Wendell Castle – Good Neighbors 2017 Stained ash Copyright: Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Wendell Castle Inc. Photography by Daniel Kukla
The American sculptor and furniture maker Wendell Castle (1932-2018) has been described as the father of the art furniture movement. Friedman Benda will present Good Neighbours, a stunning example of his work, at TEFAF New York from May 12-16. They say the table is testament to his groundbreaking ways of looking at, thinking about, and making furniture. Throughout a celebrated career spanning six decades, he created a new sculptural vocabulary that became the cornerstone of his practice. TEFAF New York, at the Park Avenue Armory, will present museum-quality objects across modern and contemporary art, jewellery, antiques, and design from 91 dealers. It will include a concurrent edition ot TEFAF online.
Irish blue limestone fire surround. UPDATE: THIS MADE 15,000 AT HAMMER
An Irish blue limestone fireplace with a frieze pediment, carved shamrocks and a Sile na Gig will lead the James Adam Irish vernacular sale in Dublin on April 12. This category is new to the Adams calendar and reflects the changing tastes and eclectic collecting habits of Irish auction goers. This is an auction with something for collectors seeking treasures from a broad range of sources from film buffs to architectural historians to Irish country life enthusiasts.
An early 19th century dresser from the set of The Banshees of Inisherin. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
There is a focus on traditional country made furniture, pottery, metalwork, treen and collectibles like an early 18th century Irish Penal Cross carved from yew wood (€5,000-€7,000). The sale will feature original furniture from the sets of the Oscar nominated film The Banshees of Inisherin, as well as paintings by Irish artists with traditional interiors and objects. Wonderful Irish craftsmanship is demonstrated in both glassware and silverware. An early 19th century painted pine dresser with a moulded cornice, three shelves and a fiddle front base is at €3,000-€4,000 the most expensively estimated piece from the film set. Among other lots from the film are a 19th century painted pine knife box, a wooden salt box, a settle bed and an early 19th century settle press, a compact painted pine cupboard, a pine rack, a set of merchant/library steps, a dowry chest, a low stool, a pair of naive landscapes, a marriage dresser, spongeware potato bowls, a kitchen seat and a cupboard. Many are painted in strong tones of blue, brown, red and green.
Irish Claddagh shawl. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,000 AT HAMMER
Craft design is showcased by textiles like woollen blankets and tweed. A magnificent Claddagh shawl is featured as lot 90. In Derek Hill’s Still Life Study with Artist’s Materials on a Chair a painted pine Irish kitchen chair is depicted against a creamy background with artist’s brushes and paraphernalia on the seat. Hill is most associated with the Tory Island group of painters. Giant Muldoon at the West End Village, Tory Island by James Dixon is the catalogue cover lot for the auction. Other artists include Markey Robinson, Cecil Maguire, Maurice Wilks, Marjorie Henry and an evocative 1889 work by Tom Mitchell titled “The Eviction” in which a seated elderly man awaits the arrival of the bailiffs with a shotgun in his hand. There is a Tara brooch, Irish dish rings, triple neck ring glass decanters from the 17th and 18th century, a c1785 Irish silver sugar bowl by John Warner of Cork, a spinning wheel, milk crocks, Carrigaline Pottery, a bog oak carved brooch of Blarney Castle and advertising material like old enamel signs.
A pair of Meissen urns, each over four feet tall. UPDATE: THESE MADE 2,500 AT HAMMER.
More than 750 lots of jewellery including antique diamond rings, a fine pair of Meissen urns and a gentleman’s Rolex watch are among the lots at Matthews sale in Kells, Co. Meath on April 15 and 16. On offer is the collection of Anne Gormley, a well known huntswoman who ran a successful jewellery and antique business in Granard, Co. Longford. Mrs. Gormley has recently retired, having reached the age of 90. On offer are contents of the shop and her private collection, totalling more than 1,600 lots with estimates from €10 to €10,000. Jewellery and silver will come under the hammer next Saturday with antiques and collectibles on April 16. Viewing gets underway in Kells next Thursday.
A vintage lake boat formerly owned by Hollywood actress Maureen O’Hara is among the lots at Hegarty’s online sale in Bandon on Wednesday April 12. Painted red and blue it was the private boat at her Glengarriff estate and is complete with a Mercury motor. It is estimated at €3,500-€4,500. Among the other lots are an Art Deco diamond ring, a fall front bureau, a pair of 19th century bronze ewers, mustard spoons by James Salter, Cork, 1823 and six George IV silver teaspoons by John Seymour, Cork c1820.
This rare early Irish penal cross carved in yew wood dates to 1716. During a period of economic, social, and religious oppression of catholics in Ireland, known as the Penal Laws, Catholics found solace in portable, tangible relics of worship. Among these devotional artifacts were the Penal Crosses, simple wooden crosses with a figure of Christ carved in high relief at the center, and symbols representing the Passion of Christ around the central figure. Today, Penal Crosses serve as important cultural and historical artifacts, reminding us of the hardships faced by Irish Catholics during the Penal Laws, and their devotion to their faith during a time of great persecution. This one comes up as lot 10 at the James Adam Irish Vernacular sale on April 12 with an estimate of €5,000-€7,000. Viewing gets underway at St. Stephen’s Green today.
JOHN TRAVOLTA’S ICONIC WHITE SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER SUIT.UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $260,000
The custom-made white suit worn by John Travolta in his Academy Award nominated role as Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever comes up at Julien’s Auctions in Hollywood this month. Julien’s and Turner Classic Movies will offer a collection of over 1,400 iconic items from more than 100 years of pop culture history in “Hollywood: Classic & Contemporary”, on April 22 and 23 in Beverly Hills and online. “From John Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever suit to Indiana Jones’ machete to a rare headdress from the lost 1917 Cleopatra film to the largest collection of Harry Potter wands, this auction honors Hollywood’s greatest artistic achievements across all eras and genres and offers something for every fan and collector” Martin Nolan of Julien’s said.
Derek Hill HRHA (1916- 2000) – Still Life Study with Artist’s Materials on a Chair. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,200 AT HAMMER
Still Life Study with Artist’s Materials on a Chair by Derek Hill comes up as lot 142 at the James Adam Irish Vernacular auction on April 12. The sale will be on view at Adams on April 7, 8 and 11 and the catalogue is online. This oil on canvas is estimated at €4,000-€6,000.
Harry Kernoff – La Place du Tertre Montmartre at Sotheby’s Irish art sale in Paris. UPDATE; THIS MADE €50,800
Art by Harry Kernoff, Hughie O’Donoghue and Rowan Gillespie will feature among a strong selection at Sotheby’s second Irish art sale in Paris in May. Highlights from the auction will be on view at Sotheby’s on Molesworth St. in Dublin on April 3, 4 and 5. Already consigned are works by William Leech, Roderic O’Conor, John Yeats, Louis le Brocquy, Sean Scully, Patrick Scott, Basil Blackshaw, Camille Souter, LM Hamilton, Jack Coulter, Maser and Richard Hearns.
In his painting La Place du Tertre, Montmartre Harry Kernoff discreetly places himself wearing his customary trilby hat in a cafe named Jeune Peinture. It is estimated at €40,000-€60,000. Hughie O’Donoghue’s Medusa III (€15,000-€20,000) is from a series in which he engages with the past using personal records of his father’s experience of World War II to create intense and emotionally powerful images. Given that the book was first published in Paris Ripples of Ulysses, Study, 1999 (€10,000-€15,000) by Rowan Gillespie is especially apt. It relates to two life sized James Joyce sculptures, one at the Merrion Hotel, Dublin the other at Regis University, Denver. The artist places Joyce at the centre of his masterpiece, Ulysses, the words of which ripple outwards in 18 concentric circles. The sculpture spins because it is never ending.
Hughie O’Donoghue – Medusa III at Sotheby’s Paris. UPDATE; THIS WAS UNSOLD
Incrementum 2020/2023 by Richard Hearns is estimated at €8,000-€12,000. Born in Beirut during the civil war and adopted as an infant by an Irish UN peacekeeper the Burren based painter has said his dual heritage has inspired his paintings. He is considered to be one of the most exciting abstract painters working in Ireland today by Sotheby’s. The inaugural Irish art sale in Paris in May 2022 saw strong international bidding and a world record for a work on paper by Mainie Jellett. It also led to the return of many Irish artworks to this country. The success of that sale, which coincided with the centenary of the World Congress of the Irish Race in 1922, has spurred Sotheby’s on to repeat it in 2023. All international exposure of Irish art is to be welcomed. Bidding for this sale opens online on May 4 and runs until May 10. The auction will be on view at Sotheby’s, Paris on those dates.
Fully restored 1920 Dodge Bros Tourer car with leather seats and Tipperary registration at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,000 AT HAMMER
From a 1920 Dodge tourer (€8,000-€12,000) to a selection of chandeliers at €100-€200 the separate auctions of contents from two hotels will provide much to interest bargain hunters next week. Victor Mee of Belturbet, Co. Cavan will offer more than 2,000 lots, online and in house, from Finnstown Castle, Lucan on April 4, 5 and 6. Sean Eacrett of Ballybrittas, Co. Laois will hold a first part sale of contents from the Lough Erne Resort, with 883 lots on April 4. Finnstown announced its closure last November, not long after undergoing a refurbishment. The popular Lough Erne Resort near Enniskillen is undergoing an extensive refurbishment.
Top lots from Finnstown include the Dodge tourer and a red Singer 9 roadster made for the sewing machine company, fully restored in the 1980’s (€5,000-€8,000), an Irish Victorian mirror bar back with antique glass (€4,000-€8,000), a 19th century ebonised inverted breakfront credenza (€8,000-€12,000), a pair of early 19th century bronze coat and hat stands from a Dublin bank (€5,000-€10,000), a life size bronze model of a stag (€3,000-€6,000), a pair of Irish brass bound peat buckets (€3,000-€5,000) and an Irish 19th century carved mahogany centre table (€4,000-€6,000).There are garden gazebos and urns, outdoor statues of the four seasons, a moulded stone well head and arch, bronze and moulded stone animals, fountains, archways, a pair of early 19th century spiral wrought iron gate pillars, a pair of arched wrought iron leaded glass windows, a good selection of garden benches and a small glasshouse.
19th century boulle credenza at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500 AT HAMMER
The Lough Erne collection sale, the first of three, will include chandeliers at €100-€200, stylish chairs, mahogany veneer desks and cabinets, mirrors and pictures. All are in excellent condition. Wing back floral fabric armchairs are estimated at €80-€120 and tub chairs at €60-€100. There are single and double headboards, luggage racks, glass door cabinets and one hundred ebonised and gilt table lamps with estimates of €30-€50 each.
18th Century chinoiserie lacquered two door Cabinet on Stand. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
This exceptional 18th century chinoiserie lacquered two door cabinet on stand will come up at Fonsie Mealy’s Borleagh Manor Country House Contents Sale on Tuesday, April 18. The sale is being conducted on the instructions of the executors of the estate of the late Malachy McDaniel Stone and other important clients. It will take place at the Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey, Co. Wexford, with viewing on the premises at Borleagh Manor on the two previous days.
The cabinet interior is fitted with an arrangement of eleven long and short drawers, decorated with landscape and river scenes with figures attending daily chores. The interior doors are decorated with birds, insects and flowers, the exterior with painted oval panels with figures under willow trees. The giltwood stand is profusely carved with scrolling foliage, flowers, cherubs and a central classical female figure. The estimate is €15,000-20,000.
