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More than 400 lots will come under the hammer at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale of affordable Irish art which gets underway at 6.30 pm on September 30. The sale will run until approximately 11.30 pm. The auction features work by a number of popular Irish artists like Kenneth Webb, William Crozier, Arthur Maderson, Norman Teeling, Basil Blackshaw, Colin Middleton, Douglas Alexander, Graham Knuttel, Markey Robinson, Frank McKelvey and many others.
A William Morris Donegal carpet with an all over bold pattern made a hammer price of 5,200 on day two of Sheppards sale in Durrow today. A Donegal carpet designed by CFA Voysey made 5,400 at hammer. A pair of 19th century cloisonne lamps made 4,800. The Jews Harp, an oil on canvas by Robert Gemmill Hutchison (1860-1936) made 4,600, Horse in a landscape by Wright Barker (1864-1941) made 6,400, Le Triomphe de la Republique by Henri F Bellan (1899) made 9,500, a set of 12 Edwardian Chippendale style dining chairs made 4,400, an 18th century Chinese Chippendale table made 7,500 and a pair of brass bound mahogany peat buckets made 2,400. Jewellery made good prices. An 18 carat white gold tennis bracelet made 9,000 and a white gold solitaire diamond ring made 12,000. A pair of large Qing famille rose bowls made 7,800.
The evening Post War and Contemporary art auction at Christie’s in London on October 4 during Frieze Week will be followed by the annual sale dedicated to Italian artists. The sale showcases artists who pioneered new directions for the medium of paint ranging from Sigmar Polke’s dotted raster technique to Gerhard Richter’s ‘Abstraktes Bild’ series and from Joan Mitchell to Kazuo Shiraga. The auction will be led by Basquiat’s Four Big (1982) (\£7.5-9.5 million).
Landline Fire, a 2014 oil on aluminium by Sean Scully, comes up at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art evening sale in Hong Kong on October 6 with an estimate of 7-9 million HKD (around 800,000-1 million euro). Exhibiting radiant swathes of rich amber and ocher against deep sage-green this is an exceptional example of the artist’s ongoing investigation of striped forms. The work hails from the artist’s Landline series which was exhibited to great acclaim alongside the 56th Venice Biennale. Inspired by the intense beauty of sun-drenched Venice, Italy, the Landline works marked a transition from his earlier hard-edged forms to his current more gestural and expressive style.
The Rescue by Arthur Wardle (1864-1949) was among the top lots on the opening day at Sheppard’s Legacy of the Big House sale in Durrow today. It made a hammer price of 11,000. A pair of 19th century ebony pier cabinets made 9,000 at hammer; a pair of 19th century walnut and marquetry plinths sold for 7,500; a pair of 18th century Gainsborough chairs made 5,600; a 19th century Sevres urn made 5,000 and a pair of 19th century Vienna porcelain ewers made 4,400. The auction continues tomorrow.
Ahead of the latest Brexit deadline Banksy’s derisive portrayal of The House of Commons reduced to an assembly of parliamentary primates comes up at Sotheby’s in London on October 3. Banksy first unveiled Devolved Parliament a decade ago as part of his ground-breaking Banksy vs. Bristol Museum exhibition. The painting returned to the spotlight for another showing in Bristol to mark the date originally intended for “Brexit Day”, March 29 2019. The artist took to instagram at the time to explain: “I made this ten years ago. Bristol museum have just put it back on display to mark Brexit day. “Laugh now, but one day no-one will be in charge”. It will be on display at Sotheby’s from September 28. Devolved Parliament is estimated at £1.5-£2 million.
What is described as The Legacy of the Big House, Sheppards two day sale in Durrow on September 24 and 25 is packed to the brim with objects that might readily fit into any home, big or small.On offer is an across the board selection of more than 1,300 lots of furniture, jewellery, Chinese and Japanese art and collectibles, sculpture, rugs and militaria. The auction kicks off at 10.30 am on September 24 with some French bronzes and militaria, including ceremonial swords and antique percussion pistols. Continuing the theme of decorating the walls there are some beautiful old mirrors, wall lights, sconces and art to suit all tastes. Then there is the furniture and the selection is interesting. There are all sorts of chairs, singly, in pairs, dining chairs, couches, settees, library chairs, window seats, stools and even a set of eight Provincial ladder back chairs with rush panelled seats. There are desks, occasional tables, centre tables, side tables, silver tables, wine tables, serving tables, games tables, console tables, a Chinese hardwood table, chests of drawers, side cabinets, peat buckets, log barrels, a Chinese lacquered cabinet and bookcases. There are rugs, silver and plate, lots of Oriental ceramics, African ceremonial masks, a couple of chimney pieces, glass and collectibles.Estimates vary widely which makes this a sale for all pockets. The auction will be over four sessions at 10.30 am and 2 pm each day and it will be live online.
ACCORDING to James O’Halloran, managing director at James Adam in Dublin, the old reliables of Irish art perform best in the current market. The sale of Important Irish Art at Adams at 6 pm on September 25 contains a selection by some of Ireland’s best loved artists of the last 150 years.O’Halloran says that collectors of contemporary Irish art are well informed nowadays and only want the best that they can afford. In auctioneering terms this means fresh to market works by artists with a proven track record. In a small market this makes it very difficult for newcomers to break in. Sadly this has proved to be something of a brake on the auction development of emerging artists, whose work in Ireland is mostly promoted by galleries.On the Skibbereen Light Railway by Yeats is the auction highlight at Adams. Estimated at 150,000-200,000 the work, which explores the interaction between people on the long gone west Cork railway, was once owned by Leo Smith, founder of The Dawson Gallery, and at a later stage by the modernist architect Michael Scott. The auction features work by stalwarts like Sir John Lavery and Paul Henry. A classic west of Ireland landscape by Henry was purchased by Wilhelm Mueller, a member of the German Legation in Ireland in 1940 when the Second World War was raging. The family was granted permission to stay in Ireland after the war and did not return to their home country until the 1950’s. It has remained in their possession until now and is estimated at 60,000-80,000. The catalogue cover lot is Fighting Tinkers by Gerard Dillon (30,000-50,000). The Shelbourne Hotel has consigned a number of lots including Tony O’Malley’s Orpheus Autumn which dates from 1984 (15,000-20,000).
This rare Ming vase turned up at a charity antique valuation dayat Blarney Castle. It is believed by auctioneers Sheppards to most likely be a Ming blue and white flask dating from the Yongle Period,1402 – 1424. The flask is extremely rare and has a preliminary minimum estimated value of €40,000 – 60,000. It goes under the hammer at a specialist Masterworks sale at Sheppard’s Irish Auction House in Durrow, Co. Laois next November 7. It was brought in by a county Cork family.
A full length portrait of María Luisa Maldonado y Salabert, Marquesa de Torneros, daughter of the Count of Villagonzalo by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida comes up at Bonhams in London on September 26. An exhibiton of Sorolla’s works runs at the National Gallery of Ireland until November 3. Letters from Sorolla to his wife Clotilde reveal that the present lot was a direct commission from the Count of Villagonzalo, who was himself a major art collector, and a close friend of the artist. The work, which comes up at a sale of 19th century European, Victorian and British Impressionist Art, is estimated at £180,000-250,000.
