A pair of Sèvres hard-paste Vases Hollandois or flower-pots and stands, 1775-85. UPDATE: THESE SOLD FOR 19,200
Important furniture, Old Master paintings and drawings and Italian ceramics from Italian collections lead the Classics sale at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr in Paris on April 16.A selection of 60 works from an important Italian collection from Rome will feature old master drawings, paintings and furniture, drawing interest from international buyers with classical tastes. Among the highlights are a pair of Sèvres hard-paste Vases Hollandois or flower-pots and stands, 1775-85. These vases were in the celebrated collection of Edouard Chappey (c1858-1907) and are estimated at €6,000-8,000. A pair of northern Italian amaranth, bois citronnier, green-stained sycamore and tulipwood marquetry commodes, Lombard or Genoese, in the taste of Giuseppe Maggiolini, late 18th century are estimated at €20,000-25,000.
A pair of late 18th century northern Italian commodes. UPDATE; THESE SOLD FOR 48,640
Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian (Pieve di Cadore circa 1485/90-1576 Venice) – Rest on the Flight into Egypt. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £17,560,000, A NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR TITIAN
Titian’s early masterpiece Rest on the Flight into Egypt will headline Christie’s Old Masters Part I sale in London on July 2. Estimated at £15 million – £25 million it offers a very rare opportunity for buyers to become part of the next chapter in this fabled picture’s remarkable story. It is being offered by Lord Bath and the Longleat Trustees as part of their long term investment strategy and is one of the last religious works from the artist’s celebrated early years to remain in private hands. It has been owned by Dukes, Archdukes and Holy Roman Emperors, was looted by Napoleon’s troops in 1809 and stolen from Longleat in 1995. It was recovered seven years later in a carrier bag in greater London, minus the frame.
This pair of fossilised Irish elk antlers will come up at Sotheby’s in London on April 11 with an estimate of £20,000-£30,000. One has four points, the other eight and there are restorations. Although the elk inhabited a vast expanse of central Europe and Asia, the largest concentration of its remains have been found mainly in the marl underlying bogland of Ireland, giving rise to the popular nomenclature of this species. The high calcium carbonate content of the marl is conducive to the preservation of bones, and examples of these ancient antler specimens have been discovered in Counties Waterford, Clare and Cork, many of them in caves. Many have featured in Irish banqueting halls following a centuries-old tradition, particularly during the 19th century, when it was fashionable for such antiquarian relics to be displayed in baronial halls. An instance of this is recorded in an 1850s interior drawing of the new manor at Adare, Co. Limerick. The antlers are part of a sale of Classic Design and are listed in the catalogue as property from Ollerton Grange, a lavish Cheshire mansion. The sale includes a set of 12 Irish George III silver dinner plates from the Drogheda Service by Robert Calderwood (£8,000-£12,000) and a pair of Irish silver soup tureens by Calderwood (£10,000-£15,000). UPDATE: THE ANTLERS WERE UNSOLD
Claude Monet’s Moulin de Limetz will be a highlight at Christie’s 20th century evening sale in New York in May. The work is being offered by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the heirs of Ethel B. Atha and proceeds will benefit future art acquisitions for the Nelson-Atkins. Moulin de Limetz is one of only two canvases by Claude Monet picturing the subject of the mill at Limetz-Villez, near Giverny. Painted in 1888, this example presents a prologue to Monet’s development into series, which would become a defining tenet of his late career. Featuring dazzling kaleidoscopic light that reflects and sparkles off the gently flowing water and shimmers off the rustling foliage, Monet’s painterly achievement radiates color with depth and complexity through layers of thick, rich and sumptuous pigment. The estimate is $18-$25 million.
MARILYN MONROE’S PINK PUCCI DRESS SOLD FOR $325,000
With over eight thousand bids online, and on the phone, from countries across each continent such as the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Mexico, Monaco, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Germany, and Hong Kong the ICONS: PLAYBOY, HUGH HEFNER X MARILYN MONROE sale at Julien’s Auctions realised over $4 million. Though the two Hollywood icons remarkably never met, Hugh Hefner’s and Marilyn Monroe’s legacies became inextricably linked when Monroe appeared in Hefner’s inaugural 1953 issue of Playboy. In that moment, they gained worldwide fame becoming two important figures of twentieth-century America and Playboy establishing itself as an iconic global brand.
The most expensive lot of the three day sale was Monroe’s pink Pucci long-sleeved dress of silk jersey which sold for $325,000, the top selling lot of the event that set a new world record of most expensive Pucci dress sold at auction. Monroe’s The Seven Year Itch costume– a Mae West-inspired black and cellophane effect evening gown designed by legendary costume designer William Travilla worn by Monroe in the classic 1955 film’s dream sequence scene, which was later cut from the film–sold for $127,000.
A letter from Jean Smith, one of the children to Rose and Joseph Kennedy and sister to John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and four other siblings that reads: “Dear Marilyn – Mother asked me to write and thank you for your sweet note to Daddy – He really enjoyed it and you were very cute to send it. / Understand that you and Bobby are the new item! We all think you should come with him when he comes back east! Again thanks for the note. / Love, Jean Smith” sold for $28,575, seven times its estimate of $4,000.
This is Raquel Welch’s beaded and rhinestone gown designed by Bob Mackie and worn to a 1979 photoshoot. It comes up at Julien’s online sale in Hollywood on April 12 with an estimate of $2,000-$3,000 as part of a sale titled Bombshell: The Raquel Welch Collection. One of Hollywood’s most famous sex symbols Welch, who died in 2023, became a pioneer of the strong female lead character from her roles in Fantastic Voyage, Hannie Caulder, Myra Breckinridge and The Three Musketeers for which she won a Golden Globe award. There are annotated film scripts, memorabilia like her Screen Actors Guild card, costumes and pieces from her home. Among 500 lots are the earrings worn when she played herself in Season 8, episode 22 of Seinfeld and the iconic fur bikini from One Million Years B.C. which became one of the biggest pin up posters of all time. UPDATE: THIS DRESS SOLD FOR $6,500
A team of staff and volunteers at the Irish Museum of Time in Waterford are preparing to take shifts to change clocks as they go forward one hour tonight. More than 600 clocks from Ireland and around the globe, including the oldest clock in the world with an anchor escarpment (the ticking mechanism) made in London by William Clement in 1663, will be adjusted. Some of them are eight day clocks and have already been adjusted, others have little quirks and moving them forward is an exercise in patience.
Primrose Hill by Frank Auerbach UPDATE: THIS MADE 21,000 AT HAMMER
With signed Andy Warhol and Joan Miro screenprints, contrasting approaches to landscape in views of Primrose Hill by Frank Auerbach and Union Hall by Donald Teskey, an oil on canvas by Conor Harrington, still lifes, interiors and a bravura portrait by Genieve Figgis the April 9 Irish and International sale by Morgan O’Driscoll is characterised by great variety.
The first two artworks of the 164 lots on offer, a pen drawing by Jack B Yeats redolent of an Ireland long vanished and a fairly abstract lithograph entitled Coloured Wall by Sean Scully, illustrate this diversity very well. The most expensively estimated lot is Villas near the Sea, Cassis (1913) by Roderic O’Conor (€70,000-€100,000). At the other end of the cost scale is a 1980 photograph of Samuel Beckett by John Minihan (€300-€500) and an oil on board of The Rosses, Co. Donegal by Estella Solomons (€500-€750).
Artists are often fascinated by the unformed drawings of the very young. At first glance Primrose Hill by Frank Auerbach – a series of crayon squiggles on a page – looks like something your average two or three year old might have produced. The clue is in the title. Look more closely and an image of Hampstead Heath on a summer day emerges, complete with winding path, trees, blue sky and approaching dark clouds. The colour range is precise. In his catalogue entry Peter Murray notes: “Much of the drawing’s zest and energy is created by this understanding of colour theory translated into action that underpins the seemingly random and chaotic marks and results in an impressive work of art created from the simplest materials”. Auerbach’s Primrose Hill (€15,000-€25,000) is indeed fascinating and no, you could not do it yourself.
Union Hall, West Cork by Donald Teskey. UPDATE: THIS MADE 29,000 AT HAMMER
Union Hall by Donald Teskey presents a beguiling picture of the charming west Cork fishing village and is estimated at €20,000-€30,000.
The catalogue cover lot is a screenprint by Andy Warhol titled Ladies and Gentlemen II.135 (1975). The estimate is €7,000-€9,000. A William Scott screenprint, Still Life with Frying Pan and Eggs, is estimated at €5,000-€7,000 and there are etchings and prints by Georges Braque, Damien Hirst, Mr. Brainwash and Joan Miro whose La Megere et La Lune (1973) was published by Maeght Paris and numbered 36 from an edition of 50. A pencil drawing of Dock St., Belfast by L.S. Lowry dates to 1964 and is estimated at €15,000-€20,000.
Master of Money and Mirrors by Conor Harrington. UPDATE: THIS MADE 40,000 AT HAMMER
Master of Money and Mirrors is an oil on canvas by the Cork artist Conor Harrington whose street art propelled him to fame. He is now represented in a growing number of collections and this piece is estimated at €40,000-€60,000. Portrait of a Lady by Dublin born Genieve Figgis, whose use of Twitter propelled her to the international stage, is estimated at €30,000-€50,000.
A portrait of a lady in a white dress by Cork born Adam Buck (1759-1833) is estimated at €2,000-€3,000 and a unique 3D wood relief by Maser has an estimate of €4,000-€6,000. There is sculpture by, among others, John Behan, Rowan Gillespie, Helen Walsh, Patrick O’Reilly, Siobhan Bulfin and Mark Rode.
Viewing takes place in Skibbereen on today, tomorrow and Monday and in Dublin at the RDS from April 5 to April 8. The auction will begin to close at 6.30 pm on April 9.
No to War by Patrick O’Reilly. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,400 AT HAMMER
A World War I British Army recruitment poster featuring Inchigeelagh born Victoria Cross recipient Michael O’Leary comes up as lot 18 at O’Donovan’s online auction in Newcastlewest on April 3. He was awarded Britain’s most prestigious award for gallantry for single handedly charging and destroying two German barricades defended by machine gun positions at Cuinchy in France in 1915.
Subsequently feted in London and Macroom he was jeered by Ulster Volunteers during a recruitment drive in Ballaghaderreen in the autumn of 1915. This caused such a scandal that it was raised in the Houses of Parliament. O’Leary, who died in London in 1961, served in France in the same regiment as British actor Stanley Holloway and the two, both born in 1890, remained lifelong friends. Holloway often stayed at The May Fair Hotel where O’Leary was concierge. The recruitment poster is estimated at €150-€250. The contents of two pubs in Cork and Limerick will be offered by O’Donovan’s. The auction offers collectibles and many items of interest including a Michael Collins portrait poster, a Dan Breen wanted poster, an Allman’s Irish Whisky mirror, advertising signs and road signs of various sorts.
Untitled 1984 by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat – the most significant collaboration painting at auction in a decade – will highlight Sotheby’s marquee contemporary art auction in New York in May. This large -scale example of a creative experiment that fused their distinctive visual languages and styles – Warhol’s signature use of screenprinting and mechanically produced imagery, such as corporate logos, coupled with Basquiat’s expressionistic, figurative scrawls in paintstick – to create one of the most singular bodies of work in 20th century art during their famed period of collaboration from 1983 – 1985. In the four decades since their creation, the Warhol-Basquiat collaboration paintings have only added to the mystique and legend of their creators, and stand out as daring testaments to their artistic partnership and friendship.
Coming to auction for the first time in nearly 15 years with an estimate in the region of $18 million, Untitled’s sale is set to mark a new benchmark price for the series.
