The Fourth Estate (1945) by Yeats at Whytes features the interior of a newsagents shop and a cat sitting on a row of books. The cat can be taken to represent a reporter on the press gallery.
IT may not be strictly accurate to compare art sales to buses. But three of them are arriving one after the other in Dublin next week – at Whyte’s on Monday, de Veres on Tuesday and Adams on Wednesday. Millions of euro worth of Irish art will come under the hammer in a market that has expanded steadily rather than spectacularly over the years.
The old stalwarts still tend to hold sway – even more so in times of global uncertainty – and this mirrors the situation of the art market internationally. The most expensively estimated work in Dublin next week is a 1952 Yeats at Whyte’s entitled Discovery. The estimate is €300,000-€500,000.
A c1891 still life by Roderic O’Conor – Flowers, Bottle and Two Jugs would, at €120,000-€180,000, have been the highest estimated lot at de Veres, but it has been sold prior to auction and the sale will now be led by an Orpen estimated at €100,000-€150,000.
Another Yeats, The Water Steps from 1947, will lead the sale at Adams with an estimate of €120,000-€180,000. Yeats, Osborne, Paul Henry and Sir John Lavery – among the blue chip artists whose work continues to dominate Irish sales – are all represented in Dublin next week. It might create an impression that nothing ever changes but in fact many changes are afoot in an Irish market which is dynamic. Tastes are evolving and new artists are emerging with access to international cutting edge work in a way that their older counterparts did not.
Game of Chance by Colin Middleton at de Veres.
The market evolves more quickly on the international front but there are resemblances. For instance the six marquee week sales at Christie’s in New York last week brought in more than $640 million (587.46 million). The highest individual sale total, at $413.3 million (€379.21 million), was the 20th century evening sale led by Andy Warhol’s Flowers which made $35.5 million (€32.59 million) followed by blue chip artists like Van Gogh, David Hockney and Alberto Giacometti in a sale where 15 works made more than $10 million (€9.18 million).
Next Monday evening Whyte’s will offer a carefully curated sale of 131 lots. Along with Yeats there are two significant paintings by Paul Henry with works by Louis le Brocquy, F E McWiliam, Mary Swanzy, William Scott, Donald Teskey and Genieve Figgis featuring strongly.
At de Veres, where Dan O’Neill, William Crozier, Louis le Brocquy, Orla de Bri, Colin Middleton, Stephen McKenna and Harry Kernoff are among the leading artists on offer, there will be over 100 lots in a timed sale closing from 6 pm on Tuesday.
On Wednesday evening Adams will offer fresh to market work like Early Market, Quimperle by Walter Osborne. Painted in 1883 it has been in the same family since being acquired directly from the artist and is estimated at €120,000-€160,000. Another painting by Osborne not on the market before is Sheep in a Field, acquired directly by fellow artist Sarah Purser from Osborne (€60,000-€80,000). There is value to be had in quality Irish landscapes from earlier periods. The catalogue includes more contemporary art by Patrick Scott, Sean Keating, John Shinnors, Tony O’Malley, F E McWilliam, Felim Egan, James Dixon, Basil Blackshaw, Martin Mooney and many others.
Gold Painting by Patrick Scott at Adams
