Paul Henry RHA (1877-1958) – Coastal Landscape with Galway Hookers
This 1930’s painting by Paul Henry made a hammer price of €170,000 at Adam’s sale of Important Irish Art. It is from the collection of former Taoiseach John A Costello and is believed to have been purchased directly from the artist as it was never on the market before. Another Henry painting from the Costello collection of a Connemara Village was sold by Adam’s in 2016 for €119,000 at hammer.
Other top hammer prices from Adam’s sale on November 26 were: Mary Swanzy, A Cubist Landscape (€38,000); Gerard Dillon, Inishmore Lads, (€32,000); Harry Clarke, Faust in the Witches Kitchen (€30,000); Louis le Brocquy, Cuchulainn in Warp Spasm (1999) (€26,000; Hughie O’Donoghue, Night Cargo (€20,000) and Nathaniel Hone, Hay Wynds (€15,000).
Majella O’Neill Collins (b.1964) – North of Sherkin Island (2024). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700 AT HAMMER
This oil on canvas by the Sherkin based artist Majella O’Neill Collins comes up at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online off the wall auction of affordable Irish art which runs until December 2. The estimate is €1,500-€2,500. More than 450 lots from a wide variety of artists will come under the hammer. Among them are Graham Knuttel, Eileen Meaghar, Desmond Carrick, Sean Scully, James Brohan, William Crozier, Tony O’Malley, Markey Robinson, Elizabeth Cope, Louis le Brocquy and Mr. Brainwash.
INCUNABULA: The Nuremberg Chronicle by Anton Koberger, 1493 SOLD FOR €35,000 at hammer
One of the most important German incunables (a book printed before 1501) and the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century made a hammer price of €35,000 at Purcell Auctioneers in Birr today. The Nuremberg Chronicle by Anton Koberger dates to 1493, the very first edition Latin in Gothic Rotunda type. A Pictorial History of the World, the Nuremberg Chronicle was written over several years by the doctor and book collector, Hartmann Schedel, who was commissioned by two Nuremberg merchants. It was originally published in Latin in an edition of around 1400-1500. The Chronicle also incorporates geographical and historical information on European countries and towns. The narrative is divided into 11 parts – the so-called world ages, and is profusely illustrated by images of biblical and historical events, and topographical views of towns and countries in Europe and the Middle East, including Jerusalem and Byzantium. It contains the bookplate of The Right Honourable Robert Henry Meade 1879 (Meade GCB, was the second son of the 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam and Lady Elizabeth Herbert. Clanwilliam, an Irish peer, had served as Private Secretary to Lord Castlereagh and subsequently as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.).
Daniel Nelis is the winner of the National Gallery of Ireland’s AIB Portrait Prize with this work, an oil on panel portrait of his wife Andrea titled Late Spring. Along with a €15,000 prize he will receive a €5,000 commission to create a new work for the National Portrait Collection. John Foley and Conor O’Leary received highly commended prizes of €1,500 for their works Biddy Boy and The Final Portrait. Guorui Sui, aged 11, was selected as the overall winner of the AIB Young Portrait Prize for his work My Own World of Fantasy.
The artist and curator from Donegal said the portrait was painted in the months before his marriage. “Andrea has been a recurring presence in my work. The painting does not seek to sentimentalise our relationship, but to bear witness through an intimate and intrusive lens, with elements such as the fabrics and heather rendered with the same scrutiny as the figure. Such moments of quiet reflection, experienced in the vivid reality of the present, are of greatest interest in my work.” Nelis studied Fine Art Painting at Ulster University, later completing an MA in Art History, Collections and Curating at University College Dublin. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, at the National Portrait Gallery, London, the Royal Ulster Academy of Arts, the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts.
Roderic O’Conor, 1860-1940 – PAYSAGE AUX ARBRES (LANDSCAPE WITH TREES), c.1890
This small oil on canvas by Roderic O’Conor made a hammer price of €340,000 at de Veres on November 25. According to the art historian Jonathan Benington new evidence indicates that Paysage aux Arbres sits earlier in O’Conors chronology than previously thought and, as such, the picture should be viewed as a key turning point in his career. There is even a suggestion of striping in the foliage of several of the trees a hint of things to come 18 months later.
Other top lots at de Veres include Standing Blue by Sean Scully (€140,000), Cottages Connemara by Paul Henry (€130,000), Nature Morte by Roderic O’Conor (€115,000), Composition (1922) by Mainie Jellett (€70,000) and Aran Man (Self-Portrait) by Sean Keating (€65,000).
Two mid-19th century Indian chairs from Elveden Hall, Suffolk
These mid-19th century Indian chairs from Elveden Hall in Suffolk – former home of India’s last Sikh Maharajah, Duleep Singh (1838-1893) – date from his period at the house. Crafted in Bombay in c. 1850 they remained at Elvedon after his death, when ownership changed to the Guinness brewing family. Elveden Hall was purchased by Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh (1847-1927). At auction for the first time in over 40 years the chairs will be offered in London by Olympia Auctions on November 26 with an estimate of £8,000-£12,000. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR £8,000
Contents from the Old Head of Kinsale golf links clubhouse will be auctioned online without reserve by O’Donovan’s of Newcastlewest, on November 29 at 10 am. Many of the wrought iron tables and chairs, complete with a fossilised ammonite design, were custom made and imported from California in the 1990’s. There are 50 vintage copper ships lanterns, brass portholes, imported large alabaster lamps, streetlamps, framed pictures, candleabra and even a lobster tank. The catalogue with around 200 lots is online. Pictured here is the Lusitania bar from the clubhouse.
Dance to the Music of Time by Conor Harrington at Ben Brown Fine Arts, London.
Pallium, from the Latin for cloak, is the title of an exhibition of new paintings by Cork artist Conor Harrington at Ben Brown Fine Arts in London until February 6. The leading international gallery, with locations in London, Hong Kong and New York, specialises in post war and contemporary art. Harrington’s work is deeply informed by his own identity and experience of life and politics in Britain. Inspired by historical re-enactments in Bristol where participants in period costumes restaged scenes from the past his work focuses on how outdated systems of power are maintained today.
Cubist Landscape by Mary Swanzy at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE €38,000 AT HAMMER
Yeats, Henry, O’Conor, Clarke, O’Malley, Teskey, Jellett, Swanzy, Luke and other acclaimed Irish artists offer Ireland’s growing band of collectors an array of tempting choices at auction in the run up to Christmas.
The major winter sales of Irish art get underway in earnest next week with evening auctions by Morgan O’Driscoll on November 24, de Veres and Gormley’s on November 25 and Adam’s on the following evening. The sale of Important Irish Art at Whyte’s is on December 1.
There is something for all levels of the market at auctions where estimates range from €200 to €300,000. It is all art – teasing, lovely, intriguing, home and life enhancing. Even if the important c1890 Paysage aux Arbes (Landscape with Trees) by Roderic O’Conor at de Veres (€200,000-€300,000) is beyond the budget these sales offer plenty of options at price points within the range of many of us. O’Conor made this work at a key turning point in his career. The suggestion of striping in the foliage is a precursor to this feature in many of his later paintings..
A Coastal landscape with Galway Hookers by Paul Henry at Adams (€150,000-€200,000) was in the collection of late Taoiseach John A Costello. Believed to have been purchased directly from the artist in the 1930’s it is making its first every appearance at auction.
Still Life with Frying Pan and Eggs (1973) by William Scott at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,200 AT HAMMER
An oil on canvas board by Yeats, Low Water, Spring Tide, Clifden (1906) leads Morgan O’Driscoll’s sale. The estimate is €40,000-€60,000. Morning Painting, Bahamas from 1983 by Tony O’Malley (€30,000-€50,000), Untitled by Sean Scully (€35,000-€45,000), Cardboard Leaves by Basil Blackshaw and St. Jean d’Acre entering Cork Harbour in 1853 by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson are among the top lots in an online sale with 271 lots.
The collection of former government minister Gemma Hussey and her husband Derry will form part of the offering of 132 lots at de Veres. Bad News by the Dublin artist Patrick Tuohy (1894-1930) from their collection is estimated at €14,000-€18,000. The artist was educated at St. Enda’s School, established by Padraig Pearse, and did illustrations for the school magazine. Distant Bird Song (€15,000-€25,000) and Self Portrait, Physicianstown (€1,500-€2,000) both by Tony O’Malley, Fair Day, Slovakia by Mary Swanzy (€10,000-€15,000) and Portrait of a Woman by Mainie Jellett (€2,000-€4,000) are all from the Hussey collection.
White Wings and White Water by Norah McGuinness at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE 34,000 AT HAMMER
Provence by William Crozier (€15,000-€25,000), Morons by Banksy (€15,000-€20,000) and Le Marche Flottant and Evening Drag by Arthur Maderson (€12,000-€18,000) are the leading lots at Gormley’s.
The 150 lots at James Adam on Wednesday range from the late 19th century to the present day. In a Dublin Waxworks by Yeats (€70,000-€100,000) dated 1912 was previously in the collection of Garech Browne at Luggala. The Dublin Waxworks on Henry St. opened in 1893 and was a popular venue until it was burnt down during the 1916 Rising. An illustration by Harry Clarke from the 1925 publication of Goethe’s Faust (€30,000-€50,000) is one of 90 illustrations the artist made for the publishers George Harrap and Co. There is a similar estimate on Lighthouse by Donald Teskey which dates to 2017.
An Aubusson tapestry of Cuchulainn in Warp Spasm by Louis le Brocquy at Adams is estimated at €25,000-€35,000, as is Training Five Souls on Board, an oil on paper by Camille Souter (1929-2023). The artist had learned to fly aeroplanes and produced some of her best work on this theme. A Cublst Landscape by Mary Swanzy, Night Cargo by Hughie O’Donoghue and a bronze by Rowan Gillespie are all estimated at €20,000-€30,000. Night Cargo is the catalogue cover lot.
The sale of important Irish art at Whyte’s on December 1 will be led by The Great Sugarloaf, Co. Wicklow by Paul Henry and The Dead Tree by John Luke. Each is estimated at €100,000-€150,000.
Provence by William Crozier at Gormleys. UPDATE: THIS MADE 23,000 AT HAMMER
An early Fang reliquary. UPDATE: THIS MADE 34,000 AT HAMMER
An early Fang reliquary figure from early 19th century Gabon is, at €30,000-€50,000, the most expensively estimated lot at Sheppards two day sale in Durrow on November 25 and 26. More than 1,200 lots of fine and decorative art, silver, antique furniture and sculpture from Irish and international collections will come under the hammer.
Among them are a 15th century carved oak altarpiece, a landscape by James Arthur O’Connor, exceptional 18th century Dublin and London silver, a pair of Roman marble urns, a French clock garniture and a 19th century French ormolu perpetual calendar. Viewing is underway in Durrow and the catalogue is online.
A Georgian breakfront four door bookcase is among the leading lots at Marshs sale in Cork on November 29. A Regency Cork card table, a set of ten brass inlaid Regency Cork dining chairs, a Georgian sideboard, a French ebonised and gilt drawing room suite and a Regency card table are feature furniture lots. There is a large private collection of Irish and English silver along with dinner and tea services. The sale will be on view from November 26 and the catalogue is online.
19th century ormolu mounted marquetry and porcelain inlaid credenza at Sheppards. UPDATE: THIS MADE €3,800 AT HAMMER
