markey Robinson comes up as lot 6 at Whyte’s Christmas sale of art and collectibles which ends from 6 pm on December 13. The estimate is €1,500-€2,000. With everything from Bealtes lithographs by Andy Warhol to Sheep by Graham Knuttel he work of a broad range of artists at affordable estimates is available. The timed online auction offers art, books, silver, wines and spirits.
