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    • AN EMPEROR’S GIFT AT CHRISTIE’S

    June 10th, 2011
    This painting, The Dance of Salomé, was an Emperor’s wedding gift to his grand-daughter. It is reckoned to be the greatest work by Hungarian artist Gyula Tornai

    Salome by Hungarian artist Gyula Tornai. (Click on image to enlarge)

    (1868–1928) ever to have come to market and features at Christie’s sale of 19th Century European and Orientalist Art  in London on June 15.  Salomé was a popular theme in art and literature in the 19th century. Oscar Wilde’s play on the theme was used as a libretto by Richard Strauss for his opera of the same name.

    The work was given by Franz-Josef, Emperor of Austria to his granddaughter as a wedding gift. It subsequently passed by descent to the present owner. It has never been on the art market before and is estimated at £1-1.5 million.

    The art auction features works by Giovanni Boldoni, Eugène Delacroix and nine works by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot as well as Ottoman and Orientalist paintings.
    UPDATE:  THIS REMAINED UNSOLD AT AUCTION.

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    SPECTACULAR DUBLIN INTERIOR TO BE AUCTIONED OFF BY ADAMS

    June 7th, 2011

    PAIR OF LOUIS XVI GILTWOOD FRAMED MARQUISE ARMCHAIRS, by JEAN BAPTISTE III LELARGE (1743-1802) AT ADAMS. UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD.

    Precious objects from a spectacular interior at one of the most graceful squares in Ireland come under the hammer at Adams on June 21.  The contents of 24 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin will be on view in situ over the preceding three days.

    Kevin and Rose Kelly, synonymous with glossy publications such as World of Interiors and Image, are downsizing.  They are disposing of contents amassed over 40 years of collecting.  The catalogue for the 590 lot sale is on-line.
    The collection draws together paintings from the Irish, English and Dutch Schools, Fine English and French furniture, fine silver, china, objets d’art and a wide variety of decorative pieces. There is a small couture section including Dior and Chanel designer-wear.

    A LOUIS XV GILTWOOD CANAPÉ, BY E.T. NAUROY AT ADAMS. (CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE) UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,500.

    Furniture highlights include a magnificent pair of sumptuously upholstered Louis XV giltwood Marquise armchairs made by Jean Baptiste Lelarge (1743-1802). They are estimated at 40,000 plus. The Kellys purchased these chairs from Bond Street dealers, Partridge. A Louis XV ormolu mounted kingwood and tulipwood bureau plat is signed by Nicolas Petit. Purchased from Monaco dealers Sapjo it is estimated at €30,000/50,000. A Louis XV giltwood framed canapé by ebeniste E.T.Nauroy, also from Partridge, is estimated at €8,000/12,000.
    There are English, Irish and French side-tables, bookcases, a dining table and chairs, mirrors, couches, soft furnishings, garden furniture and beds complete with Lyon silk and silk damask bedspreads and canopies.
    There are 17th and 18th Century portraits include two by Dutch artist Cornelius Johnson (1593-1661) both dated c.1640 and estimated at €20,000+ each. A massive portrait by Godfrey Kneller of a young lady, believed to be the artist’s daughter, Agnes, is estimated at €25,000 +.  There is a family group believed to be of Gerrit Jacob Witszoon, Burgomaster of Delft with his wife and daughter probably painted by Michiel van Mierevelt in the early years of the 17th Century. Irish art includes watercolour sketches by Maurice MacGonigal, two oils by Grace Henry and still lifes by Nicolo Caracciolo RHA and Martin Mooney.

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    REGENCY LIBRARY TABLE FROM GALWAY ESTATE AT BONHAMS

    June 7th, 2011

    A Regency rosewood library table with Irish provenance at Bonhams. UPDATE: IT MADE £264,000

    A Regency rosewood library table originally from Tyrone House, an Irish estate in County Galway, is to be sold at Bonhams, as part of its Fine English Furniture and Works of Art Sale on June 15. Built in 1779 by Christopher St. George (1754-1826) Tyrone House was designed by Waterford architect John Roberts (1712-1796). Christopher St. George lived in the house for twenty years before passing it to his son, Arthur French, who, during the 1820s, also occupied Kilcolgan Castle. By 1905, the family was based between Dublin and America and the contents of the house were split amongst family members.  The table, estimated at £100,000 – 150,000, passed through the St. George family by descent.

    In 1921, the house was burnt down by the IRA, who believed it to be a base for the Black and Tans.   The Irish Georgian Society acquired the ruin in 1972.  It is a moody local ruin opposite the St George family mausoleum which inspired John Betjeman to write in his poem, Ireland with Emily:
    ‘There in pinnacle protection
    One extinguished family waits
    A Church of Ireland resurrection
    By the broken, rusty gates’
    UPDATE:  The library table sold for a remarkable £264,000 at Bonhams.

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    WARHOL’S DEBBIE HARRY AT SOTHEBY’S IN JUNE

    June 7th, 2011

    Debbie Harry by Andy Warhol (1928-1987) (copyright Sotheby's). (Click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: IT MADE £3,737,250

    Andy Warhol’s 1980 acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas of Debbie Harry, lead singer with Blondie, heads Sotheby’s sale of Contemporary Art in London on June 29.  Debbie Harry became a friend of the artist after they met in Manhattan.  In an interview with Cheyenne Westphal, Sotheby’s Chairman of Contemporary Art Europe, she described what it was like to sit for Warhol: “He was the master of understatement. He’d say ‘Try looking over here’. He was very softly spoken and used a funny Polaroid portrait camera. It was an easy environment and not really a pressured situation. He made it very easy.”

    Selected as the cover image for the major survey of Warhol’s portraiture published by Phaidon in 2005, Debbie Harry, from 1980, is one of Warhol’s most accomplished portraits of celebrity. One of only four such portraits of the Blondie star in this rare 42 inches format – two of which are in the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh – this pink version has become one of the best recognised images in Warhol’s oeuvre and the definitive portrait of the 1980s style icon.
    It is from a European private collection and is estimated at  £3.5-5.5 million.  The sale coincides with the release of Blondie’s new album Panic of Girls.
    Sotheby’s has also announced that it will offer a group of works by Damien Hirst, Gilbert & George and Angus Fairhurst from the collection of award winning musician, songwriter and record producer Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics.  He is a friend of Damien Hirst.  The seven artworks – estimated to bring in £1.3 million – will be included in the contemporary art evening and day auctions on June 29 and 30. The collection will be led by Dantrolene, an early Hirst pharmaceutical painting and one of the largest one inch spot paintings to appear at auction in latter years. It is estimated at  £600,000-800,000.
    UPDATE: IT MADE £3,737,250

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    NOT FAR FROM HERE BY MELITA DENARO IN DUBLIN AND LONDON

    June 6th, 2011

    Not Far from Here by Melita Denaro is priced at £17,500 sterling. (Click on image to enlarge)

    Not Far from Here is the title of this work by the Irish artist Melita Denaro.  It is from an exhibition which charts the progress of her painting over the last four years.  The Tenderness of Attention is the largest survey of her work. In two parts it takes place at the galleries which represent the Irish artist, the John Martin Gallery, Albemarle St., London WI from June 3 to June 25 and  Taylor Galleries, Kildare St., Dublin from June 10 to July 2.

    All Denaro’s small studies are painted on location on the Isle of Doagh, an island on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. Her larger oil paintings are inspired by these smaller studies and are usually painted in London. Denaro was trained at Central School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools.
    The exhibition presents two sets of paintings that are arranged to tell a similar story. It sets out to capture something of the rhythm of her painting created in part by the demands of her working routine as an artist: the monthly journey from London to Donegal, and the necessity of making all her work from one single spot on the isle of Doagh. The catalogue arranges the paintings by the date of each visit to Donegal, from 2007 to the spring of 2011.

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    AL CAPONE’S .38 REVOLVER AT CHRISTIE’S

    June 6th, 2011

    Al Capone's revolver. (click on image to enlarge)

    Al Capone’s .38 revolver leads Christie’s arms and armour sale at South Kensington, London on June 22.  The .38 (Special) ‘Police Positive” nickel plated six-shot double action revolver was manufactured by Colt.  It has chequered walnut grips and retains nearly all its original nickel-plated finish. The serial number is 384221.

    Al Capone  (1899 –1947) is one of the most famous American gangsters. The stereotypical mobster image – blue pinstripe suit, tilted fedora – is based upon photographs of Capone, and his personality has been used as a template for copious fictional criminal masterminds. He once observed that:   “You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone”.
    The revolver is accompanied by a copy of an affidavit sworn on March 25,1990 by Madeleine Capone Morichetti, widow of Ralph Capone. This states that: “Ralph Capone became the custodian and owner of a certain Colt Police Positive .38 Special Revolver, serial no. 384221, being nickel plates with a wood handle, which revolver was acquired from and was the property of his brother Al Capone”. The affidavit also states that, according to Ralph’s wishes, upon his death the revolver was to be passed to one Edmund Koeski which it was in 1976.
    Estimated at £50,000-70,000 it will be sold with a further 209 lots, dating from the 10th century to the 20th century with individual estimates from £300 to £85,000.
    UPDATE:  The revolver sold for £67,250.  It was the top lot in a sale which realised £634,825.

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    HISTORIC IRISH EASTER RISING TRICOLOUR TRAVELS TO U.S.

    June 6th, 2011

    The 1916 Tricolour.

    THE historic Irish tricolour flag flown over the headquarters of the Irish Volunteers during the Easter Rising of 1916 is headed for the United States.  The flag will be presented on loan to the American Irish Historical Society at Fifth Avenue, New York across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    Now insured for $1 million the flag was captured by British soldiers after the surrender. It was later given to a doctor in Lisburn, Co. Antrium whose son in law donated it to the family of John Sweetman (1844-1936). He was one of the founders of Sinn Fein.
    The Sweetman family have loaned the flag to the American Irish Historical Society.  Ian Whyte of Dublin auctioneers will formally hand over the flat to Kevin M Cahill MD, President-General of the American Irish Historical Society, at the AIHS building, 991 Fifth Avenue, on June 8.
    Mr Whyte said: “the family are delighted to have this important icon of Irish history displayed in the AIHS in New York. The other flag that flew over the GPO during the Rising is in the National Museum of Ireland, and it is fitting that this tricolour is now in the USA, home to over forty million people of Irish descent”. It is hoped that the flag will be a focal point for the American commemorations of the Centenary of the Rising in 2016.

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    IRISH ART SEASON BRINGS IN 6 MILLION AND A TALE OF THREE HENRY’S

    June 2nd, 2011
    The value of Irish art which has changed hands in the current season of sales amounts to around 6 million euro.  James Adam brought in around 1.1 million on June 1, Whyte’s and de Veres brought in 700,000 and 400,000 respectively in May, the Irish artists at Christie’s sale of British and Irish art on May 26 (including Sir John Lavery and William Scott) accounted for another 1.3 million euro and Sotheby’s annual Irish sale at the end of March brought in 2.1 million euro.  These bigger players achieved around 5.6 million.
    To this total must be added the achievements of smaller auction houses like Morgan O’Driscoll and Dolans which hold dedicated art sales and tend to deal in names that are less stellar.   In addition Irish art is a latter day mainstay of antique auctions around the country and features to a greater or lesser extent at most sales. All this increases the overall total. The six million euro figure is probably slightly conservative.

    Christie's

    Whyte's

    Adams

    These not dissimilar West of Ireland landscapes by Paul Henry boosted results at Christie’s, Whytes and Adams where they sold for £79,250, 106,000 euro and 110,000 euro respectively.
    Christie’s sold the single most expensive Irish artwork to change hands at auction thus far in 2011 when they achieved £657,250  for Sir John Lavery’s Played!!  Sotheby’s achieved the highest total for any Irish sale over the past two years.  Roderic O’Conor’s Landscape, Cassis was the top lot at Sotheby’s where it made £337,250.
    This website will make two comments on these results. The first is that these totals are highly respectable given that Ireland continues to be in deep recession.  The second is that the Irish art market urgently needs to find new ways of promoting in the salesrooms more contemporary Irish art. The best of Paul Henry, along with Yeats, Orpen, Lavery, O’Conor, Osborne , le Brocquy et all, is highly bankable, especially in recession.  But these are not the only Irish artists who deserve an outlet in the salesrooms. There is no shortage in Ireland of available quality work by contemporary artists. Many more are waiting in the wings for the recognition that is properly their due. The focus of the Irish art market is too narrow. This problem needs to be addressed by everyone involved in the art market in an effective way if stagnation is to be avoided in the salesrooms.

    See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for May 29, May 28, May 27, May 20, May 19 and March 29.

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    TITANIC LAUNCHED IN BELFAST 100 YEARS AGO TODAY

    May 31st, 2011
    TITANIC was launched in Belfast on May 31, 1911 – 100 years ago today.  To mark the centenary artefacts recovered from the wreck went on display for the first time in Northern Ireland. Seven of the items – which will be displayed as part of TITANICa: The Exhibition at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum – are on show for the first time anywhere in the world.

    This is one of several first-class glass serving dishes. Reminiscent of a ribbed shell, this candy or condiment dish has a modern appeal. The White Star Line logo is etched into the glass at the apex of the dish. ©1987-2004 RMS Titanic, Inc. (click to enlarge)

    This demitasse cup decorated with one of Spode’s famous cobalt blue designs is thought to have been used in the exclusive Café Parisien, adjacent to the à la carte Restaurant. The gold Greek key pattern within a cobalt field at the rim provides a striking pattern. ©1987-2004 RMS Titanic, Inc.

    This is one of several hand mirrors produced by “Royale Ivoire France.” The handle and backing are made of an early form of plastic created as a faux ivory which allowed for mass production. ©1987-2004 RMS Titanic, Inc.

    THE exhibition features 35 items from the wreck including a part of the hull structure, a porthole, silverware, glassware and personal belongings. They are part of a loan from US-based RMS Titanic, Inc a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. and the Salvor in Possession of the wreck site.   Premier Exhibitions has conducted seven research expeditions to Titanic recovering more than 5,500 artefacts. In summer 2010 the company completed its eighth dive to collect scientific data and visuals on Titanic’s condition.
    These artefacts will join some 500 objects from the Folk & Transport Museum’s own collections. A magnificent 20ft long plan capturing last minute design changes to Titanic will be going on show for the first time. The plan has a significance which could never have been foreseen by the draughtsmen working at the Harland & Wolff shipyard a century ago. Meticulously drawn and annotated, it offers a unique opportunity to glimpse something of the world in which Titanic was built and the people who built and sailed on her.
    Part of the exhibition at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum enables the visitor to step back in time to uncover life in Belfast 100 years ago. Daily routines and  activities from the shipyard worker’s home, to the carpenters workshop, to Kelly’s Coal Yard at Belfast Lough are re-created.  The exhibition runs until August.
    The plan of the Titanic used in the inquiry into the sinking of the ship in 1912 sold for £220,000 at Devizes-based Henry Aldridge & Son in England last week. Commissioned by the British Board of Trade it had been estimated at £100,000-150,000.  The auctioneer said the sale aroused interest from around the world.

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    MICHELANGELO DRAWING AT CHRISTIE’S

    May 31st, 2011

    Michelangelo drawing. © Christie’s Images Limited 2011. (Click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: IT MADE £3,177,250

    A rarely seen drawing by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)  features at Christie’s Old Masters and British Paintings sale on July 5 in London.

    The preparatory study is one of only 24 sheets related to his lost commission of The Battle of Cascina – and the last to remain in private hands. Michelangelo was pitched directly alongside his elder rival Leonardo da Vinci who was commissioned to paint The Battle of Cascina on the opposite wall of the newly-built Sala del Gran Consiglio in Florence’s Palazzo della Signoria.

    The drawing has been seen in public only once before at the exhibition of the artist’s drawings at the Albertina, Vienna, in 2010.
    In the same collection for over 30 years it is being offered at auction for the first time. It is expected to realise £3 million to £5 million.
    UPDATE: IT MADE £3,177,250

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