This set of eight Irish George III mahogany hall chairs from Killadoon House in Co. Kildare is one of a number of Irish furniture lots at Sotheby’s Royal and Noble sale in London on January 21. The 2020 instalment of Royal & Noble, now in its seventh year, will provide another exciting opportunity to acquire works from important aristocratic collections sourced throughout Europe. Highlights include property from two notable Irish houses – Killadoon and Luggala – and property from the Estate of Jhr. Ir. G.C. (Gijs) Six van Wimmenum (1892-1975), a descendant of Rembrandt’s great patron Jan Six. The chairs are estimated at £15,000-25,000.
A wide variety of works on paper covering over 500 years from approximately 1480 to the mid-19th Century will come up at Christie’s Old Master and British Drawings sale in New York on January 28. The auction will include works from the collection of Jean Bonna of Geneva. There is art by Tiepolo, Canaletto, Perugino, Luca Signorelli, Parmigianino, Annibale Carracci, Bernini, Elisabetta Sirani, Francois Boucher, Ingres, Gericault, Buguereau, Rembrandt and Turner. Estimates range from $2,000 to $800,000.
FRANÇOIS BOUCHER (PARIS 1703-1770) A nude woman playing a flute, seen from behind ($20,000-30,000)
The original Superman cape worn by Christoper Reeve sold for $193,750 at Julien’s Auctions in Hollywood on December 16. It is one of the most recognised superhero costume pieces of all time. It was worn by Christopher Reeve in his iconic role as the Man of Steel in Superman (Warner Bros., 1978). The cape was part of a world-wide contest to promote the release in 1979 with the grand prize being one of the six original capes made for and used in the film. The item’s provenance included a letter from DC Comics’ President as well as the editor and publisher and a copy of a photo of Christopher Reeve choosing the winner.
Patrick Stewart’s “Starfleet” dress uniform worn when he played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” sold for $28,800. Among the other highlights was: Dan Aykroyd’s “Raymond Stantz” jumpsuit from Ghostbusters II ($32,000); a Playboy limited edition jukebox ($12,800); a limited 40th Anniversary Playboy Stratocaster signed by Hugh Hefner ($19,200); an Andy Warhol 18K white gold pocket watch ($10,240); an Alcatraz model used in Escape From Alcatraz ($25,600); $8,125; a Maltese Falcon statuette from the Warner Bros. prop department ($8,125); two Frank Sinatra oil paintings signed “Sinatra/’65” ($75,000) and “Sinatra 53” ($21,250).
Turf Cutting by Letitia Marion Hamilton is one a number of unsold lots from Whyte’s Irish art sale on December 2 now on offer as part of Art for Christmas at Whyte’s on Molesworth St. in Dublin. A selection of art is now available at Whyte’s galleries, which will remain open until December 23. Estimated in the auction at 10,000-15,000 Turf Cutting is priced at 12,500 including commission and VAT on commission. Offers are invited and will be transmitted to the owners.
A pair of c1800 Waterford flat cut urns and covers sold for a hammer price of 6,000 at the James Adam At Home sale in Dublin on December 15. They were from the collection formed in the 1930’s by the artist Mrs. Jean Jameson of Tourin, Co. Waterford.
Bill Traylor’s Man on White, Woman on Red / Man with Black Dog (double-sided), from the collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Alice Walker comes up at Christie’s sale of Outsider Art sale in New York on January 17. The gift of a painting by an artist born into slavery was made by Steven Spielberg after the conclusion of filming The Color Purple, a film adaptation of Walker’s novel focused on the lives of African American womenb durin the 1930’s. It is estimated at $200,000 – 400,000.
“I’ve enjoyed having this extraordinary artwork by Bill Traylor on my wall; but my spirit tells me that it is time for it to find a new home” Walker said.
Born into slavery in 1853, self-taught artist Bill Traylor only began to make work in 1939, around the age of 86. Having spent his entire working life on plantations and farms, in 1928 he moved to the state capital of Montgomery, where he would begin to draw for the first time. Life in Montgomery proved difficult: although he sought employment, painful rheumatism left Traylor unable to work. With no income except a small public stipend, he became homeless, sleeping in the backroom of a funeral parlor at night, and spending the day camped out on the city’s Monroe Street. Daily life on Monroe Street, and his memories of plantations, inspired Traylor’s art. Working in pencil, tempera or colored pencil on repurposed card and paper, his subjects include people he saw on the street, animals and livestock, and found objects.
Bill Traylor (1853-1949) . Man on White, Woman on Red / Man with Black Dog (double-sided), 1939-1942
An early subscriber edition of John James Audobon’s The Birds of America will be offered at a single lot sale at Sotheby’s in New York on December 18. This remarkable work sought to depict every known species of bird in the United States at actual size. Regarded as the most beautiful colour plate book ever published it features 435 hand coloured etched plates depicting 1,065 life-size birds representing 489 of the then known birds found in the US. The monumental four volume double elephant folio at Sotheby’s is an unusually large and brilliantly coloured edition. Dating to 1827-1838 it is known as the double elephant because of the size of paper that had to be specially made for the publication. It is estimated at $6-8 million.
Jewellery, silver, a collection of antique glass, art, furniture and a wide variety of collectibles such as a Qing Dynasty Chinese jade miniature model of an elephant (100-150) will come under the hammer at the At Home sale at James Adam on December 15. The catalogue is online.
A Qing Dynasty miniature model of an elephant. UPDATE: THIS MADE 100 AT HAMMER
A set of signed First Editions by Cormac McCarthy from the collection of his late friend Dr. Philip Murray of Sligo made hammer prices of just under 40,000 at Fonsie Mealy’s rare books and manuscripts auction in Dublin today. There was 29 lots in total. An archive of letters and pre-publication copies by the Southern American novelist of Irish extraction, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and numerous other awards, made 7,000 on the hammer, a first edition of Blood Meridian signed and inscribed by the author made 4,200, a first UK edition together with an uncorrected proof of Outer Dark made 2,600 at hammer as did a signed and inscribed first edition of Suttree.
The sale realised more than 350,000 on the hammer with 85% of lots finding buyers. The most expensive individual lot sold was The White Jug by Jack B Yeats which made 18,000 at hammer.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for December 7, 2019)
A signed archive complete with a photograph of Dr. Philip Murray and Cormac McCarthy in Sligo.
Works from an outstanding collector will come up at Christie’s An Exceptional Eye sale in Paris on December 10 and 11. The very private collector grew up in the French coungtryside and his interest in insects and minerals began at a very early age. As an adult, he would go on to collect wonders of the world including butterflies from Indonesia, fossils, meteorites, and an exceptional dinosaur skeleton. Classes in art and culture followed.
For more than ten years he successfully indulged in the antiquarian profession but his adventurous soul pushed him towards new horizons. This aesthete and scholar was deeply moved by the quality of a marble panel by Léon Indenbaum or a cabinet by Gaston-Etienne Le Bourgeois, both realised for Jacques Doucet in 1913. He was also interested in works by the German expressionists, from August Macke to Egon Schiele, as well as the delicacy of Eileen Gray’s creations.
Cécile Verdier, President of Christie’s France said: “It is an absolute joy for Christie’s to present this wonderful collection revealing the very private world of this discreet collector. A passionate character with a keen interest in all cultures, he wove very personal threads between the arts, in accordance with his specific tastes and his culture”.
Jean-Louis Gaillemin, art historian remarked: “The bold presence of a rhinoceros skeleton in the middle of the living room has the effect of shattering the conventional and the customary; this staging, which fosters a surprising and powerful discourse between the objects, reveals the taste and interests of the master of the house”.
UPDATE: The auction achieved a total of €12,502,438. The top lot was August Macke’s painting Badende Frauen (recto); Pierrot mit Tänzerpaar (verso) which was sold for €2,770,000, exceeding its high estimate.
