FELIM EGAN – Wood Note A (1997). UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,600 AT HAMMER
THIS acrylic and mixed media on wood by the late Irish artist Felim Egan comes up as lot 37 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish art online auction which runs until November 27. It is estimated at €800-€1,200 and is already the subject of some spirited bidding. A wide variety of art and artists characterise this sale. There is sculpture by John Behan, drawings by Yeats and Sean Keating, a screenprint by Andy Warhol, and a variety of high popular artists like Arthur Maderson, Graham Knuttel, Cecil Maguire, Mark O’Neill and Markey Robinson. The catalogue is online.
Irish George II mahogany silver table. UPDATE: THIS MADE £5,080
This Irish George II silver table comes up as lot 65 at Sotheby’s in London on December 6. The rectangular top with has a raised moulded edge, the shaped apron is centred by a carved scallop shell and the gently curved legs terminate in paw feet. The estimate is £4,000-£6,000. It is part of the Albany: An Important Private Collection sale of items housed within the famous Albany on Piccadilly, the neo classical masterpiece originally built in 1770 by Sir William Chambers. The auction consists of furniture from the 17th to the early 19th centuries.
The Fisherman’s Cottage by Gerard Dillon made a hammer price of €85,000 at de Veres timed sale of Outstanding Irish Art which ended this evening. Blackbird with Girl in a landscape with Cottage by Norah McGuinness made €75,000, On Killary Bay by Paul Henry made €70,000, Joe the Swineherd by Walter Osborne made €70,000, Eden by Louis le Brocquy made €42,000, Rugby Sculpture 2007 by Barry Flanagan made €40,000, and The Hay Stacker by Paul Henry made €40,000.
Norah McGuinness – BLACKBIRD AND GIRL IN A LANDSCAPE WITH COTTAGE
Two artworks by Sir John Lavery and one by Jack B Yeats each made £381,000 (€437,520) at Sotheby’s Modern British and Irish art sale in London today. The Donkey Show by Yeats and A Moorish Harem and Ariadne, both by Lavery, all sold above their low estimate of £300,000. The Trotter by Yeats made £88,900 over an estimate of £80,000-£120,000 but Woodhenge by F. E. McWilliam failed to find a buyer. The Modern British and Irish day auction at Sotheby’s takes place tomorrow.
Lionel Messi with the 2022 FIFA World Cup Finals Shirt (France) (Front), courtesy of Sam Robles photography. UPDATE: THE SET SOLD FOR $7.8 MILLION. THIS IS THE HIGHEST PRICE PAID IN 2023 FOR SPORTS MEMORABILIA
A set of six Lionel Messi match worn shirts from the 2022 FIFA World Cup is set to become the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia at auction. A year following Messi’s crowning achievement, Sotheby’s will present a set of six of Lionel Messi’s match-worn Argentina shirts from his historic run in Qatar. Worn by the Argentine captain during the first half of the Final, Semi-final, Quarter-final, Round of 16, and two of the three Group Stage matches, the set of six white and sky blue Argentina home shirts will be offered in a dedicated sale open for bidding from 30 November – 14 December. The extraordinary collection is estimated in excess of $10 million.
The shirts are being brought to auction by US-based tech startup AC Momento, who in addition to their mobile app for sports fans, partners with high-profile athletes (like Messi) to help manage their match-worn memorabilia collections. A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to UNICAS Project, led by Sant Joan de Déu (SJD) Barcelona Children’s Hospital with the support of Leo Messi Foundation, to meet the needs of children suffering from rare diseases. This follows the work the Leo Messi Foundation has completed with the SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital Pediatric Cancer Center which treats 400 children with cancer each year.
The current record for a game-worn item of sports memorabilia is Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals jersey, which sold for $10.1 million at Sotheby’s New York in September 2022
Edwin Mercer will display this Victorian lady’s vanity box at the Limerick fair this weekend.
In the run up to Christmas the antique and art season is beginning to really hot up. Limerick racecourse is the venue for the National Antiques, Art and Vintage fair today and tomorrow. Outstanding Irish art will come under the hammer at de Veres in Dublin next Tuesday and Sotheby’s expects around €2 million worth of Irish art to change hands at evening and day sales in London on Tuesday and Wednesday. The calendar for the next few weeks is brimful of interest and offers a huge array of choice to eager collectors across all price levels and genres. Limerick Racecourse has proven to be an ideal venue for Hibernian Antique Fairs. There is easy access and lots of space for antique shops, art galleries and vintage dealers. An across the board selection this weekend includes a Victorian vanity box complete with travel accessories, bottles and even hat pins. Along with a covetable selection of antique furniture including a c1790 Irish double sided library table with hairy paw feet and Irish art there are selections of clocks and watches, militaria, jewellery, porcelain and silver.
Rugby Sculpture (2007) by Barry Flanagan at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE 40,000
Art by Paul Henry, Walter Osborne, Gerard Dillon, Tony O’Malley, Norah McGuinness, William Scott, John Shinnors and Barry Flanagan will feature strongly at de Veres on Tuesday evening. Bidding on this timed online sale which draws to a close from 6 pm on November 21 is already open. It is on view at Kildare St. in Dublin for the next four days.
Bathers, Naylor’s Cove, Bray by Harry Kernoff at Sotheby’s in London. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The evening and day sales at Sotheby’s in London on November 21 and 22 are part of British and Irish art week, a series of events celebrating the art of Ireland and Britain from the 19th to the 21st centuries. A total of 54 lots of Irish art will feature with the evening sale headed by two works from Sir John Lavery and two by Jack B Yeats. The Lavery’s have emerged from the collection of the artists family. Another evening highlight is a significant early carving by F.E. McWilliam titled Woodhenge. The estimate for the piece is €229,220-€343,830. Meantime Bonhams first sale on the island of Ireland is now open for bidding online. The Irish Sale: Vision and Voice will offer art by Paul Henry, Donald Teskey, Sir William Orpen, Maeve McCarthy, Margaret Clarke, Frank McKelvey, Wiliam Leech and Jack B Yeats along with an annotated typescript of Finnegans Wake by James Joyce and handwritten lyrics of Your Song Saved My Life by Bono. The auction will be on view at the City Assembly House in Dublin from November 24-28, when the sale will be held.
Woodhenge by F.E. McWilliam at Sotheby’s. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An oak carved pulpit UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,100 AT HAMMER
A 19th century neo Gothic pulpit is among the more unusual items at Victor Mee’s three day sale next week. On offer are contents from the Medusa antique and salvage yard in Belgium, a hub for collectors since 1984. There are arch fanlights, carved wooden statues, African granary doors, gothic windows, fireplaces, chandeliers, door surrounds, outdoor lamps, gates and railings, gargoyles, bronze sculptures, garden furniture and all sorts of everything among the 1,500 lots. The pulpit, by Charles Buisine-Rigot, comes up as lot 355 and is estimated at €1,800-€2,800. Among a variety of unusual items is a driftwood bar counter, Great Dane statues, an oak and brass ticket booth, a 20th century haberdashery cupboard, iron deck cannons, a distillery pump and an early 19th century apartment post box cabinet with tendoors. The sale, in association with Derrys of Armagh, will be on view at Derrys at Annaghmore, Co. Armagh on November 19. The catalogue is online.
One of a pair of Great Dane statues. UPDATE: THESE MADE 1,200 AT HAMMER
JAMES JOYCE – ANNOTATED TYPESCRIPTS FOR FINNEGANS WAKE. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The Irish Sale: Vision and Voice by Bonhams opens for bidding today. Bonhams first sale on the island of Ireland will be on view at the City Assembly House in Dublin from November 24-28. Kieran O’ Boyle, Head of Bonhams Ireland and Northern Ireland commented: “Bonhams will be celebrating those whose vision and voice shaped the cultural and artistic identity of Ireland through Irish art, culture, design, and history. This sale offers an exciting and rich selection of works, not least the remarkable Irish News Collection.” Featuring over 30 works, The Irish News Collection will lead the sale. Formed over 40 years by the late Jim Fitzpatrick, former owner of The Irish News, Ireland’s largest selling morning newspaper, the collection features Irish art from the 19th century to the modern day. Among the highlights is a portrait by Sir William Orpen (1878-1931) of his daughter Christine, universally known as Kit. Portrait of Kit, estimated at €80,000-120,000, was painted in 1912, when she was just six years old. Other artists represented in this impressive collection include Margaret Clarke, Harry Kernoff, William Conor, Frank McKelvey, John Behan and Maeve McCarthy.
The sale will showcase works from the collection of Mary Hobart including artists Michael Farrell, William Leech, and John Butler Yeats. Paul Henry is represented in this sale with a quintessential west of Ireland landscape, Killary Bay, Connemara (€120,000-180,000). The annotated typescripts from James Joyce’s novel, Finnegans Wake have an estimate of €40,000-60,000. Handwritten lyrics of Your song saved my Life by Bono are estimated at €10,000-15,000
Joan Mitchell’s Sunflowers sold for $27.9 million at Sotheby’s Contemporary evening auction in New York last night. The Chicago native is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement, even though she lived in France for much of her career. The striking visual dynamism of the dense composition reveals the artist’s affinity for the American action painters, amongst whom she lived and worked in the initial decade of her career; as one of the few women to garner significant critical acclaim within the predominantly male Eighth Street Club, Mitchell is remembered by art history as the leading female voice of the Abstract Expressionist movement.
All roads lead to Limerick this weekend for the National Antique Fair at Limerick Racecourse. Opening times are from 11 am to 6 pm on November 18 and 19. There will be more than 80 dealers in attendance showing everything from Irish art and antique furniture to vintage fashion, jewellery, accessories and a wide range of collectibles. Robin O’Donnell will display the late 18th century Irish chair pictured above.
