The 1939 letter from Einstein to President Franklin D Roosevelt that ushered in the age of the atomic bomb comes up at Christie’s in New York on September 10 with an estimate of $4 million – $6 million. It will lead the Pushing Boundaries: Ingenuity from the Paul G Allen collection sale. The Einstein letter resulted in the Manhattan Project and the story of atomic power told in the 2023 blockbuster film Oppenheimer might never have happened had it not been written. Two versions were drafted, the shorter version on offer here and a more detailed one delivered to the White House by hand – now in the permanent collection of the Franklin D Roosevelt Library in New York. The sale tells the story of science and technology from pre-history to the present day through nearly 40 inspirational documents and objects. The majority of lots date from the 20th century, reflecting Mr. Allen’s most personal passions and serving as a testament to the rapid pace of technological innovation in living memory.
This Torc, believed to be part of the Rathcormack hoard of 1882-83, made £45,200 including buyers premium at an antiquities sale at Lyon and Turnbull. From a private collection in Edinburgh it was acquired by the family in the 1920’s and thence by descent. The piece originally belonged to Robert Carfrae (1820-1900).
The present style of torc or armlet is exceptionally rare, and is known only from a single hoard discovered near Rathcormack, Co. Cork in 1882 – 1883. The hoard was first described in the ‘Proceedings’ section of the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (Anon. 1883-4, 52) where it was noted that Ralph Westropp of Cork exhibited a silver torc with the accompanying note: “It seems that this was found near Rathcormack, county of Cork, with five others of similar make, about the close of last year or early in the present one, by a peasant, beneath a stone in a field, when ploughing.”
The are three recorded examples of the hoard, currently at the National Museum of Scotland and the Metropolitan Museum, New York. All are known to have originated from the Rathcormack Hoard and it is likely that this piece shares the same provenance, though this is unproven.
A work by Giacinto Bosco at the K Club Photograph: Patrick Browne
Art and Soul, an exhibition with over 300 works on display, is at the K Club in Co. Kildare until September 8. Hosted by Gormleys it includes a major outdoor exhibition of over 90 large sculptures and installations set throughout the 550-acre grounds of the luxury estate. There are international artists like Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst alongside leading Irish practitioners including sculptors Patrick O’Reilly, Ian Pollock, Eamonn Ceannt and Bob Quinn. The hotel’s interior will be further embellished with a display of over 100 artworks by some of the world’s best-known artists, including Damien Hirst, Giacinto Bosco, Patrick Rubinstein, Banksy, Keith Haring, and Julian Opie. Opening times are from 11 am to 7 pm daily and admission is free.
This Empire style pier table made €160 at Adams in June.
Beautiful, green, sustainable and unwanted …. good antique furniture continues to offer spectacular value to consumers. Armed with just €100 euro you can pick something up at many sales. The choice widens considerably with €300, €500 or €1,000. Disinclined to believe me? There are lots of examples from auctions in the first half of the year in Ireland as follows:
An Empire style circular pier table with brass sphinx head capitals sold for a hammer price of just €160 at the last At Home sale at James Adam in Dublin in June. At the same auction a 19th century circular convex mirror surmounted by an eagle with outstretched wings made €320, a Victorian walnut and parquetry games table made €130 and a Victorian mahogany hall chair made €170.
This George III bureau made €150 at Sheppards in May.
At Sheppards Great Irish Interiors sale in May a 19th century pine pedestal plant stand made €50 at hammer, an Irish 19th century drop leaf kitchen table made €90, a George III mahogany wash stand made €160 and a George III writing bureau sold for €150.
At Woodwards in Cork in April an Edwardian occasional table on tripod base made €40, a Victorian Sutherland table made €90, a Victorian chest on stand made €120 and a Victorian lowboy with herringbone crossbanding made €140. At Marshs in June a two tier centre table made €40, a French escritoire made €120 and a Victorian lady’s work table made €160.
This Victorian lowboy made €140 at Woodwards in April.
An Edwardian oak hall stand made €90 at Lynes and Lynes in April, a Victorian dressing table made €100, an antique side table made €160, a Victorian circular dining table made €50 and a Victorian dumb waiter made €140.
An Edwardian four tier waterfall what not sold for €40 at Fonsie Mealy in February, while at an auction in Castlecomer in May a Georgian glazed bookcase made €210, a Pembroke table made €170 and a Victorian walnut lady’s work table made €180.
The late Cork auctioneer Joe Woodward once remarked that: “There is a bargain at every auction”. That was then and this is now. When it comes to good serviceable antique furniture that has already given years of service and is ready for much more many bargains can be found at every sale nowadays. The prices quoted here are hammer prices and do not include auctioneers fees, but fees on €100 euro do not amount to much. Some auctioneers will even refuse to accept some furniture for sale. Who can blame them? When pieces do not attract any bids and are unsold they must be returned and carriage costs money.
This Victorian dining table made €50 euro at Lynes and Lynes in April.
Not everything is unwanted. Some furniture is sought after and some particularly good pieces make lots of money. Just last October a pair of c1760 George II carved giltwood armchairs, one with a Strahan label, made $152,400 (€139,949) at Sotheby’s in New York. It helps when something is exceptional, with impeccable provenance and preferably a celebrity owner or two.
A CORK REGENCY TRIPLE PANEL OVER MANTLE MIRROR. UPDATE: THIS MADE 220 AT HAMMER
Garden furniture, art, silver, antique furniture and collectibles will feature in an online sale by Hegarty’s in Bandon on August 14. A Regency triple over mantle mirror with an R & W Clarke of Cork label is estimated at €300-€600 and there is an estimate of €900-€1,200 for an oil by John Morris entitled Brittas Bay. The auction gets underway at 5 pm.
No one captured the excitement and innovation of the Paris of the Belle Epoque quite like the great chronicler of Montmartre nightlife Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. A key work by the artist – Jane Avril au Divan Japonais – will highlight the culmination of a series of auctions to coincide with Art Basel, Paris at Christie’s on October 18. The Avant Garde including Thinking Italian sale will include a preparatory study for the most famous and best selling lithograph in the world featuring the cancan dancer Jane Avril commissioned by Edouard Fournier for his cabaret of the same name. In the same private collection for 90 years and not seen in public since the artist’s retrospective in 1931 it is estimated at €2.5 million – €3.5 million.
Even as the global focus that has been on Paris in latter weeks is likely to shift elsewhere after the Olympics draw to a close the art world focus on the French capital is pretty permanent.
Another highlight of Christie’s sale is a rediscovery of a Surrealist work by Francis Picabia, a perfect example of his transparency series entitled Myrte (€1 million – €1.5 million). The innovative series is famous for the theatrical superimposition of images which Picabia had already experimented with in his films. Picabia seeks to stimulate the imagination with a surreal interweaving of images inspired by a real life revelation in a cafe in Marseilles and Myrte immerses the viewer into a sensual, hallucinatory dream.
Disappointed Love by the Irish artist Francis Danby (1793-1861) in the collection of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum forms a backdrop to a new exhibition on Taylor Swift at the museum until September 8. The Taylor Swift songbook trail celebrates the creativity of costumes, lyrics and videos with 13 stops across four floors of the museum. At stop eight is a cream Zimmerman dress from Swift’s personal archive worn in the video for Willow from the Evermore album with Danby’s subject and painting offering a perfect backdrop. Curator Kate Bailey considers Danby’s painting to be entirely in tune with Taylor Swift’s vibe. The idea of a Swift themed display occurred to her in April shortly after the beginning of the Eras tour. It has been the fastest moving project Bailey has ever worked on. But beware. There are more than seven miles of corridors in this fabulous museum. You have been warned.
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) – Landscape with Cottages and a Hay Barn, (1641). Etching with touches of drypoint on paper. Image, National Gallery of Ireland
An etching by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) – Landscape with Cottages and a Hay Barn (1641) – has been acquired by the National Gallery of Ireland and is the first work on paper by Rembrandt to enter the national collection. The gallery is celebrating its 170th anniversary by announcing recent acquisitions, free tours and releasing free tickets to ‘Women Impressionists’ for Culture Night 2024. Hughie O’Donoghue’s monumental Original Sins (2022), commissioned under the Decade of Centenaries Programme, has been acquired as a heritage gift under Section 1003. A vibrant oil on canvas by Dairine Vanston, On Huband Bridge, Dublin (1974), records a Dublin landmark just a few minutes’ walk from Vanston’s home and studio on Mount Street Crescent, but suggests more tropical climes.
A new strategic plan for 2024-2028 includes a range of priorities which will build on the Gallery’s existing work and help it evolve to best serve its collections and audiences, in the future. Four new priorities have been identified: Developing and caring for our living collections for public benefit; a National Gallery for all; excellence in Corporate Services and Strategic Partnerships to grow national and international partnerships and income streams across the public and private sectors.
Hughie O’Donoghue (b1953) – Original Sins series in the Shaw Room of the National Gallery. Photo courtesy National Gallery of Ireland.
AN ARTS AND CRAFTS OAK DRESSER. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,000 AT HAMMER
The timeless aesthetic and commitment of the Arts and Crafts movement is evident in this oak dresser which comes up as lot 277 at the James Adam At Home sale in Dublin on August 28 with an estimate of 1,000-1,500. This is a timed online sale with 401 lots and it will be on view at St. Stephen’s Green from Saturday, August 24. There is art, silver, collectibles, antique furniture, Oriental rugs, porcelain and even a collection of Scottish Freemasons regalia belonging to life member William Kirkhope. The catalogue is online.
ALICIA BOYLE (Irish 1908 – 1997) ‘A Boat (ashore) in a West of Ireland landscape’. UPDATE: THIS MADE 150 AT HAMMER
This 1950 mixed media work by Alicia Boyle is lot 56 at the modern and contemporary art online auction at O’Reilly’s of Francis St., Dublin which runs from August 7-14. The estimate is 150-250. Boyle’s work is in numerous collections including Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Crawford Gallery, Ulster Museum, Nottingham Castle Museum, National Gallery of Ireland and the National Self Portrait Collection. The catalogue for the sale is online.
