FRANCIS BINDON (c1690-1765) – PORTRAIT OF JONATHAN SWIFT. UPDATE: THIS MADE 234,000 AT HAMMER
This portrait of Jonathan Swift by Francis Bindon has been at Howth Castle since 1735 and will come up at Fonsie Mealy’s sale of contents of the castle on September 8 and 9. A second sale of the library at the castle takes place on September 22 and 23. More than 800 lots will come under the hammer in the fine art and antiques sale.
Howth Castle has been the home of the St. Lawrence family since the Norman Invasion. Since 1919 the castle has been held by the distaff heirs, the Gaisford-St. Lawrence family. In 2018 the family announced their agreement to sell the castle, demesne and Ireland’s Eye to the Tetrach investment group who intend to develop an hotel and luxury resort. A seven acre portion has since been sold to Glenveagh homes who plan to build 200 apartments.
In a major push to focus on diversity and inclusion MGM Resorts plans to sell its Picasso’s. MGM Resorts and Sotheby’s will present a one of a kind marquee evening sale of Picasso masterworks worth millions live from Bellagio in Las Vegas on October 23. The world renowned entertainment company plans to re-shape its public art portfolio. The unique collaboration between Sotheby’s and MGM represents the first time Sotheby’s has hosted a marquee sale in North America outside its signature New York venue. It will feature a recreated version of the New York saleroom in Las Vegas. The sale will be broadcast around the world via a livestream viewable on Sothebys.com
Featuring 11 works that showcase the range and breadth of Pablo Picasso’s celebrated career, the auction includes a highly curated selection of paintings, works on paper, and ceramics that span more than 50 years of artistic output from 1917 to 1969. The highlight of the collection is Femme au béret rouge-orange ($20/30 million), one of Picasso’s defining portraits of Marie-Thérèse Walter. The artist’s muse and lover inspired many of his most iconic portraits of the 1930’s.
This Qing polychrome dish with poetry inscriptions and the seal mark of Qianlong to the base comes up as lot 36 at Sheppards two day sale of contents from Woodfield House, Broadford, Co. Clare online on August 17-18. More than 900 lots are to be sold in four sessions over two days. The auction will include the entire contents of the house, gardens, stables and outoffices, as well as lots from other clients. There will be viewing at the house in accordance with Covid guidelines from August 14-16. The online sale will take place from Castlecomer and the dish pictured here is estimated at 1,500-2,500. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,800 AT HAMMER
LOUIS LE BROCQUY HRHA (1916-2012), “THE TÁIN. THE BULL OF CUAILNGE [BLUE]”, 1989. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,400 AT HAMMER
This lithograph by Louis le Brocquy comes up at Hegarty’s art auction online until August 15. Number 84 from an edition of 140 it is estimated at 2,000-3,000. The catalogue for the sale, with more than 150 lots, is online. Among the artists included are John Butler Yeats, Martin Finnan, Tom Cullen, Michael Gemmell, John Kingerlee, Norman Wilkinson, Maurice Canning Wilks, Gretta O’ Brien, Anne P. Jury, Ann Mueller, Lorna Millar, Colin Flack, Markey Robinson, Terry Delaney, Con Campbell, Declan Marry, George Gavin Duffy, J. P Rooney, Annie Robinson and Adam Kos
Andy Warhol’s Trucks Series (1985) will be offered at Christie’s Prints & Multiples online sale which runs from September 16-28. In June 1986 the German Federal Road Haulage Association (BDF) hosted the 20th World Congress of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) in Frankfurt am Main. It was for this occasion that the BDF commissioned Andy Warhol to produce a set of screenprints depicting a cargo truck. The series is being offered from the archive of the Association.
German art dealer Hermann Wünsche – one of the first gallerists to bring Andy Warhol’s work to Germany – was co-publisher. In 1976 he had arranged for Warhol to make a portrait of Willy Brandt, Germany’s first Social-Democratic Chancellor after the war, and went on to commission portraits of other prominent Germans, such as the president of the Cancer Society, Mildred Scheel (1980), and the goalkeeper of the National football team, Toni Schumacher (1983). Trucks Series is estimated at £50,000-70,000.
A question is posed by an online Sotheby’s sale running until August 12. Do you want merely to set the table for dinner or is a creative tablescape more to your taste? If the answer is the latter then “Dining IN” – running as two concurrent auctions in London and New York – is the sale to set your post lockdown celebrations underway. With content ranging from the 19th to the 21st centuries this auction celebrates the dining experience in all its formats. There is a focus on modern silver and ceramics, including Tiffany and Georg Jensen, Meissen and Versace porcelain. From Regency splendour to Victorian whimsy the creative teams involved have brought together a selection of silver, porcelain, glass, furniture and table linen to cater for a variety of tastes. Highlights include a George III silver soup tureen and a Martin Brothers grotesque stoneware spoon warmer from 1881 but there is enough of a selection here to let the imagination run riot.
A pair of silver sculptural candelabra by Patrick Mavros, Zimbabwe 1999 UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR £10,080
Pair of Georgian flintlock duelling pistols. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR €2,800 AT HAMMER
With everything from a Georgian cavalry sabre, a pair of duelling pistols and some very rare Irish whiskey to art ranging from work by Charles Harper to Evie Hone to Grace Henry the summer auction at Dolan’s caters for a wide range of interests. This annual sale, which has been held at Ballyconneely in Connemara for more than a decade now, is taking place online this year. The catalogue is open for viewing and bidding continues until the evening of August 16.Given that Irish auction goers have adapted particularly well to online models this should not be any impediment. Sales can be viewed in comfort and convenience on the computer and Dolan’s will be on hand to help with any queries.On offer is an appetising selection of 20th century and contemporary Irish art as well as antique furniture, silver, rugs, books and collectibles. Specialist collectors will be particularly interested in a group of 17 rare Irish whiskeys and a unique and unspoiled collection of 14 flintlock guns and swords untouched for a century in an Irish country house.The Georgian sabre mentioned above, complete with wire bound grip, Lion’s head pommel and leather and brass mounted scabbard is estimated at €400-€600. A pair of Georgian flintlock duelling pistols by James Richardson, Manchester is estimated at €1,000-€2,000. Included among the antique furniture selection is an early 19th century inlaid longcase clock by Richard Midgley (€2,500-€3,500).
Cherry Blossom by Grace Henry. UPDATE: THIS MADE €5,500 at hammer
Forgotten Landscape by Charles Harper was exhibited in his 2018 retrospective at the RHA and is illustrated in the book published in conjunction with the show. It is estimated at €3,000-€5,000. In a rather different vein is a study in gouache by Evie Hone (1894-1955) Horseman and Hound (€4,500-€5,500) and Cherry Blossom by Grace Henry (1868-1953) with an estimate of €6,000-€8,000. There is a strong self portrait in charcoal by Sean Keating (€7,500-€8,500) and early morning swimmers by Laura Cronin is estimated at €5,000-€7,000). The auction offers no less than seven paintings by the ever popular Mark O’Neill. There is no shortage of art at lower estimates than this including Baby Teddy by Susan Cronin (€750-€950), Currach Men by Douglas Hutton (€800-€1,200) and The Ice Cream Kiosk by John Morris (€800-€1,200).
More than 400 lots will come under the hammer at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale of affordable Irish art on August 9. Among them are Still Life with Poppies, an oil on board by David French le Roy. Lot 5 is estimated at €800-€1,200.
David French le Roy – Still Life with Poppies II. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,800 AT HAMMER
This Regency rosewood sofa table comes up at Sheppards two day sale of from Woodfield House, Broadford, Co. Clare and other clients on August 17 and 18. There will be viewing at the house from August 14-16. The sale will be online from Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny. More than 900 lots will come under the hammer in an auction which Sheppards has broken up into four separate sessions for the convenience of bidders. The sofa table is lot 24 and estimated at 1,500-2,500. The catalogue for the sale is online.
From oak barrels with metal banding to sundials, cast iron seats to marble turtles the summer sale online by Victor Mee in Co. Cavan on August 4 offers a selection of no less than 565 lots to enhance and add interest to any garden, large or small. There is sandstone wall capping, a moulded stone fountain and even a pair of rattan rocking chairs on a metal base. Garden auctions have become more numerous and popular, especially over the last 18 months when so many of us have been unwittingly stuck at home. So if you think a cast iron eagle or a moulded stone pair of lions is just what you need then this sale is for you. There are tables, chairs, limestone troughs, planters, pine posts, terracotta planters, Lutyens style benches, a life size model of a raptor in resin, staddle stones and a 19th century cast iron arch in the form of branches. The catalogue is online.
19th century cast iron arch in the form of a branch. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,400 AT HAMMER
