Francis Bacon – Portrait of Man with Glasses III, 1963. UPDATE: THIS MADE £6,635,000
Francis Bacon’s Portrait of Man with Glasses III from 1963 will be a highlight at Christie’s 20th/21st Century evening sale in London on March 5. At auction for the first time it has been exhibited extensively worldwide featuring in 17 major international retrospectives and serving as the cover image for the catalogue of the Francis Bacon/Henry Moore: Flesh and Bone exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in 2013. Most recently, it was displayed at London’s National Portrait Gallery as part of Francis Bacon: Human Presence, reaffirming its status as a cornerstone of Bacon’s oeuvre.
The painting’s distorted yet captivating features reflect Bacon’s deep exploration of emotion, form, and the human condition: the bared teeth, rendered with thick impasto and delicate colour, embody his ambition to “paint the mouth like Monet painted a sunset”. The estimate is £6 million – £9 million.
Tamara de Lempicka – Portrait du Docteur Boucard UPDATE: THIS MADE £6,635,000
This arresting 1928 Portrait of Dr. Boucard by Tamara de Lempica will be a highlight at Christie’s 20th/21st Century sale in London on March 5. From an important private collection the painting was commissioned from Lempicka by the sitter. Doctor Boucard was a prominent art collector and key patron of the artist. The work has not been seen on the market in the past forty years and is estimated at £5,000,000-8,000,000. An esteemed bacteriologist, Boucard revolutionised pharmaceutical science with the 1907 invention of Lactéol, a probiotic that laid the foundation for modern gut health research which is still in use today. Lempicka portrays Boucard as both an esteemed scientist and a man of distinction. His white trench coat, reminiscent of a laboratory coat, suggests a cinematic transformation. His upturned collar, pearl-accented tie, and sharply defined features convey both intellectual authority and cosmopolitan charm.
The first major U.S. retrospective of her wor at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. was co-curated by Furio Rinaldi and Gioia Mori. It opens at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston on March 9.
Three exceptional paintings by renowned Belgian artist Paul Delvaux (1897–1994) as key highlights at Christie’s Art of the Surreal evening sale in London on March 5. They originate from a distinguished private collection and capture pivotal moments in Delvaux’s career, standing as a testament to his enduring legacy within the Surrealist movement. Known for interweaving reality and fantasy, Delvaux’s style encapsulates the aesthetic principles of Surrealism while maintaining his independence from any formal artistic circle. The works are Les belles de nuit (1936) (£500,000 – £1,000,000), La ville endormie (1938) (£1,200,000 – £1,800,000) and Nuit de Noël (1956) (£1,000,000 – £2,000,000). The auction will be part of the 20th/21st Century London Marquee Week.
Sir Max Beerbohm – Portrait of Oscar Wilde. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £22,680
The refined and engaging collection of Barry Humphries (1934-2023) – best known for his characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson – comes up at Christie’s in London on February 13. Driven by knowledge, passion and curiosity his collection was built over more than half a century.
Sand Dunes, Ambleteuse by the Australian painter Charles Conder leads an auction of 250 lots with estimates from £200 to £300,000 (€240 to €360,000). The best of fin-de-siecle decadent literature features a collection of Oscar Wilde related material including a presentation copy of The Importance of being Earnest. There is a selection of 19th century European and Symbolist art with work by Khnopff, Delville and von Stuck. These feature along with examples of Impressionism and modern British art, Modern Design and highlights from Dame Edna’s personal collection from costume and glasses to caricatures.
UPDATE: THE COLLECTION MADE £4.6 MILLION WITH BIDDERS FROM 41 COUNTRIES.
Charles Conder – Sand Dunes, Ambleteuse. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £239,400
Jeff Beck’s iconic 1954 Oxblood Gibson Les Paul guitar will lead the auction of his collection at Christie’s in London on January 22. The multi Grammy award winning artist worked with artists like Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, BB King, Nile Rodger, Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, Imelda May and Johnny Depp. He was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The auction comprises over 130 guitars, amps and accessories from a career that lasted almost six decades, since joining The Yardbirds in 1965 to his last tour in 2022. The Oxblood is estimated at £350,000-£500,000 (€421,380-€601,970) and estimates are from £100 (€120) up.
UPDATE: THE GUITAR SOLD FOR £1,068,500, double the high estimate and a new world record for a Gibson Les Paul.
Titian’s Rest on the Flight into Egypt sold for a record-breaking £17.6 million in July
Christie’s is projecting $5.7 billion in global sales in 2024, down 6% on $6.1 billion in 2023. Auction sales at $4.2 billion were down by 16% ($5 billion in 2023) and private sales at $1.5 billion were up by 41%. A total of 81% of bids were placed online compared with 78% the previous year. A company statement said that in 2024 Christie’s experienced a strengthening of auction sales as the year progressed, together with outstanding results for private sales throughout.
“Our key performance indicators of overall sell through rate of 86%, hammer vs. low estimate index at 112% and bidders per lot of 3.7 all showed growth year over year, indicating that our strategy and focus resonated with sellers and buyers. We sold the most valuable work of the year René Magritte’s L’empire des lumières for $121.2 million from the Mica Ertegun collection; the only lot to sell for over $100 million globally. Christie’s also sold the most valuable jewel of the year, The Eden Rose, for $13.4 million in New York in June.
The America’s contrubuted around 41% to global sales, Europe, the Middle East and Africa contributed around 32%.
LATE LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED JAPANESE LACQUER AND EBONY COMMODE BY CLAUDE-CHARLES SAUNIER, c1765, THE JAPANESE LACQUER 17TH CENTURY
This Louis XV commode, almost certainly supplied to the duchesse de Mazarin for the château de Chilly-Mazarin, made $819,000 at Christie’s in New York. It was the top lot at the L’Art du Luxe: Masterpieces of French Furniture sales which realised $9.7 million. Other leading results included a Louis XV ormolu-mounted bois satine and Chinese lacquer bureau plat by Joseph Baumhauer, one of only two of its type known to exist, which made $604,800; a late Louis XV ormolu-mounted amaranth, tulipwood and parquetry commode supplied to the court banker Micault d’Harvelay in 1774, which made $693,000 and a rare pair of late Louis XV consoles which made $415,000. Bids came from around the globe including Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East, and almost 10 percent of bidders and buyers were new to the category.
There was a new world record for Rene Magritte at Christie’s in New York on November 19 when L’empire des lumières sold for a hammer price of $105,000,000 ($121,160,000 with fees). This was a record too for a painting sold at auction in 2024 as it was the first picture this year to break the $100 million barrier. The painting was from the collection of designer and philanthropist Mica Ertegun whose world-class collection includes art, exquisite furnishings, jewellery and more.
A significant portion of the seller’s sale proceeds is intended to benefit philanthropic initiatives. During her lifetime, Mrs. Ertegun generously supported the Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities at Oxford University, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the World Monument Fund and more.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 23, 2024)
The Thinker on the Butte de Warlencourt by Sir William Orpen. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £756,000
The private collection of Mary and Alan Hobart, founders of the Pyms Gallery, comes up at Christie’s in London on November 19. From premises in Belgravia and Mayfair the Hobarts mounted pioneering exhibitions at the Pyms Gallery, founded in 1974, which championed Irish art in Britain for the first time since Sir Hugh Lane at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Key artists included in Christie’s sale are William Orpen, Jack Butler Yeats, Mary Swanzy, F. E. McWilliam, Jerome Connor, William Crozier, Rita Duffy, Micheal Farrell, Cecil King, Charles Tyrrell, William Scott, Sean Scully, Grace Henry, Gerard Dillon, Augustus John, Bridget Riley, Patrick Heron, John Tunnard and Eileen Agar. The Hobarts collection was showcased at an exhibition at IMMA in Dublin last year.
The Poet by Orpen made £504,000 and his Changing Billets, Picardy made £441,000. An Afternoon in Dorset by Augustus John made £214,200, a world record for an oil on panel by the artist. There was a world record for Grace Henry when The Rosary sold for £47,880 and one for Rita Duffy when Crossroads Dancing made £14,490.
UPDATE: THE COLLECTION REALISED £5,979,204
O’Connell Bridge by Jack Butler Yeats. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £882,000
George I coffee pot with side handle by Thomas Walker, Dublin (1726)
The National Antique Fair at Limerick Racecourse next weekend, magnificent jewels in Geneva and Irish art in London are among upcoming events which will draw large numbers of collectors to the fascinating world of art, antiques and collectibles at all price points this month.
Among the many treasures for which the hunt is hotting up are an antique Irish silver coffee pot, a Georgian officers gorget or throat covering from the Royal Meath Militia, vintage fashion and Irish art and collectibles at the Limerick fair, a Cartier diamond necklace at Christie’s in Geneva on November 12, jewellery from the Royal Court of Bulgaria at Sotheby’s in Geneva on November 13, masterpieces by William Orpen and John Lavery at Sotheby’s Modern British and Irish art evening sale in London on November 14 and a selection of Irish art from Paul Henry, George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson and Nano Reid to contemporary works by Jack Coulter, Richard Hearns, John Behan, Orla de Bri and more at Sotheby’s day sale in London on November 15.
Eily Henry vintage fashion will feature this headwear at the National Antiques Fair in Limerick
Opening times for the National Antiques, Art and Vintage fair at Limerick Racecourse are from 11 am to 6 on November 16 and 17. There will be 80 dealers from right around Ireland with everything from a pair of vases by Zak Scherzer of Vienna with paintings by Rembrandt at Edwin Mercer, vintage flagons, clocks and collectibles at Dan Hartnett and an exceptional George I coffee pot by Thomas Walker (Dublin 1726) which Weldon’s will display on November 17.
Vintage fashion and jewellery is enduringly popular. Among the choices available are an eyecatching Philip Treacy type hat at Eily Henry and a nine carat yellow gold wide gate bracelet at Bedlam antiques. There is porcelain and glass at Brian Hurley, Irish art at the Purple Onion gallery, militaria including the gorget of Lt. Col. Thomas Pepper of the Royal Meath Militia and selections of antique furniture, jewellery, books and collectibles to inspire and delight.
Art Deco diamond necklace, signed Cartier London, 1935, at Christie’s UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR US$5,090,571
It is rare to encounter a group of jewels from the 1920’s and ’30’s which have remained in the same family and have not been remodelled. A magnificent Cartier Art Deco Indo-Persian diamond necklace from 1935 will highlight a collection of superb jewels from the Sassoon family at Christie’s in Geneva next Tuesday The bank where they were stored was completely in World War II. A helpful policeman advised the owner at the ruins to check with a local police station. It transpired that her deposit box had been transferred there. Never at auction before the necklace is estimated at US$1 million – $1.5 million (€920,000-€1,380,000). At Sotheby’s in Geneva on the following day more than 100 pieces from Tsar Ferdinand and the Royal Court of Bulgaria will come under the hammer.
Sotheby’s will bring a great selection of Irish art to the international stage at sales in London next Thursday and Friday. A portrait of Mrs. St. George by Orpen and a Venetian scene by Lavery will feature in the evening sale on Thursday. A Cork collection of maritime paintings by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson and art and sculpture by Gareth Reid – Sky Portrait Artist of the Decade, 2023 – Tony O’Malley, Rowan Gillespie, Patrick Hennessy, Felim Egan, John Kingerlee and William Conor and others feature at the day sale next Friday.
Still Life with Butterfly by Patrick Hennessy at Sotheby’s. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
