This pair of fossilised Irish elk antlers will come up at Sotheby’s in London on April 11 with an estimate of £20,000-£30,000. One has four points, the other eight and there are restorations. Although the elk inhabited a vast expanse of central Europe and Asia, the largest concentration of its remains have been found mainly in the marl underlying bogland of Ireland, giving rise to the popular nomenclature of this species. The high calcium carbonate content of the marl is conducive to the preservation of bones, and examples of these ancient antler specimens have been discovered in Counties Waterford, Clare and Cork, many of them in caves. Many have featured in Irish banqueting halls following a centuries-old tradition, particularly during the 19th century, when it was fashionable for such antiquarian relics to be displayed in baronial halls. An instance of this is recorded in an 1850s interior drawing of the new manor at Adare, Co. Limerick. The antlers are part of a sale of Classic Design and are listed in the catalogue as property from Ollerton Grange, a lavish Cheshire mansion. The sale includes a set of 12 Irish George III silver dinner plates from the Drogheda Service by Robert Calderwood (£8,000-£12,000) and a pair of Irish silver soup tureens by Calderwood (£10,000-£15,000). UPDATE: THE ANTLERS WERE UNSOLD
Claude Monet’s Moulin de Limetz will be a highlight at Christie’s 20th century evening sale in New York in May. The work is being offered by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the heirs of Ethel B. Atha and proceeds will benefit future art acquisitions for the Nelson-Atkins. Moulin de Limetz is one of only two canvases by Claude Monet picturing the subject of the mill at Limetz-Villez, near Giverny. Painted in 1888, this example presents a prologue to Monet’s development into series, which would become a defining tenet of his late career. Featuring dazzling kaleidoscopic light that reflects and sparkles off the gently flowing water and shimmers off the rustling foliage, Monet’s painterly achievement radiates color with depth and complexity through layers of thick, rich and sumptuous pigment. The estimate is $18-$25 million.
MARILYN MONROE’S PINK PUCCI DRESS SOLD FOR $325,000
With over eight thousand bids online, and on the phone, from countries across each continent such as the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Mexico, Monaco, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Germany, and Hong Kong the ICONS: PLAYBOY, HUGH HEFNER X MARILYN MONROE sale at Julien’s Auctions realised over $4 million. Though the two Hollywood icons remarkably never met, Hugh Hefner’s and Marilyn Monroe’s legacies became inextricably linked when Monroe appeared in Hefner’s inaugural 1953 issue of Playboy. In that moment, they gained worldwide fame becoming two important figures of twentieth-century America and Playboy establishing itself as an iconic global brand.
The most expensive lot of the three day sale was Monroe’s pink Pucci long-sleeved dress of silk jersey which sold for $325,000, the top selling lot of the event that set a new world record of most expensive Pucci dress sold at auction. Monroe’s The Seven Year Itch costume– a Mae West-inspired black and cellophane effect evening gown designed by legendary costume designer William Travilla worn by Monroe in the classic 1955 film’s dream sequence scene, which was later cut from the film–sold for $127,000.
A letter from Jean Smith, one of the children to Rose and Joseph Kennedy and sister to John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and four other siblings that reads: “Dear Marilyn – Mother asked me to write and thank you for your sweet note to Daddy – He really enjoyed it and you were very cute to send it. / Understand that you and Bobby are the new item! We all think you should come with him when he comes back east! Again thanks for the note. / Love, Jean Smith” sold for $28,575, seven times its estimate of $4,000.
This is Raquel Welch’s beaded and rhinestone gown designed by Bob Mackie and worn to a 1979 photoshoot. It comes up at Julien’s online sale in Hollywood on April 12 with an estimate of $2,000-$3,000 as part of a sale titled Bombshell: The Raquel Welch Collection. One of Hollywood’s most famous sex symbols Welch, who died in 2023, became a pioneer of the strong female lead character from her roles in Fantastic Voyage, Hannie Caulder, Myra Breckinridge and The Three Musketeers for which she won a Golden Globe award. There are annotated film scripts, memorabilia like her Screen Actors Guild card, costumes and pieces from her home. Among 500 lots are the earrings worn when she played herself in Season 8, episode 22 of Seinfeld and the iconic fur bikini from One Million Years B.C. which became one of the biggest pin up posters of all time. UPDATE: THIS DRESS SOLD FOR $6,500
Primrose Hill by Frank Auerbach UPDATE: THIS MADE 21,000 AT HAMMER
With signed Andy Warhol and Joan Miro screenprints, contrasting approaches to landscape in views of Primrose Hill by Frank Auerbach and Union Hall by Donald Teskey, an oil on canvas by Conor Harrington, still lifes, interiors and a bravura portrait by Genieve Figgis the April 9 Irish and International sale by Morgan O’Driscoll is characterised by great variety.
The first two artworks of the 164 lots on offer, a pen drawing by Jack B Yeats redolent of an Ireland long vanished and a fairly abstract lithograph entitled Coloured Wall by Sean Scully, illustrate this diversity very well. The most expensively estimated lot is Villas near the Sea, Cassis (1913) by Roderic O’Conor (€70,000-€100,000). At the other end of the cost scale is a 1980 photograph of Samuel Beckett by John Minihan (€300-€500) and an oil on board of The Rosses, Co. Donegal by Estella Solomons (€500-€750).
Artists are often fascinated by the unformed drawings of the very young. At first glance Primrose Hill by Frank Auerbach – a series of crayon squiggles on a page – looks like something your average two or three year old might have produced. The clue is in the title. Look more closely and an image of Hampstead Heath on a summer day emerges, complete with winding path, trees, blue sky and approaching dark clouds. The colour range is precise. In his catalogue entry Peter Murray notes: “Much of the drawing’s zest and energy is created by this understanding of colour theory translated into action that underpins the seemingly random and chaotic marks and results in an impressive work of art created from the simplest materials”. Auerbach’s Primrose Hill (€15,000-€25,000) is indeed fascinating and no, you could not do it yourself.
Union Hall, West Cork by Donald Teskey. UPDATE: THIS MADE 29,000 AT HAMMER
Union Hall by Donald Teskey presents a beguiling picture of the charming west Cork fishing village and is estimated at €20,000-€30,000.
The catalogue cover lot is a screenprint by Andy Warhol titled Ladies and Gentlemen II.135 (1975). The estimate is €7,000-€9,000. A William Scott screenprint, Still Life with Frying Pan and Eggs, is estimated at €5,000-€7,000 and there are etchings and prints by Georges Braque, Damien Hirst, Mr. Brainwash and Joan Miro whose La Megere et La Lune (1973) was published by Maeght Paris and numbered 36 from an edition of 50. A pencil drawing of Dock St., Belfast by L.S. Lowry dates to 1964 and is estimated at €15,000-€20,000.
Master of Money and Mirrors by Conor Harrington. UPDATE: THIS MADE 40,000 AT HAMMER
Master of Money and Mirrors is an oil on canvas by the Cork artist Conor Harrington whose street art propelled him to fame. He is now represented in a growing number of collections and this piece is estimated at €40,000-€60,000. Portrait of a Lady by Dublin born Genieve Figgis, whose use of Twitter propelled her to the international stage, is estimated at €30,000-€50,000.
A portrait of a lady in a white dress by Cork born Adam Buck (1759-1833) is estimated at €2,000-€3,000 and a unique 3D wood relief by Maser has an estimate of €4,000-€6,000. There is sculpture by, among others, John Behan, Rowan Gillespie, Helen Walsh, Patrick O’Reilly, Siobhan Bulfin and Mark Rode.
Viewing takes place in Skibbereen on today, tomorrow and Monday and in Dublin at the RDS from April 5 to April 8. The auction will begin to close at 6.30 pm on April 9.
No to War by Patrick O’Reilly. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,400 AT HAMMER
A World War I British Army recruitment poster featuring Inchigeelagh born Victoria Cross recipient Michael O’Leary comes up as lot 18 at O’Donovan’s online auction in Newcastlewest on April 3. He was awarded Britain’s most prestigious award for gallantry for single handedly charging and destroying two German barricades defended by machine gun positions at Cuinchy in France in 1915.
Subsequently feted in London and Macroom he was jeered by Ulster Volunteers during a recruitment drive in Ballaghaderreen in the autumn of 1915. This caused such a scandal that it was raised in the Houses of Parliament. O’Leary, who died in London in 1961, served in France in the same regiment as British actor Stanley Holloway and the two, both born in 1890, remained lifelong friends. Holloway often stayed at The May Fair Hotel where O’Leary was concierge. The recruitment poster is estimated at €150-€250. The contents of two pubs in Cork and Limerick will be offered by O’Donovan’s. The auction offers collectibles and many items of interest including a Michael Collins portrait poster, a Dan Breen wanted poster, an Allman’s Irish Whisky mirror, advertising signs and road signs of various sorts.
Untitled 1984 by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat – the most significant collaboration painting at auction in a decade – will highlight Sotheby’s marquee contemporary art auction in New York in May. This large -scale example of a creative experiment that fused their distinctive visual languages and styles – Warhol’s signature use of screenprinting and mechanically produced imagery, such as corporate logos, coupled with Basquiat’s expressionistic, figurative scrawls in paintstick – to create one of the most singular bodies of work in 20th century art during their famed period of collaboration from 1983 – 1985. In the four decades since their creation, the Warhol-Basquiat collaboration paintings have only added to the mystique and legend of their creators, and stand out as daring testaments to their artistic partnership and friendship.
Coming to auction for the first time in nearly 15 years with an estimate in the region of $18 million, Untitled’s sale is set to mark a new benchmark price for the series.
EVIE HONE (1894-1955) – SKETCH FOR THE PENAL DAYS (c1936-37). UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER
Evie Hone’s design for a small stained glass window made in the 1930’s for An Túr Gloine (The Tower of Glass) comes up at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current Irish and International Art online auction which runs until April 9. The gouache on paper is based on her studies of medieval stone carvings in Ireland. The lunette, which featured at Hone’s retrospective in Dublin in 1958, is now housed the Chapel of Rest at Tallaght University Hospital. The estimate on the sketch is 3,000-5,000.
The sale is on view in Skibbereen on March 29. 30, 31 and on April 1 and at the RDS in Dublin from April 5-8. The catalogue is online.
The first exhibition dedicated to the pioneering stained glass studio An Túr Gloine (The Tower of Glass), founded in 1903 by Sarah Purser is now open at The National Gallery and continues until January 12, 2025. Featured artists include Wilhelmina Geddes, Michael Healy, Catherine O’Brien, Alfred E. Child, Hubert McGoldrick, Ethel Rhind and Evie Hone.
A Rare Mughal Silk Rug, The Deccan, South India, Early 18th century of ‘Flower in Lattice’ design, (Estimate £120,000-160,000 | US$160,000-200,000
This rare Mughal silk rug is among the highlights at Christie’s bi annual Spring sale of Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including rugs and carpets in London on April 25. It was formerly in the collection of Senator William A. Clark in 1910, who gifted it to the Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington. Works include paintings, ceramics, metal work, works on paper, arms, textiles and rugs and carpets from across the Islamic world, spanning the Silk Route linking China to the West dating from the 10th to the 20th centuries. There are over 100 rare and collectible rugs and carpets in the sale. Another highlight is a rare and complete illustrated manuscript copy of the Khamsa of Nizami (d.1209) together with the Khamsa of Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (d.1325). This splendid manuscript copy of the two Khamsas is an outstanding example of Safavid manuscript production in the first half of the 17th century.
A rare and complete illustrated manuscript copy of the Khamsa of Nizami (d.1209) together with the Khamsa of Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (d.1325) (Estimate £500,000-700,000 / US$640,000-890,000).
Francis Bacon’s haunting Portrait of George Dyer Crouching comes up at Sotheby’s contemporary art evening auction in New York in May. It is the first in a series of ten monumental portraits of Dyer created between 1966 and 1968 and it has never been on the auction market before. Dyer is portrayed shirtless, crouched over his discarded shirt like a predator over his prey, his head depicted in triplicate as it turns towards the viewer, combining Dyer’s face with Bacon’s, nodding to their indivisibility. This image of the entwined head is among the best examples within Bacon’s oeuvre – a significant motif that would persist throughout his work. The revolutionary impact that Dyer and Bacon had on each other’s lives can be felt palpably here, as the first painting in a series that would, over years, chronicle the seduction and sadness, frustration and fulfillment, tension and collapse that underlined one of the most tempestuous relationships in art history.
It was acquired from The Marlborough Gallery in 1970 and has not been on the market since. It is the first full-scale portrait of Dyer at auction since another from this same cycle, George Dyer Talking, sold in 2014 for $70 million – establishing the record for any single-panel portrait by Bacon. The centerpiece of Francis Bacon: Man and Beast held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London in 2022 Portrait of George Dyer Crouching is estimated at between $30 million and $50 million.
