The selection of Irish art on offer at the James Adam evening sale in Dublin on October 23 is deeply impressive. This private collection contains great examples of work by Yeats, Henry, Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone, May Guinness, Mary Swanzy, Nano Reid, Grace Henry, le Brocquy, Barrie Cook, Tony O’Malley and many more.Without resorting to much hyperbole Adams describe the Antoinette and Patrick Murphy collection as the most important single owner collection of Irish art ever to have taken place in Ireland. They expect the auction of 200 lots to bring in more than a million euro. Sotheby’s sold the US based Brian P. Burns collection of Irish art for more than £3.3 million in London last year and will offer 12 works from the Murphy collection at sales in London and Paris in the coming months. Patrick and Antoinette Murphy – he is a former chairman of the Arts Council, she opened the Peppercannister Gallery in 1999 – are downsizing. Adams is impressed with the breadth and depth of their collection where early works by artists like Nathanial Hone were placed alongside contemporary artists like Basil Blackshaw. Estimates vary widely. One of the highlights of the sale is Mary Swanzy’s White Tower which dates to 1926 and is estimated at 80,000-100,000. The catalogue is online.
The White Tower by Mary Swanzy UPDATE: THIS MADE 90,000 AT HAMMER
With an arresting catalogue of Irish and International art Morgan O’Driscoll’s evening sale in Dublin on October 21 goes on view at the RDS from today. On the international side the 160 lot catalogue includes work by Andy Warhol, Alex Katz, Robert Motherwell, Georges Braque, Bridget Riley and others. The top Irish lots are The Derelict Ship by Jack Yeats and Seated Woman in a Red Dress by Roderic O’Conor. Each one carries an estimate of 150,000-250,000. The catalogue is online.
JACK BUTLER YEATS (1871-1957) The Derelict Ship (1946) UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Works from The Ernie O’Malley Collection, highlighted by five paintings by Jack Butler Yeats, will be offered by Christie’s in association with Whyte’s in Dublin on November 25. Comprised of 100 lots, including early sketches by Yeats and work by the artists Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone, Louis le Brocquy, Colin Middleton and Norah McGuinness, the auction will form an anthology of Irish art from the early 1900s to the 1950s. Ernie O’Malley was IRA commandder who fought in Ireland’s War of Independence and on the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War. He went on to publish two books detailing his experiences. The sale and international exhibitions provide an opportunity to discover his private passion for art and the relationships he developed with artists he encountered in America and Ireland. Highlights will be on view in New York from 23 to 27 October 23-27, in London from November 16-18 November and at the RDS from November 23.
Jack Butler Yeats, The Enfolding Night (1947,) (€500,000-700,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 520,000 AT HAMMER
A 1,570cc custom Harley-Davidson signed by His Holiness, Pope Francis comes up at Bonhams autumn Stafford sale on October 20. Known as the ‘White Unique’ it was created at the suggestion of Dr Thomas Draxler, founder of the ‘Jesus Bikers’ group in Austria, as a fundraising vehicle, to be donated to the Pontifical Mission Societies (Missio), the official support for Catholic overseas missions.
The machine is finished in pearlescent white, with Chicano (Mexican American) style detailing, numerous gold-plated components, a Dorne wreath ornament, a sunken cross and Pope Francis’ signature on the tank. It is estimated at £50,000-100,000 and all proceeds will be donated to charity.
The ‘Pope Bike’ being presented to His Holiness, Pope Frances’ in Rome
Bridget Riley’s Serpentine Study 3 should serve to bring added international interest to Morgan O’Driscoll’s art auction in Dublin on October 21. The sale which includes this work goes on view at La Galleria, Pall Mall on October 14 and 15. For the past several years the Skibbereen based auctioneer has boosted Irish art sales with new buyers by holding London viewings. The catalogue shows fresh to market works by Roderic O’Conor and Jack B Yeats and many other important Irish artists. On the international side it includes works by Andy Warhol, Alex Katz, Robert Motherwell, Tony Cragg, and others. With work in most major UK museums, and in Paris, Chicago and New York, Riley’s Op-Art star is bright. This piece is part of a series created for a big exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London in 1999 and is estimated at 40,000-60,000.
A fine 19th century horse drawn carriage from the Maureen O’Hara Collection will come under the hammer in Cork on October 15 when Sheppards offer entire contents of Carragnanes House and terraced gardens at Scotsman’s Road, Monkstown, Cork. Viewing is underway at the house, the sale of nearly 700 lots will be held at the Maryborough Hotel. On offer is a large selection of garden statuary and furniture, musical instruments, antique and contemporary furniture and collectible items. Collectors might be interested in a fine 19th century horse drawn carriage The carriage, lot 58, is estimated at 4,000-6,000. The catalogue is online.
A 19th century horse drawn carriage from the Maureen O’Hara collection UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This view of Cork Harbour at sunset by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson is among the main lots at the James Adam Country House Collections sale at Townley Hall, Drogheda on October 15. The magnificent work depicts men-o-war at anchor with a paddle steamer in the distance and is estimated at 50,000-70,000. The principal vessel is a Royal Navy ship of the line, probably the HMS St. Vincent. The top lot in this auction of over 720 lots is a three pillar Irish George IV dining table by Williams and Gibton wth an estimate of 50,000-80,000. Lot 283 is a writing desk from the Coromandel coast of India with links to the Penrose family formerly of Woodhill House in Cork. In inlaid rosewood and raised on an Irish 18th century stand the top is decorated with ivory floral marquetry on an ebony ground. It is estimated at 7,000-10,000. A George III giltwood mirror after a design by William Kent is estimated at 15,000-20,000 and a large pair of Doucai enamelled lotus vases is estimated at 20,000-30,000. The auction offers Irish and English furniture, silver, paintings and numerous lots of decorative arts. The catalogue is online.
Cork Harbour at sunset by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Hard on the heels of their Country House Collections auction at Townley Hall on October 15 the Dublin firm of James Adam will offer what is described as the most important single owner auction of Irish art in Dublin on October 23. On offer is around 200 lots of paintings, prints and sculpture from the collection of Antoinette and Pat Murphy. The total estimate for the sale is over one million euro. It is a collection of breadth and variety ranging from works by Nathaniel Hone, Paul Henry and Jack B. Yeats to contemporary work by Barrie Cooke, Basil Blackshaw and Camille Souter. The catalogue is online.
William Scott – Two Pears (25,000-35,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 61,000 AT HAMMER
With major works from Roderic O’Conor and Jack B. Yeats Irish art from Morgan O’Driscoll’s sale at the RDS in Dublin on October 21 goes on view in London on October 14 and 15. The venue is La Galleria on Pall Mall. Mr. O’Driscoll started London viewings for his most important sales of Irish and International Art in latter years and has found new buyers for Irish art as a result. The catalogue, which includes work by Andy Warhol, Bridget Riley, Tony Cragg, Alex Katz and Robert Motherwell, for the sale is online and London viewing gets underway at the RDS on October 18.
RODERIC O’CONOR RHA (1860-1940) – Seated Woman in a red dress/Le Divan c1925 (150,000-250,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 110,000 AT HAMMER
A Bluthner boudoir grand piano is among the lots at a house sale by Sheppards in Cork on October 15. Nearly 700 lots from Carraganes House, Monkstown, Cork will come under the hammer. This was the home of the late businessman Michael Murphy who established the seed and agrichemical business Goldcrop through a management buyout of Sutton’s agricultural division in 1984. The catalogue for the sale, with a large selection of garden statuary and furniture, musical instruments, antique and contemporary furniture and collectible items, is online.
A Bluthner boudoir grand piano UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
