Sean Scully’s Raval Rojo made a hammer price of €580,000 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International online art sale this evening. It had been estimated at 400,000-600,000. Among other top hammer prices were Still Life on White with Beans by William Scott (€160,000) and A Western Landscape by Paul Henry (€75,000), George Barret Landscape with Figures and the Ruins of Melrose Abbey, Roxburghshire (€52,000) and Sir William Orpen’s Portrait of Mary, Lady Gerard in a Green Dress made €23,000. The highly successful sale saw top prices achieved for a number of contemporary Irish artists.
Still Life on White with Beans (1978) by William Scott. UPDATE: THIS MADE 160,000 AT HAMMER
The high end of the art and antiques market continues to perform strongly and this augurs well for Morgan O’Driscoll’s scorching Irish and International online art sale which runs until the evening of April 18. There is a wealth of desirable art in this, his most expensively estimated sale yet, on view at the RDS this weekend and on Monday. With 180 lots on the online catalogue headed by internationally acclaimed painters like Sean Scully, Bridget Riley, William Scott, Paul Henry, Andy Warhol and Sir William Orpen this is an exciting sale. Plenty of internationally known names feature alongside Irish artists on the catalogue.
Teddy Roosevelt by Andy Warhol UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A 1986 screenprint of Teddy Roosevelt by Andy Warhol is estimated at €50,000-€70,000, Homage to Degas, an etching by Alex Katz, is estimated at €7,000-€10,000 and a woodcut in colours by Damien Hirst has an estimate of €8,000-€12,000.The most expensively estimated lot is a dramatic oil on linen by Sean Scully. Raval Rojo (€400,000-€600,000) is signed and dated 2004 and was purchased by the present owner at the Kerlin Gallery in 2005. An oil on canvas by William Scott from 1978, Still Life on White with Beans is estimated at €100,000-€150,000 and Paul Henry’s brooding Western Landscape has an estimate of €80,000-€120,000. These three widely differing works demonstrate the broad range and creativity of Irish art at the highest levels.
Untitled (1972) by Bridget Riley UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An untitled 1972 gouache and pencil on paper by the acclaimed British artist Bridget Riley is estimated at €60,000-€90,000. A signed and numbered artist print by Andy Warhol of Teddy Roosevelt, number 31 from a run of 50 artist proofs, is estimated at €50,000-€70,000. There is a similar estimate on an oil on canvas by George Barret of A Landscape with Figures and Ruins of Melrose Abbey, Roxburghshire. There are classical works by Dan O’Neill, Donald Teskey, Evie Hone, Gerard Dillon and Sir William Orpen and some highly collectible work by artists from John Shinnors and Hughie O’Donoghue to Norah McGuinness, Evie Hone and Tony O’Malley. The sculpture section is headed by Seated Dog (1967) by the late British artist Lynn Chadwick (€20,000-€25,000) and there is work by Elisabeth Frink, Imogen Stuart, John Behan, F.E. McWilliam and others. Many of the works on offer, like a 1945 view of Glengarriff from Garnish Island by Letitia Marion Hamilton (€3,000-€5,000), Evening Field by William Crozier and Washing Line by Basil Blackshaw, each estimated at €4,000-€6,000 are more afffordable and would enhance any collection.
Late 19th century Irish elm brass bound military chest UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400 AT HAMMER
An 18th century lacquered two door Chinoiserie cabinet on stand, a still life attributed to Dutch animal painter Melchior d”Hondecoeter (1636-1695) and an oval Louis XVI table by Jean Pierre Dusautoy (1719-1800) are among the main lots at Fonsie Mealy’s country house contents sale at Borleagh Manor near Gorey on Tuesday April 18. The sale, with 556 lots, offers a large selection of antique furniture, paintings, prints and collectibles. It is being conducted on behalf of the executors of the late Malachy McDaniel Stone and other important clients. Viewing is at Borleagh Manor tomorrow and Monday and the sale will be at the Amber Springs Hotel in Gorey. The catalogue is online.
Borleagh Manor has a fascinating history. It was acquired in 1771 by Henry Quin, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. Generations of his family lived there for nearly 200 years. Hollywood actor Richard Green, immortalised for playing Robin Hood in the long running tv series, bought it in 1963 and entertained many famous guests including Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant and Richard Burton. Greene became a noted horse breeder and Master of the Wicklow Hunt, In the 1980’s Malachy McDaniel Stone bought it and bred sport horses including a number of RDS winners. He sold it to UK racehorse trainer Sue Bramall in 1998, bought it back from her in 2004 and lived there until his death in 2016. Borleagh has now been sold to Tara Studios and will become a film and TV production facility, with a number of studios to be built on the land.
Paul Gauguin: Nature morte avec pivoines de chine et mandoline (1885). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $10,444,700
Four works from the collection of Ambroise Vollard, one of the most important art dealers in Paris during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, will come up at Sotheby’s Modern evening auction in New York in May. The group is highlighted by a major still life by Paul Gauguin, one of the most significant by the artist to appear at auction, which hung on the walls of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris for almost 40 years since its founding in 1986. Following years of legal proceedings, during which the heirs of Ambroise Vollard were represented by lawyers including François Honnorat, a French court recently ruled that ownership of the works would be returned to Vollard’s descendants. The collection includes works by Renoir and Cezanne.
PAUL HENRY (1876-1958) – A Western Landscape (1919). UPDATE: THIS MADE 75,000 AT HAMMER
There is a slightly ominous air about this 1919 Western Landscape by Paul Henry. It comes up as lot 20 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International online art sale. The sale takes place on April 18. Viewing at the RDS in Dublin gets underway tomorrow and will run until 5 pm on Monday April 17. This work was painted at a time when Henry and his first wife, Grace, were considering abandoning Achill Island, which had been their base since 1910, and moving eastwards. Grace was delighted with the prospect of the move, but Paul was downcast, for he remained enchanted with Achill. According to a note by the late art historian Dr. Brian Kennedy: “The heaviness of this scene, therefore reflects the artist’s mood at the time and, although he was not then to know, the period also represented the beginning of a decade of financial and domestic difficulties that eventually ended in his separation from Grace in 1930. This picture, therefore, was painted at a turning point in Henry’s life.” The estimate is €80,000-120,000.
Air Jordan XIIIs worn by Michael Jordan during the 1998 NBA Final
Meet the priciest sneakers in the world. Michael Jordan’s signed Air trainers made $2.2 million at Sotheby’s to become the most expensive shoes ever sold. Jordan, considered the greatest athlete of all time, has become the most valuable athlete at auctions of sportswear memorabilia. Last year a jersey he wore at the 1998 NBA finals made $10.1 million. Jordan had the size-13 shoes on when he scored 37 points in Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals series, carrying the Bulls to a 93-88 victory over the Utah Jazz.
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.
