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    • Posts Tagged ‘bonhams’

    MUGHAL EMPEROR PORTRAIT AT BONHAMS

    Saturday, February 26th, 2011

    Jahangir. (click to enlarge)

    The largest known Mughal painting is to be offered  at Bonhams on April 5 for an estimated price of upwards of £1m. The portrait  of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir who ruled India 1605-1627 is in the style of a European portrait of the early 17th century.

    Jahangir was the father of Shah Jehan, under whose rule Mughal art and architecture reached their zenith. He ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal, Jahangir mausoleum and Shalimar Gardens in Lahore.
    The portrat of Jahangir  is attributed to the Mughal artist Abul Hasan, Nadir al-Zaman or “Wonder of the Age”.  It was shown at England’s National Portrait Gallery in an exhibition on the Indian Portrait in 2010.
    The Emperor is shown seated on a gold decorated throne holding a globe, wearing elaborate robes and jewellery. The surrounding Persian inscription states it was painted at Mandu in the
    AH1026/AD1617.
    UPDATE:  It sold for £1,420,000 and was bought by a Middle Eastern museum.

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    YEATS AND LE BROCQUY FAIL TO FIND BUYERS AT BONHAMS

    Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

    A Sunlit Farmyard by Frank McKelvey made £18,000 at Bonhams. (Click on image to enlarge)

    The top lots by Yeats and le Brocquy failed to get away at Bonhams first Irish sale on February 9.  Insiders suggested that the timing of the sale, so early in the season and slap bang in the middle of London’s Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art selling season, was wrong.
    Only about half the 108 works on offer found buyers in an auction that brought in around £195,000 including buyer’s premium.  The top lot sold was an oil on canvas entitled A Sunlit Farmyard by Frank McKelvey (1895-1974).  It made £18,000 inclusive of buyer’s premium.
    See antiquesandartireland.com posts for January 4 and September 15.

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    PORTRAIT OF BACON HEADS BONHAMS IRISH SALE

    Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
    An image of Francis Bacon (1909– 1992) the artists known for his bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw imagery, heads Bonhams first Irish Art Sale in London on February 9.  It is the work of Bacon’s friend and fellow painter, Louis Le Brocquy, Ireland’s foremost living artist.
    The watercolour  is estimated to sell for £60,000 to £80,000.  Although he painted Bacon several times, trying to capture “the Baconness of Bacon”, this example is more representational than most.
    Speaking about his art Louis Le Brocquy says: “Contrary to a generally held view, I think that painting is not in any direct sense a means of communication or a means of self-expression. When you are painting you are trying to discover, to uncover, to reveal. I sometimes think of the activity of painting as a kind of archaeology – an archaeology of the spirit.”
    See antiquesandartireland.com post for December 22

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    LAST SKETCH MADE BY YEATS AT BONHAMS

    Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

    Roundabout Ponies by Jack B. Yeats. (click to enlarge) IT SOLD FOR £5,760

    The last sketch by Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957) has been consigned by the family of his former nurse to Bonhams first Irish art sale in London on February 9 next.  The pen and ink drawing, `Roundabout ponies’, measures just over 5 x 4 inches and is estimated at £1,500-2,000.

    It was gifted by the artist to the matron of Portobello Nursing Home in Dublin, where he died. They had been friends for a long time.
    Yeats Catalogue Raisonne author Hilary Pyle says of it: “He died on 28 March 1957. His last drawing, a tiny gay swirling sketch of two roundabout ponies on writing paper, was drawn two days before.”

    Penny Day, head of Irish art at Bonhams, said:  ”This little gem exhibits the unique artistic vitality he had right to the end.”
    See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for September 15 and December 22.
    UPDATE:  IT MADE £5,760 INCLUSIVE OF BUYER’S PREMIUM.

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    BACON BY LE BROCQUY AT BONHAMS

    Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
    Bacon by le Brocquy is a feature lot at Bonhams first dedicated Irish art sale in London on February 9.

    Bacon by le Brocquy. (click to enlarge)

    An evocative portrait of Francis Bacon by Ireland’s foremost living artist, Louis le Brocquy, is estimated at £60,000 to £80,000.  Bonhams reckon the watercolour is one of the most significant lots to feature in the New Bond Street sale.

    Louis le Brocquy is on record as saying: “Contrary to a generally held view, I think that painting is not in any direct sense a means of communication or a means of self-expression. When you are painting you are trying to discover, to uncover, to reveal. I sometimes think of the activity of painting as a kind of archaeology – an archaeology of the spirit.”
    le Brocquy painted his friend Francis Bacon several times.  He set out to capture “the Baconness of Bacon”. The example at Bonham’s Irish sale is more representational than most.
    Penny Day, Head of Irish Art at Bonhams, says: “It is rare to find an image that combines the names and reputations of two giants of British and Irish art, in this instance as artist and sitter”.
    The worldwide reputation of Francis Bacon, who was born in Ireland, has grown steadily since his death in 1992. His South Kensington Studio has been re-constructed at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin using the original door, walls, floors, ceiling and shelves. Over 7,000 items were catalogued on a specially designed database before their replacement.
    See antiquesandartireland.com post for September 15

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    MARILYN WITH JFK AT BONHAMS

    Saturday, December 11th, 2010

    The swearing in of President Johnson on Air Force One.

    A collection of 12,000 photographs by the first official White House  photographer Cecil Stoughton made just over  $150,000  against an estimate of $200,000 at Bonhams in New York on December 9. It included the only known image of Marilyn Monroe with President John F. Kennedy.  (see antiquesandartireland.com post for June 2).  Marked “Sensitive Material — May 19, 1962,”  the image sold for just over $9,000. This was above the $4,000 to $6,000 estimate.

    Stoughton’s most famous image shows Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn as president on Air Force One following Kennedy’s assassination. The photo of Johnson with his hand raised taking the oath of office surrounded by his wife and Jacqueline Kennedy still wearing her blood-splattered dress made $13,420.

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    EARLY GIANT’S CAUSEWAY PHOTOGRAPHS AT BONHAMS

    Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

    An album of rare photographs of the Giant’s Causeway taken in 1867 by Dublin based photographer, F H Mares is a feature of Bonhams sale of  Books, Maps and Historical Photographs in Oxford on  November 30 next.  The album is inscribed: “Emma Townsend, from her affectionate Sister Bessie on the return from Ireland, March 27th, 1879” and is estimated at £200 – 400.

    The Giant's Causeway in the 19th century. (click to enlarge) taken in 1867 by Dublin based photographer, F H Mares is a feature of Bonhams sale of Books, Maps and Historical Photographs in Oxford on November 30 next. The album is inscribed: "Emma Townsend, from her affectionate Sister Bessie on the return from Ireland, March 27th, 1879" and is estimated at £200 - 400. UPDATE: IT MADE £660.

    Other lots of Irish interest include the Dublin Edition of Clarendon’s History of the Civil Wars in England from the library of the 5th Earl of Drogheda (£300-500): a set of over 80 photographs of personalities of the Kildare Hunt from 1890, (£300-500): 80 books and manuscripts belonging to the Earls of Donoughmore contain a scare eighteenth century devotional work in Irish, ‘An Teagasg Criosdiadhe,’ by Bonaventure O’Hussey, (£900-1,200).
    This influential Tridentine catechism was written in Antwerp in the early years of the 17th century to increase awareness of  international developments in catholic practice in Gaelic Ireland.
    The collection also features a group of rare librettos for eighteenth century comic operas performed at the Theatre Royal, Smock Alley, Dublin (£1,000-1,500). They include Galluppi’s ‘The Guardian Trick’d’ and the 1762 work, ‘The Fair of Malmantile,’ by Goldoni.
    UPDATE: THE F.H. Mares album made £660, the Kildare Hunt photographs sold for £864, An Teagasg Criosdiadhe made £2,880 and the Theatre Royal librettos failed to sell.

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    HONE MINIATURE OF MRS. SIDDONS AT BONHAMS

    Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

    Horace Hone's miniature of Mrs. Siddons

    A portrait miniature by the Irish artist Horace Hone of Sarah Siddons the best known tragedienne of the 18th century will be offered by Bonhams in the Fine Portrait Miniature sale taking place in Knightsbridge on November 24. The portrait miniature by Horace Hone (1756-1825) was painted at the height of her career on Drury Lane. A member of the famous Dublin family of artists Horace Hone received his early training from his father Nathaniel Hone the Elder.

    According to Bonhams this miniature can be compared with another portrait by Hone of the previous year now in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. Painted during Siddons’ second visit to Dublin, it is one of the earliest known portraits of the tragic actress and one of the most recognisable, having subsequently been engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi. The Mrs. Siddons portrait is estimated to make £6,000 – 8,000.

    UPDATE:  It sold for £12,600.

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    TOP PRICE FOR BEST’S EUROPEAN MEDAL

    Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

    The 1968 European Cup winner’s medal awarded to the legendary Northern Irish football player, George Best (1946-2005), sold for £156,000 on October 20 at Bonhams, Chester. The medal,  estimated at £90,000 – 120,000, was presented following Manchester United’s 4-1 victory over Benfica, Portugal, when Manchester United became the first English team to win the European Cup. (see post for September 24 on antiquesandartireland.com )

    It was among 13 awards presented to George Best during his illustrious football career put up for auction at Bonhams by the Executors of Best’s estate. The proceeds from the sale of the items, which totalled  £200,000, will go to Best’s sister, Barbara McNally.

    Top prices were also paid for a replica of his European Cup Winner’s medal, made for Best by the Professional Footballers’ Association when he misplaced the original, which fetched £9,000; the 2002 BBC Lifetime Achievement Award given annually to a sportsperson “who has made a major impact on the world of sport during their lifetime”, sold for £7,800; and his 2000 Belfast Telegraph Hall of Fame award, made £4,800.

    The sale also featured the shirt worn by legendary Brazilian footballer Pelé in his final international appearance for Brazil versus Yugoslavia on 18 July 1971, which made £8,640; and a collection of Muhammad Ali memorabilia, hand-signed and donated by the celebrated former boxer to Parkinson’s UK, which raised over £3,000 for the Parkinson’s disease charity.

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    GEORGE BEST COLLECTION AT BONHAMS

    Friday, September 24th, 2010

    The 1968 European Cup winners Medal awarded to George Best. (click on image to enlarge); UPDATE: IT MADE £156,000 INCLUSIVE OF BUYERS PREMIUM.

    An extensive collection of awards presented to the legendary Northern Irish football player, George Best (1946-2005) is to be sold at Bonhams, Chester on October 20 as part of the Sporting Memorabilia sale. Estimated to make up to £270,000 the collection is being offered by the executors of Best’s estate.

    The top lot is the 1968 European Cup winner’s medal awarded following Manchester United’s 4-1 victory over Benfica, Portugal, when Manchester United became the first English team to win the European Cup. The medal has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £90,000 – 120,000.
    The sale also offers a replica of this European Cup Winner’s medal, which was made for Best by the Professional Footballers’ Association when he misplaced the original medal. Modelled on Sir Bobby Charlton’s borrowed medal, it has been estimated at £8,000 – 10,000.

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