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    • PACE GALLERY ANNOUNCES DEATH OF CLAES OLDENBURG

    July 19th, 2022
    Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen – Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture in Minneapolis

    Claes Oldenburg, the Swedish born New York based sculptor, has died aged 93. His death was announced by Pace Gallery, which represented him. Renowned for his sculptures, drawings, and colossal public monuments that transform familiar, everyday objects into animated entities, Oldenburg was a leading voice of the Pop Art movement who, over the course of more than six decades, redefined the history of art. Together with his wife and longtime collaborator Coosje van Bruggen (who died in 2009), Oldenburg realised over 40 large-scale public projects around the world. Oldenburg and Pace Founder and Chairman Arne Glimcher maintained a friendship for 60 years, working closely since the early years of the artist’s career.

    Monumental sculptures have been installed across the United States, Europe, and Asia at Rincon Park in San Francisco, Piazzale Cadorna in Milan, Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seoul, and many other sites. Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s large-scale sculpture Spoonbridge and Cherry (1985-88) at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has become a symbol of the city.

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    THE MAGIC OF MONROE SHINES AT JULIEN’S AUCTIONS

    July 18th, 2022
    MARILYN MONROE: “THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS” FILM-WORN ENSEMBLE (WITH BOOK AND PHOTOS)

    A figure-hugging embellished gown worn by Marilyn Monroe in her 1954 classic film There’s No Business Like Show Business enchanted collectors and fans of the screen goddess as the dress designed by William Travilla was the top-seller at Julien’s Auctions Hollywood Legends sale this weekend. It made $218,750 over an estimate of $80,000-$100,000.  A pair of sequin embellished leotard costumes screen-worn by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in their 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes made $102,400. Among other top lots were Chris Evans’ Captain America original hero prop “Vibranium” shield used in The Avengers which made $200,000; an original Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope stormtrooper helmet made $192,000 and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets  “Nimbus 2001” broomstick made $76,800.

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    ABSTRACT LANDSCAPE BY THE LATE MAURICE DESMOND AT WHYTE’S

    July 17th, 2022
    Abstract Landscape by Maurice Desmond UPDATE: THIS MADE 750 AT HAMMER

    Viewers can lose themselves in the work of the Cork based artist Maurice Desmond, who sadly left us on June 30.  Just look and keep on looking and it is surprising what you can find.  When Maurice was on song a five minute visit to his studio could last an entire afternoon without ever knowing or even noticing where the time had gone.  The first painting by the artist to come up at auction since his unexpected  death is an abstract landscape once in the collection of the late Jim O’Driscoll SC. Lot 114 at Whyte’s summer online art auction, which runs until the evening of July 25, is an oil on board estimated at just €500-€700.

    This is an auction of affordable art by well known Irish artists designed to attract new collectors without breaking the bank.  According to Whyte’s there has never been a better time to dive in and immerse yourself.  Among the artists represented are Kenneth Webb, Henry Healy, Gwen O’Dowd, John Morris, Rose Ganly, Stephen Cullen, Cecily Brennan, Colin Gibson, Desmond Carrick, Patricia Jorgensen, John Skelton, Maurice MacGonigal, Muriel Brandt, Liam Treacy,  Pauline Bewick, Hughie O’Donoghue, Dorothy Cross, Felim Egan,  Stella Steyn and William Orpen.  Viewing gets underway next Wednesday on Molesworth St. and the catalogue is online.

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    GREAT SHOWS AT NATIONAL GALLERY OF IRELAND AND IMMA

    July 16th, 2022
    Rembrandt van Rijn – Self-portrait with beret, wide eyed 1630 (etching) Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

    Rich pickings for art lovers at summer exhibitions in Dublin range from remarkable drawings on loan from the Rijksmuseum at the National Gallery of Ireland to an artistic examination of the science fiction of the present at IMMA. Intimate insights into 17th century life in the Netherlands can be seen at Dutch Drawings: highlights from the Rijksmuseum which opens at the National Gallery today.  This rare loan exhibition selected from the world renowned collection in Amsterdam offers 48 works by 31 different artists. Among them are Rembrandt, Hendrick Avercamp, Nicolaes Berchem, Jacob van Ruisdael, Gerard ter Boch, Ferdinand Bol and Albert Cuyp.

    This show offers Irish audiences a unique opportunity to view at close quarters works which range from studies of plants and animals, daily life, portraits, architecture and landscape. This art conveys a strong sense of what life as it was lived then was like.  Drawing was a portable and inexpensive medium.  There are differing techniques with works in graphite, ink, watercolour, chalks, etchings and woodcuts plus a small number of prints by Rembrandt. The exhibition shows artists striving to understand the world around them.  It continues at the National Gallery runs until November 6.

    Aelbert Cuyp – View of Dordrecht c1650. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

    The exhibition at IMMA is concerned with insights by artists into the world as we know it now.  On show here is a cross section of works produced between 2022 and 2018 by The Otolith Group, a London based collective founded in 2002 by Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun.  Otoliths are bodies in the inner ear involved with sensing gravity and movement. These pioneering artworks utilising film, video and multi-screen installations address contemporary, social and planetary issues, the disruptions of neo-colonialism, the way in which humans have impacted the earth and the influence of new technology on consciousness. The exhibition is entitled Xenogenesis (the production of an organism unlike the parent) and it reflects the commitment by the artists to creating what they think of as ‘a science fiction of the present’ through images, voices, sounds and performance.  Themes are both universal and relevant to contemporary life.
    IMMA director and curator of the exhibition Annie Fletcher said: “The Otolith Group’s films and installations address the forces and events that have shaped our world while offering inspiring examples and models  of how we might collectively imagine a different future”.

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    UNPUBLISHED HANDWRITTEN POEMS BY TED HUGHES AT SOTHEBY’S

    July 14th, 2022
    TED HUGHES

    A series of unpublished handwritten poems by Ted Hughes, written the in aftermath of the suicide of his partner Assia Wevill and their daughter Shura in 1969 – just six years after the suicide of his first wife Sylvia Plath – come up at Sotheby’s  Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern sale open for bidding until July 19. Estimated at £10,000- 15,000 they offer an insight into the overwhelming grief and loss that Hughes experienced. Wevill and Hughes began an affair in 1962 and this was one of the causes of the breakdown of his marriage to the American poet Sylvia Plath in the summer of that year. Following Plath’s suicide their relationship continued but was plagued with troubles, from money to Hughes’ lack of commitment. Wevill suffered from depression and in a terrible parallel with Plath’s death, gassed herself in her London flat in March 1969. The four pages of verse are written – sometimes illegibly – in ink, and are clearly early drafts, unintended for publication. Their fragmentary and incomplete structure suggests that Hughes found the subject too painful and abandoned the works. They are extensively revised and the beginning and endings of the poems are not always clear.

    The sale includes an inscribed copy of Plath’s first collection, The Colossus and Other Poems (£20,000- 30,000) gven by Plath to her husband and childhood items of Plath’s from a lock of hair as a toddler to her stamp collection.

    UPDATE: THE unpublished manuscript poems made £12,600, The Colossus and Other Poems by Sylvia Plath made £94,500.

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    THE SPY WHO CAME IN WITH THE MONEY

    July 13th, 2022
    JOHN LE CARRE – THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD MADE £35,260

    There were records for first editions by John le Carré, Hilary Mantel, David Mitchell, Tom Stoppard, Alan Bennett and Salman Rushdie at Christie’s online sale of First Editions, Second Thoughts: An Auction in support of English PEN which ran from June 28 – July 12. The sale of 89 lots brought in £515,844, more than double the low estimate. Each work was personally annotated by the artist or author to include their insights, recollections, thoughts or illustrations, creating a unique and covetable collector’s item. The proceeds raised from the sale will fund English PEN’s work to defend free expression and campaign for writers who are at risk.

    Among the highlights were: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. London: Victor Gollancz, 1963 (Estimate £8,000 – 12,000), realised £35,280; Hilary Mantel (b. 1952),  Bring Up the Bodies. London: Fourth Estate, 2012. (Estimate £4,000 – 6,000), realised £30,240; David Mitchell (b.1969), Cloud Atlas. London: Sceptre, 2004(Estimate £4,000 – 6,000), realised £27,720; Tom Stoppard (b.1937), Leopoldstadt. London: Faber and Faber, 2020 (Estimate £2,000 – 3,000), realised £21,420; Alan Bennett (b.1934), The History Boys. London: Faber and Faber, 2004.  (Estimate £4,000 – 6,000), realised £17,640; Thomas Keneally (b.1935), Schindler’s List. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982. (Estimate £3,000 – 5,000), realised £16,380; Quentin Blake (b.1932, illustrator), – Roald Dahl (1916–1990).  The BFG. London: Jonathan Cape, 1982 (Estimate £6,000 – 9,000), realised £13,860; Salman Rushdie, (b.1947), Midnight’s Children. London: Jonathan Cape, 1981.  (Estimate £4,000 – 6,000), realised £11,970; Margaret Atwood (b.1939), The Handmaid’s Tale. London: Jonathan Cape, 1986. (Estimate £4,000 – 6,000), realised £11,340.

    English PEN is one of the world’s oldest human rights organisations which champions the freedom to write and the freedom to read around the world, and is the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers’ association with 145 centres in more than 100 countries.  

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    CHRISTIE’S ACHIEVES $4.1 BILLION IN FIRST HALF OF 2022

    July 13th, 2022
    Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, painted in 1964, made a record $195 million at Christie’s.

    Global sales at Christie’s in the first half of 2022 reached $4.1 billion, made up from $3.5 billion in auction sales and $0.6 billion in private sales. This is the best performance since 2015 and even surpasses the first half year of 2018 when Christie’s sold the Rockefeller Collection. Andy Warhol’s Short Sage Blue Marilyn was the most valuable lot sold, at $195 million. There was remarkable results for major collections like those of Thomas and Doris Ammann, Anne H. Bass, Rosalind Gersten Jacobs and Melvin Jacobs and Hubert de Givenchy. The sell through rate across all auctions was 87%. A strong influx of new and younger clients was noted. In the half year so far 30% of all buyers are new to Christie’s, and 34% of these new buyers are millennials.

    Philanthropic sales raised nearly $440 million with $13.7 million in aid to Ukraine. The outlook for the autumn is good, led by the Ann and Gordon Getty Collection in New York.

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    PORTRAIT OF CATHERINE MCGUINNESS ENTERS NATIONAL COLLECTION

    July 12th, 2022
    Catherine McGuinness (b.1934), former Supreme Court Judge and member of the Council of State of Ireland by Miseon Lee © Miseon Lee. Photo © National Gallery of Ireland.

    A new acquisition at the National Gallery of Ireland celebrates the contribution to Irish society by former Supreme Court judge Catherine McGuinness. A portrait of Justice McGuinness, commissioned by fellow members of the legal community and painted by artist Miseon Lee, is the latest addition to the national portrait collection at the Gallery.  The portrait, on display at the gallery from today, was unveiled in the presence of the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.

    Catherine McGuinness (née Ellis) was born in Belfast and educated at Alexandra College, Trinity College Dublin and the King’s Inns. She was called to the Bar in 1977, and to the Inner Bar in 1989. She worked for the Labour Party in the 1960s, but was elected an independent candidate to Seanad Éireann for the Dublin University constituency in 1979, and served a senator until 1987. In 1988 she was appointed to the Council of State by President Patrick Hillery, a position she held until 1990. In 1994, she became the first woman to be appointed as a judge of the Circuit Court, and two years later was elevated to the High Court. In January 2000, she was promoted to the Supreme Court, where she served as a judge until 2006. She was appointed adjunct professor of law at NUIG in 2005, and in the same year became President of the Law Reform Commission, a position she held until 2011.

    In 2009, McGuinness received a Lord Mayor’s Award for her ‘contribution to the lives of children and families through her pioneering work’, and was chosen as one of the People of the Year the following year. McGuinness has served on the Employment Equality Agency, the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, the National Council of the Forum on End of Life in Ireland, and in 2011 was appointed Chairperson of the Campaign for Children. She has given her name to academic fellowships and prizes at the Children’s Rights Alliance, and the University of Limerick.

    Artist Miseon Lee lives and works in Dublin and is a portrait specialist. She has been shortlisted for the annual portrait prize at the National Gallery of Ireland on three occasions and the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London twice. She has shown her work in both solo and group shows in Ireland, the UK and South Korea. Her work was also shortlisted for the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year in 2013, and the Davy Portrait Awards in 2010. She was awarded the James Adam’s Salesroom Award and the Keating/McLaughlin Award for Outstanding Artwork at the RHA in 2010 and 2012 respectively.

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    ANTIQUE FURNITURE GOING GOING GONE … FOR A SONG

    July 11th, 2022
    Bowfronted chest of drawers at Woodwards. UPDATE: THIS MADE 180 AT HAMMER

    Millennials from around the globe were moved to take part in the fabulous sales of the collections of Hubert de Givenchy at Christie’s in June and there should be much to tempt our Irish millennials at Woodwards sale in Cork on July 16.  It should be possible to pick up a piece of antique furniture for a song at this auction. 

    Estimated at just €300-€400 are a Cork bowfront sideboard, an ormolu mounted bijouterie table, a Georgian bureau bookcase, a set of six dining chairs, a mahogany pedestal office desk and an Edwardian sofa table. A Victorian round work table, a Victorian d-end dining table, a Georgian library table, a Georgian bureau and a three tier dumb waiter are on the market with estimates of just €200-€300.  The catalogue is online.

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    IF ONLY THIS DJINN CHAIR COULD FLY

    July 10th, 2022
    Djinn lounge chair by Olivier Mourgue. UPDATE: THIS MADE 400 AT HAMMER

    Anyone travelling by air this summer quickly learns one harsh truth.  Those of us paying the piper do not call the tune.  Which makes one lot at de Veres online art and design auction, which runs until July 12, of great if impractical interest.  It won’t fit in your carry on bag but lot 16 at de Veres is this Djinn lounge chair by Olivier Mourgue for Airborne International.  Just the thing when your flight has been cancelled and you have been abandoned.  The estimate is just €400-€600. There are chairs by Charles and Ray Eames and Ligne Roset, Italian sofas, contemporary tables and antique desks but most of the 146 lots in this sale are artworks.  All of them are at highly affordable prices as this is one of a number of sales by de Veres designed for those who are dipping their toes into the market for the first time.  Among the art lots are a number of mid century set designs by Reginald Grey for theatres like The Gate, The Globe and The Pike.

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