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Cecil King (1921-1986) – UNTITLED (THRESHOLD SERIES) UPDATE: THIS MADE 750 AT HAMMER
This oil on paper from Cecil King’s Threshold series is lot 103 at Whyte’s Spring online art sale which runs until the evening of March 30. Signed in pencil on the lower right it is estimated at €800-€1,200. Bidding is open for this auction which is on view at Molesworth St. from March 23. There are 235 lots on the catalogue with estimates from €80 to €4,500 and it is online now.
Berlin Suite by Cecil King (1921-1986). UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,600 AT HAMMER
At a time when Irish art seemed to exist mostly in a landscape laden time warp from around the turn of the 20th century, when Irish Modernism existed in a vacuum, IMMA was far in the future and the avant garde was regarded as deluded and possibly even heathen Oliver Dowling opened his gallery on Kildare St. in Dublin in 1975 with a focus on minimalism, conceptualism, neo-expressionism and other abstractions.
Concurring Rhythms by Alice Berger Hammerschlag (1917-1969) UPDATE: THIS MADE 360 AT HAMMER
There were controversies. This writer vividly remembers one evening paper dashing off to Lenehan’s Hardware Shop on Capel St. to purchase for a pittance a glass shelf and a water glass to demonstrate the folly of it all. Oliver was showing An Oak Tree by Michael Craig-Martin, consisting of a glass of water on a glass shelf on metal brackets and a text (the original is now in the National Gallery of Australia with an artist’s copy at the Tate). The news hounds entirely missed the conceptual point but it made for an amusing story. Oliver Dowling had a loyal following who understood how easily avant garde art could be misjudged in a world where it was so far ahead of the prevailing norms.
Untitled by Fergus Martin (b 1955). UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,600 AT HAMMER
Fast forward nearly half a century and art like this is fairly mainstream, even in Ireland, largely thanks to people like Oliver Dowling, his partner Cecil King (they were among the founders of the ROSC exhibitions), and all the other artists and gallerists who toiled in that vacuum. When I was a young journalist in Dublin Cecil King offered me a piece of advice which I’ve often quoted. Looking at a conceptual painting that consisted of not much more than a pencil dot on a large white canvas I asked what on earth it was all about. “Just look” he said, “and keep on looking”. This guidance has proved richly rewarding.
It is why I’ve been pouring over the catalogue of The Oliver Dowling Collection with such enthusiasm. It comes up at a timed online sale at James Adam on September 11. There are 163 lots – including as large a selection of work by Cecil King ever likely to be found at any sale – in an auction now on view at Adams.
Oliver Dowling died in January. His collection bears witness to a true pioneer with rigorous standards. There is art by William McKeown, Mary Fitzgerald, Josef Beuys, Michael Coleman, Fergus Martin, Felim Egan, Ciaran Lennon, Nigel Rolfe, Luis Tomasello, Willie Doherty, Jo Baer, Jerry Zeniuk, Raimund Girke, Alice Berger Hammerschlag, Colin Middleton, Eduardo Chillida, Dorothy Cross, Robert Janz, Maria Simmonds Gooding and many other acclaimed artists in this exceptional sale.
Rose Stem and Pot by Derrick Greaves (1927-2022). UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER
With notable exceptions like Eileen Grey and Joseph Walsh Irish designers tend to get overlooked when it comes to auctions of design. Upcoming timed online sales of design at de Veres in Dublin on November 1 and at Adams on on November 8 feature the sort of designer pieces from the middle of the last century and later that are increasingly in vogue here.
There is a wide selection of Danish, Italian and French work available but where are the modernist Irish designers? Artists like Felim Egan and Cecil King, couturier Sybil Connolly whose designs were used on porcelain by Tiffany and Co. and craft makers like the Dixon Carpet Company of Oughterard, established as V’Soske Joyce in 1957 were ahead of the curve. Did they flourish in isolation? Hardly.
We have designers, craftspeople and innovators in plenty who remain relatively unknown or overlooked. Half a century ago, when the Kilkenny Design Workshops was in its infancy, the international view was that the Irish produced only remarkable writers and poets. That theory has been debunked enough to make one wonder whether as yet unheralded Irish designers are waiting to be discovered. Innnovative designers of every sort feature at crowd pulling events like the annual Crafts Fair at the RDS – the next one runs from November 30-December 4.
One of the most expensive pieces at Adams is from an Irish artist that few of us have heard of. Niamh Barry’s “Touch” vessels – hand raised, mirror polished, patinated and brushed solid bronze – are estimated at €20,000-€30,000. After graduating in ceramics from the NCAD in 1991 Niamh Barry turned to metalworking and began translating the natural landscape into metal forms. After decades of perfecting her craft critical acclaim followed her representation by Todd Merrill, the Manhattan dealer in 20th century design. Then her debut at Art Basel Switzerland led to a steady stream of commissions. Her work has been exhibited in London, New York, Switzerland, Dubai, Toronto, Miami and at a solo exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland.The catalogues for the sales at Adams and de Veres feature stylish design pieces for every nook and cranny of the contemporary home and are online. There will be viewing at de Veres this Bank Holiday weekend and viewing gets underway at Adams on November 5.
Zaragossa (Grey) 1979 is the title of this cool, minimalist work by Cecil King from Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish art online auction which runs until November 30. The screenprint is number 21 from an edition of 40 and is estimated at 400-600. There has been retrospective’s of his work the Hugh Lane Gallery and at IMMA. More than 270 lots, including sculpture, will come under the hammer. The catalogue is online.
Mid Century Modern is the title of the auction at James Adam in Dublin at 6 pm on April 30. This is a sale of 123 lots of 20th century furniture, lighting, glass, mirrors, sculpture and art with work by Nevill Johnson, Felim Egan, John Shinnors, Alice Maher, Sean Scully, Mark Francis and others. The catalogue is online.
