Mucha portrait with Sarah Bernhardt at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE 750 AT HAMMER
Memo to the slow food movement. Nothing complements fine dining so much as silver and crystal. The At Home sale by Adam’s in Dublin and R.J. Keighery’s biggest ever single day auction in Waterford offers bags of both. Both auctions are on Tuesday February 24. Pride of place at Adams is a 24 place Sheffield silver thread pattern canteen from around 1947. It weighs over 446 try ounces in total, excluding the stainless steel blades and sits in its own walnut lowboy chest on cabriole legs. The estimate is €10,000-€15,000.
There is an extensive selection of 150 lots of silver at Adam’s, over half from a single Irish vendor, along with antique furniture, mirrors, porcelain and art. A lithograph poster by Alphonse Mucha with Sarah Bernhardt playing Photina in La Samaritaine by Edmond Rostand is among a number of collectible in a sale with more than 500 lots.
At Keigherys a Waterford Crystal Dublin Castle chandelier (€2,500-€3,500) and an Arts and Crafts silver porringer (€1,200-€1,800) are among the leading lots. More than 750 lots will come under the hammer in an auction that offers jewellery, watches, period furniture, Oriental rugs, mirrors and two large pitch pine refectory tables. Both auctions are now on view and the catalogues are online.
An Arts and Crafts silver porringer with green glass liner at Keighery’s. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Chess pieces created by Graham Knuttel. UPDATE: THE TABLE AND CHESS SET MADE €40,000
Affordable art and one expensive rarity feature at online sales ending at Adam’s and de Veres in Dublin next week. A collector wishing to enhance their holding or someone wanting to dip their toe into the market will find these sales a great place to uncover the unending joy and discovery of a journey into art. First get the eye in shape, then learn how to look. Who knows where it will lead?
The expensive rarity that is lot five at the timed online Graham Knuttel II sale at Adam’s which ends from 2 pm on February 10 is a limited edition chess table with a silver and bronze chess set from around 2003. One of an edition of 12 it was designed by artist Graham Knuttel (1954-2023) and furniture maker David Linley, first cousin of King Charles III. The square table with marquetry chess board top is by Linley, the black and white silver and bronze chess pieces by Knuttel. The estimate is €50,000-€80,000.
Everything else in this auction of 123 lots is more affordable. Estimates are from €300 up and most works are to be sold without reserve. There is a large selection of signed prints by the popular Dublin artist whose striking and distinctive art was collected by various celebrities and who designed stamps for An Post to commemorate the Beijing summer olympics of 2008.
His themes have become familiar and his colourful art features cats, fish, birds, sheep, chefs, portraits and sculpture.
The Sinking of the Titanic by Graham Knuttel UPDATE: THIS MADE €14,000 at hammer
The most expensively estimated painting is a relatively cheerful (under the adverse circumstances) work titled The Sinking of the Titanic with a deep blue sea, four calm characters in lifebuoy rings with bottles of some sort of hooch, circling sharks, a distant iceberg and the elevated stern of doomed ship. The estimate for this oil on canvas with disaster everywhere is €10,000-€15,000.
William Crozier, Elizabeth Brophy, Richard Croft, Michael Farrell, George Campbell, Brian Bourke, Hilda Van Stockum, Sean McSweeney and Barbara Warren are all featured at the timed online auction at de Veres which ends from 2 pm on February 11. Estimates range from €100 to €3,000.
It is an interesting selection with work by artists who might not be as well known as they deserve to be. Still Life, Red Teapot and Apples by Richard Croft (1935-2025), President of the Royal Ulster Academy from 1997-2000, is estimated at €600-€900. En Andeche et la Ruche from the Paris Press Series by Michael Farrell (1940-2000) is at €2,000-€3,000 the most expensively estimated work in the auction. It dates to 1977-78. Farrell represented Ireland at the Biennale de Paris in 1967 and there was a retrospective of his work at the Crawford in 2013-14.
The catalogue, which is online, will reward a slow trawl. Art which makes gazillions grabs headlines and can create the incorrect impression that the art market is the preserve of the rich. These two sales demonstrate that this is not the case. Get the eye in and good art can be acquired for little more than the cost of a night out in 2026.
Still Life, Red Teapot and Apples by Richard Croft at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE 650 AT HAMMER
Graham Knuttel and David Linley with their collaborative project. UPDATE: THIS MADE €40,000 at hammer
One of Graham Knuttel’s most striking creations is a chess set made in collaboration with the furniture designer and manufacturer David Linley. The limited edition (of 12) square table with marquetry chessboard top designed by Linley and silver and bronze chess pieces created by Knuttel is lot 5 at the Graham Knuttel II sale at Adam’s in Dublin on February 10. The four square table is supported by a tapered column on a walnut base, with a marquetry chessboard. The white chess pieces are made of solid silver, the black pieces are made of bronze. The estimate is €50,000-€80,000. It is the most expensively estimated lot in a sale of mostly paintings with some sculptures with estimates from €300 up. The catalogue is online
Gerard Dillon (1916-1971) – Female Bather. UPDATE: THIS PAINTING WAS WITHDRAWN FROM THE SALE
This watercolour by Gerard Dillon is at €2,000-€4,000 the most expensively estimated lot at Adam’s timed online picture sale which runs until January 13. With 325 lots in total the sale offers art by Harry Kernoff, Gary Trimble, Stella Steyn, Lillian Lucy Davidson, Robert Ballagh, Mainie Jellett, Thurloe Connolly, Mary Swanzy, Mark Rode and a wide variety of artists. The auction is on view in Dublin from 2 pm to 5 pm on January 10 and 11, from 10 am to 5 pm on Monday and online.
SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND RING, FIRST QUARTER OF THE 20TH CENTURY SOLD FOR €280,000 AT HAMMER
This cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire weighing 5.08cts made a hammer price of €280,000 at Adam’s sale of fine jewellery and ladies watches in Dublin this evening. With French assay marks and signed Boucheron Paris it was accompanied by a Swiss report authenticatings its Kashmir origin with no indications of heating. The ring was acquired circa 1930’s in Paris by a member of the Guerlain family of perfume fame and has remained with the family by descent.
Gabriele Ricciardelli (1690-1782) – A View of Dublin Bay from Mount Merrion. UPDATE: THIS LOT WAS ACQUIRED PRIOR TO THE SALE BY A NATIONAL CULTURAL INSTITUTION
A recently discovered masterpiece painting of Dublin Bay by Gabriele Ricciardelli (1690-1782) will lead the Irish Old Masters auction at Adam’s on December 4. Ricciardelli, who moved from Southern Italy to Dublin in 1753, was the first to paint this spectacular view, which was at Powerscourt until 1948. A view of Dublin Bay from Mount Merrion is estimated at €80,000-€120,000.
The auction at 6 pm on Thursday offers 52 lots. It includes landscapes, seascapes, still lives, portraits and A Fight in a Tavern in Innishannon by Nathaniel Grogan (c1740-1807) which is estimated at €6,000-€8,000. The auction is on view at Adam’s at St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin and the catalogue is online.
Nathaniel Grogan (c1740-1807) – A Fight in a Tavern in Innishannon. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring by Boucheron will lead a sale of fine jewellery and ladies watches at Adam’s in Dublin on December 4. The sapphire weighs 5.08 carats and the ring is estimated at €100,000-€150,000 but it might be advisable to break out the piggy bank if you really, really want it. So far this year Adam’s sold a Kashmir diamond and sapphire ring for €540,000 at hammer, an early 20th century Kashmir sapphire brooch for €540,000 and a c1900 Kashmir sapphire and diamond brooch for €550,000. This one dates to the first quarter of the 20th century and was acquired in the 1930’s by the Guerlain family of perfume fame in Paris.
Paul Henry RHA (1877-1958) – Coastal Landscape with Galway Hookers
This 1930’s painting by Paul Henry made a hammer price of €170,000 at Adam’s sale of Important Irish Art. It is from the collection of former Taoiseach John A Costello and is believed to have been purchased directly from the artist as it was never on the market before. Another Henry painting from the Costello collection of a Connemara Village was sold by Adam’s in 2016 for €119,000 at hammer.
Other top hammer prices from Adam’s sale on November 26 were: Mary Swanzy, A Cubist Landscape (€38,000); Gerard Dillon, Inishmore Lads, (€32,000); Harry Clarke, Faust in the Witches Kitchen (€30,000); Louis le Brocquy, Cuchulainn in Warp Spasm (1999) (€26,000; Hughie O’Donoghue, Night Cargo (€20,000) and Nathaniel Hone, Hay Wynds (€15,000).
Cubist Landscape by Mary Swanzy at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE €38,000 AT HAMMER
Yeats, Henry, O’Conor, Clarke, O’Malley, Teskey, Jellett, Swanzy, Luke and other acclaimed Irish artists offer Ireland’s growing band of collectors an array of tempting choices at auction in the run up to Christmas.
The major winter sales of Irish art get underway in earnest next week with evening auctions by Morgan O’Driscoll on November 24, de Veres and Gormley’s on November 25 and Adam’s on the following evening. The sale of Important Irish Art at Whyte’s is on December 1.
There is something for all levels of the market at auctions where estimates range from €200 to €300,000. It is all art – teasing, lovely, intriguing, home and life enhancing. Even if the important c1890 Paysage aux Arbes (Landscape with Trees) by Roderic O’Conor at de Veres (€200,000-€300,000) is beyond the budget these sales offer plenty of options at price points within the range of many of us. O’Conor made this work at a key turning point in his career. The suggestion of striping in the foliage is a precursor to this feature in many of his later paintings..
A Coastal landscape with Galway Hookers by Paul Henry at Adams (€150,000-€200,000) was in the collection of late Taoiseach John A Costello. Believed to have been purchased directly from the artist in the 1930’s it is making its first every appearance at auction.
Still Life with Frying Pan and Eggs (1973) by William Scott at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,200 AT HAMMER
An oil on canvas board by Yeats, Low Water, Spring Tide, Clifden (1906) leads Morgan O’Driscoll’s sale. The estimate is €40,000-€60,000. Morning Painting, Bahamas from 1983 by Tony O’Malley (€30,000-€50,000), Untitled by Sean Scully (€35,000-€45,000), Cardboard Leaves by Basil Blackshaw and St. Jean d’Acre entering Cork Harbour in 1853 by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson are among the top lots in an online sale with 271 lots.
The collection of former government minister Gemma Hussey and her husband Derry will form part of the offering of 132 lots at de Veres. Bad News by the Dublin artist Patrick Tuohy (1894-1930) from their collection is estimated at €14,000-€18,000. The artist was educated at St. Enda’s School, established by Padraig Pearse, and did illustrations for the school magazine. Distant Bird Song (€15,000-€25,000) and Self Portrait, Physicianstown (€1,500-€2,000) both by Tony O’Malley, Fair Day, Slovakia by Mary Swanzy (€10,000-€15,000) and Portrait of a Woman by Mainie Jellett (€2,000-€4,000) are all from the Hussey collection.
White Wings and White Water by Norah McGuinness at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE 34,000 AT HAMMER
Provence by William Crozier (€15,000-€25,000), Morons by Banksy (€15,000-€20,000) and Le Marche Flottant and Evening Drag by Arthur Maderson (€12,000-€18,000) are the leading lots at Gormley’s.
The 150 lots at James Adam on Wednesday range from the late 19th century to the present day. In a Dublin Waxworks by Yeats (€70,000-€100,000) dated 1912 was previously in the collection of Garech Browne at Luggala. The Dublin Waxworks on Henry St. opened in 1893 and was a popular venue until it was burnt down during the 1916 Rising. An illustration by Harry Clarke from the 1925 publication of Goethe’s Faust (€30,000-€50,000) is one of 90 illustrations the artist made for the publishers George Harrap and Co. There is a similar estimate on Lighthouse by Donald Teskey which dates to 2017.
An Aubusson tapestry of Cuchulainn in Warp Spasm by Louis le Brocquy at Adams is estimated at €25,000-€35,000, as is Training Five Souls on Board, an oil on paper by Camille Souter (1929-2023). The artist had learned to fly aeroplanes and produced some of her best work on this theme. A Cublst Landscape by Mary Swanzy, Night Cargo by Hughie O’Donoghue and a bronze by Rowan Gillespie are all estimated at €20,000-€30,000. Night Cargo is the catalogue cover lot.
The sale of important Irish art at Whyte’s on December 1 will be led by The Great Sugarloaf, Co. Wicklow by Paul Henry and The Dead Tree by John Luke. Each is estimated at €100,000-€150,000.
Provence by William Crozier at Gormleys. UPDATE: THIS MADE 23,000 AT HAMMER
Louis le Brocquy – The Tain, Massing of the Armies II at Gormley’s. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
From Walter Osborne to Andy Warhol, Louis le Brocquy to Paul Henry, the range of art on offer at four sales in Dublin next week is downright startling. Even though nowadays Irish art is sold at auction all year round there are still selling seasons. Early spring is one of them. The four sales on March 24, 25 and 26 at Whyte’s,de Veres, Gormleys and Adams will keep collectors busy and engaged. There is much to choose from across varying styles at all price points. In terms of expensive art the most significant sales are at Adams and Gormley’s. The top lot at each sale is a highly covetable tapestry by Louis le Brocquy. Cavanagh (€80,000-€120,000) at Adams next Wednesday evening used to hang at the Setanta Centre and featured here last week. The Tain, Massing of the Armies II at Gormley’s online on Tuesday evening is smaller and estimated at €90,000-€120,000. These artworks by one of Ireland’s leading and internationally renowned modern artists will reward a deep dive of exploration. The online sale at Gormley’s is on view at their new gallery premises on Francis St. in Dublin at the heart of the capital’s antiques quarter, previously Niall Mullen’s antique shop. Key pieces include Walter Frederic Osborne’s A Corner Of An Old Almshouse, Bruges (€60,000 – €90,000), Colin Middleton’s Three Kings (€40,000 – €50,000), Percy French’s West of Ireland Bogland ( €3,500 – €4,500), Banksy’s Grannies (€13,000-€17,000) and a screenprint by Andy Warhol titled Committee 2000 (FS II.289) (€14,000-€18,000). A total of 145 lots will come under the hammer at the Adams sale of Important Irish Art. Paul Henry, Mary Swanzy, Frank McKelvey, Tony O’Malley, Colin Middleton, Hilary Heron, George Russell, Gerard Dillon, Patrick Swift and John Shinnors feature among the leading artists on offer. The emphasis on the sale is on art from the 20th century and much of it is affordable. There is a good solid sale at de Veres timed online sale with bidding closing from 6 pm on Tuesday (March 25). Leading lots – all with top estimates of €20,000 and under – include work by artists who are sought by collectors including Dan O’Neill, Norah McGuinness, le Brocquy, Hughie O’Donoghue, Basil Blackshaw, Sir William Orpen and Harry Kernoff. The catalogue features 186 lots. The Spring online sale at Whyte’s, where the sale of Important Irish art on March 3 realised more than €1.2 million, is also brimful of interest and at a much lower price point. There are lithographs by William Scott, silhouettes by August Edouart, oils by Markey Robinson, a memory triggering painting of Collinstown Airport, Dublin in the 1940’s by Ivan Sutton among a selection of 265 lots in an estimate range of €80 to €5,000 at auction from 6 pm next Monday.
PICTURED BELOW: Ivan Sutton – Collinstown Airport, Dublin 1940’s at Whytes. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500 AT HAMMER
William Crozier – Still Life at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Gerard Dillon – Abstract by Night at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,500 AT HAMMER
