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Giovanni Antonio Canaletto (Venice 1697–1768) The Molo, Venice, from the Bacino di San Marco, courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2013. (Click on image to enlarge).

Canaletto’s view of The Molo, Venice from the Bacino di San Marco was the top lot at Christie’s sale of Old Master and British Paintings in London this evening. It made £8,461,875 against a top estimate of £6 million in an auction which brought in £23,852,300.  There were buyers from 11 countries across four continents.

Georgina Wilsenach of Christie’s said:  “This sale saw strong prices for paintings from all schools, particularly Italian, Flemish and British. We welcomed, once again, bidders from Asia, the Middle East, South America and Russia as well as the traditional markets of Europe and America, with buyers this evening from 11 countries across 4 continents. This resulted in the impressive price for the Canaletto, which doubled its pre-sale estimate.”

A charity auction of Irish art by Mealy’s for The Scoop Foundation takes place at Bewley’s, Ballsbridge, Dublin on July 6. The sale will raise funds for an educational village in Varanasi, India.  Hammer prices will be split with the artist. Here is a small selection of work on offer.

Jordi Fornies – The Tree Of Knowledge

Jack Hickey – You Left Me Out

Duda – Arms Drawn

Ronan Goti – Sunrise.

Ben Nicholson, o.m.
1894-1982
OCT 61 (MYCENAE – AXE-BLUE).  UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £1,082,500

A monumental Ben Nicholson painting, which highlighted the Tate exhibition in 1964 entitled Painting and Sculpture of a Decade 54-64, comes up at Sotheby’s sale of Modern and Post-War British Art in London on July 11. Oct 61 (Mycenae-axe-blue) is on the scale of the artist’s Festival of Brtain’s commission.  It measures four and a half metres across and is from the years Nicholson spent in Switzerland.  Offered for sale for the fist time since it was purchased in New York in 1966 it is estimated at £1-1.5 million.

Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Isabel Rawsthorne 1966 made £11,282,500 and was the top lot at Sotheby’s. (Click on image to enlarge).

Works by Francis Bacon led Sotheby’s contemporary art evening auction in London on June 26. The sale realised £75.8 million with an average lot value of £1.43 million, one of the highest figures for the category in London. More than 90% of lots sold achieved prices at or above estimates.  Bacon’s 1966 triptych portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne made £11,282,500 while the first work the artist ever sold, Head III made £10,442,500.  Bidders from 38 countries participated.

Double East Yorkshire by David Hockney sold for £3,442,500. (Click on image to enlarge).

Afterwards Alex Branczik of Sotheby’s said: “Tonight’s sale was all about the quest for quality – quality across categories – from the modern masters to the new generation of artists”.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for June 10, 2013).

Some Irish art from the Modern British and Irish art day sale at Christie’s in London on July 11. All images courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2013.  (Click on any image to enlarge it~).

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for June 14, 2013).

Patrick Hickey (1927-1999)
Morning, Wicklow Hillside (£3,000-5,000).

Jack Butler Yeats, R.H.A. (1871-1957)
Early Away (£60,000-80,000).

Sir William Orpen, R.A. (1878-1931)
The First Costume (La Premiere Mode) (£10,000-15,000).

“Off the Wall” is the title of Morgan O’Driscoll’s

Mark O’Neill (b.1963)
The White Ensemble (3,500-4,500).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000

current online art auction.  Featuring 212 lots of mostly Irish art it continues until July 1 at 6.30 p.m.  The catalogue is online. Here is a  small selection.

Mark O’Neill (b.1963)
Le Magasin du Vin (4,000=6,000).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,700.

Markey Robinson (1918-1999)
Still Life, Flowers and Fruit (1,500-2,000).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,300

Markey Robinson (1918-1999)
Walking Through The Woods (800-1,200).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 600