A Thought for Lunch by Conor Harrington at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 11,000 AT HAMMER
The Irish art sale season continues on its merry winter way on November 28 and 29. The sale of Important Irish Art at Whyte’s in Dublin next Monday evening offers significant works in contrasting styles by artists as diverse as Paul Henry and James Brenan to Louis le Brocquy and William Scott. A classical Henry landscape, Turf Stacks in the West, is estimated at €120,000-€180,000, as is an image of W B Yeats by Louis le Brocquy. There are two oils on canvas dated 2004 by Conor Harrington, the renowned Cork street artist and painter, A Thought for Lunch (€10,000-€15,000) and Lost in Space (€8,000-€12,000). The auction is on view at Molesworth St., Dublin this weekend and until 4 pm on Monday.
There will be viewing in Skibbereen on November 28 and 29 for Morgan O’Driscoll’s online evening Irish art sale with 242 lots which gets underway on Tuesday. The selection offers works by Kenneth Webb, Mainie Jellett, Cecil Maguire, Norah McGuinness, Arthur Maderson, Cecil Maguire, Louis le Brocquy and many other artists.
Sweet Pea by Kenneth Webb at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,200 AT HAMMER
Morning Prayer, Cottage Interior, Co. Cork, 1901 by James Brenan at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,500 AT HAMMER
Collectors of Irish art have an array of choice across all price levels in the run up to Christmas. The fun gets underway on Tuesday as timed online Irish art sales at Sotheby’s and de Veres get underway with artists and sculptors from F.E. McWilliam, Rowan Gillespie, Roderic O’Conor, Patrick Scott and William Crozier at Sotheby’s to Tony O’Malley, John Shinnors, Donald Teskey, Sir John Lavery and Colin Middleton at de Veres.
Still Life and Window by Tony O’Malley at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE 44,000 AT HAMMER
The selection at de Veres includes a collection of Irish 18th century landscapes and Irish Georgian tables from a private Cork collection as well as oils by Paul Henry, Jack Yeats, Roderic O’Conor and many eminent artists.The online sale at Sotheby’s will introduce a strong representation of contemporary Irish artists and sculptors to worldwide clients.
Irish highlights at Sotheby’s sale of Modern British and Irish art in London next Wednesday include two early oils by Yeats, Going to the Races, 1917 (€230,400-€345,600) and Sunday Morning, 1921 (€172,800-€288,000) and The Fisherman’s Cottage c1950 by Gerard Dillon (€92,170-€138,300).
Woman of Kinsale by Patrick Hennessy at Sotheby’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE £7,560
Viewing for Whyte’s evening sale of Important Irish Art on November 28 gets underway in Dublin next Wednesday. There are major works by Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy, Mainie Jellett, Walter Osborne, Sean Keating, Mary Swanzy and Roderic O’Conor. Morning Prayer, Cottage Interior, County Cork, 1901 by James Brenan (1837-1907), headmaster at the Cork School of Art in the 1860’s, is the only known oil painting to show a canopy bed with a boarded, canted roof. The art historian Dr. Claudia Kinmonth reports that these highly functional beds endured throughout Ireland well into the 20th century as they enabled poor families to huddle together and stay warm. At a time when TB was rampant they were condemned by medics. Lot 6 is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
Currachs Returning, Moonlight, Connemara Coast by Ciaran Clear at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,600 AT HAMMER
Artists from Kenneth Webb and Norah McGuinness to Sean Scully and Mainie Jellett will feature among the highlights at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current online sale of Irish art. This continues until November 29 and like all the sales mentioned in this piece, the catalogue is online. The appetising selection includes work by Ciaran Clear, Martin Gale, Charles Harper, George Campbell and Arthur Maderson.
The autumn/winter art selling season will draw to a close with an evening sale of important Irish Art at James Adam in Dublin on December 7. There are 144 lots in total with two works by Yeats and an important triptych by John Shinnors entitled Line. This is a response by the Limerick artist to a painting by the British post impressionist Frank Bramley entitled Domino at the Crawford Gallery in Cork.
Gerard Dillon – The Fisherman’s Cottage. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The Fisherman’s Cottage by Gerard Dillon comes up at Sotheby’s Modern British and Irish art sale in London on November 23. The estimate is £80,000-£120,000. This November, Sotheby’s celebrates Modern Art across Britain and Ireland with a dynamic series of auctions and events. Our Modern British, Irish and Scottish sales will present works by Britain and Ireland’s greatest artists including Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, L. S. Lowry, Samuel Peploe and Jack B. Yeats, along with a selling exhibition of new works by contemporary Northern Irish artist, Jack Coulter.
The Irish art online sale from 16–22 November 16-22,will present artworks from the 19th century to the present day. It will be followed by Sotheby’s live auction of Modern British and Irish art on November 23. Ahead of the London sales, the Irish artworks will be exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin from November 10-13.
RIVER MOUTH, 1946 – JACK BUTLER YEATS RHA (1871-1957). UPDATE: THIS MADE 180,000 AT HAMMER
The Changing Dawn and Rivermouth by Jack B Yeats were the top lots at Whyte’s evening auction in in Dublin on September 26. They made hammer prices of €220,000 and €180,000 respectively. William Scott’s Chinese Orange III made €110,000. Other top hammer prices were: The Lady Parmoor by Sir John Lavery (€58,000); Portrait of Daniel O’Connell by Sir Martin Archer Shee (€34,000); The Bridge by Sir John Lavery (€30,000); Composition with Steps, Dun Laoghaire and Monkstown by Donald Teskey (€29,000) The Good Stuff by Sean Keating (€28,000) and Black and White She Scarecrow by John Shinnors (€25,000).
The auction grossed €1.65 million with 83% of lots sold on the night.
Direct Provision by Brian Maguire at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,100 AT HAMMER
The autumn Irish art selling season gets underway in a spirit of optimism this month. It kicks off with Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale on September 12 and there will be auctions of Important Irish Art at Whyte’s, and Adams on September 26 and 28 respectively. At James Adam the belief is that there has never been a better time to sell Irish art. Price records continue to be broken at auctions. Sales of Important Irish Art at Adams in 2021 and 2022 have grossed over €8.5 million to date. The sale at Adams on September 28 will include art by Norah McGuinness, Roderic O’Conor, Daniel O’Neill, Louis le Brocquy and Hughie O’Donoghue.
The selection at Whyte’s is appetising. Here you will find work by Jack Butler Yeats, Roderic O’Conor, John Lavery, Seán Keating, Norah McGuinness, Harry Kernoff, Mainie Jellett, Colin Middleton, Grace Henry, William Scott, Pauline Bewick, Louis le Brocquy, John Shinnors, Donald Teskey, Joseph Edward Southall, Bob Dylan and many others. At the time of writing the catalogue for de Veres sale is not to hand. This is an auction house that rarely disappoints and you are likely to find a particularly good selection of fine contemporary Irish art.
Rivermouth by Jack B Yeats at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 180,000 AT HAMMER
With monthly online sales interspersed with auctions of Important Irish and International Art shown in normal times for viewing both in London and New York Skibbereen based Morgan O’Driscoll keeps the ball rolling more than any other auctioneer of art in Ireland. The online catalogue for the auction next Monday offers much to choose from. The selection ranges from Yeats, Harry Kernoff, Nano Reid, May Guinness and Colin Middleton to Pauline Bewick, Felim Egan, Tony O’Malley and the French born Los Angeles based Mr. Brainwash whose work he has been successfully selling in latter years.
Contemporary art is driven by the experiences of contemporary life. The artist Brian Maguire never shirks difficult subjects. He is driven by the struggle against inequality and violence and is represented in this sale by a challenging work entitled Direct Provision. It features faces, bright eyes and white teeth against a darkand brooding ground. The acrylic on paper is estimated at €2,000-€3,000. Now firmly established as a first world country where refugees seek a haven it is no harm to be reminded that we Irish among the dispossessed not too long ago. John Behan’s unique bronze Famine Ship, lot 89 at Morgan O’Driscoll with an estimate of €8,000-€12,000, is a reminder of a dark and risky past that still exists for others today. In the 21st century the focus has shifted from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and the English Channel.
John Behan – West of Ireland, Famine Ship at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE 16,000 AT HAMMER
Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957) – The Bridge, Skibbereen made 440,000 at hammer
The Bridge at Skibbereen by Jack B Yeats made a hammer price of €440,000 over an estimate of €400,000-€600,000 at the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin this evening. It was exhibited at The Dublin Society of Painters in 1920. A Pair of 18th century views of Dublin Bay Looking North and Looking South by William Ashford made €460,000 at hammer. Among the other top hammer prices were: Chiswick Baths by Sir John Lavery (€110,000); Sun Rising: An extensive wooded landscape by George Barret snr. (€90,000); Across from Inishlacken by Gerard Dillon (€65,000): Yellow Man by Hughie O’Donoghue (€57,000); Horse on Anvil by Barry Flanagan (€30,000); Arrieta-Orzola (Lanzarote) by Tony O’Malley (€28,000); Talk (Egglers) – egglers were men who dealt in eggs – by Jack Butler Yeats (€28,000); Sunday by Daniel O’Neill (€22,000); Drawing; Still Life by William Scott and Figure in Woodland by George Russell each made €20,000.
FLOWER SELLERS, GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN – NORMAN TEELING (B.1944). UPDATE: THIS MADE 800 AT HAMMER
THIS painting of flower sellers in Grafton St. by Norman Teeling comes up as Lot 38 at Whyte’s Spring online art auction which runs until March 28. It is estimated at 800-1,200. The auction of 273 lots features many well known Irish artists, who are represented with affordable lots. The auction will be on view at Whyte’s at Molesworth St., Dublin from March 23 and the catalogue is online now.
STEVE BURGESS (B.1960) CANADIAN – Pint and a Packet (2021). UPDATE: THIS MADE 850 AT HAMMER
REDOLENT of a pub culture slowly returning to Ireland Pint and a acket by Canadian artist Steve Burgess is lot 6 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s off the wall online art auction which runs until March 14. The oil on board, signed and dated ’21, is estimated at 800-1,200. There is a selection of highly affordable art and sculpture on offer. The catalogue is online and the sale is on view on March 10, 11 and 14 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s offices in Skibbereen.
Lily Williams (Irish, 1874–1940), Hibernia, 1916, pastel, The O’Brien Collection, Chicago
Who Do We Say We Are? Irish Art 1922 | 2022 runs at The Snite Museum at Notre Dame, Indiana until May 15. Paintings from the O’Brien Collection in Chicago by Seán Keating, Jack B. Yeats and Paul Henry are juxtaposed with contemporary artists Patrick Graham, Hughie O’Donoghue, and Diana Copperwhite and others to explore issues of national identity rooted in the diaspora and landscape. Expanding into the realm of photography, the rural landscapes of Amelia Stein, RHA, describe epic legends and folkloric memories that reveal history and evolving culture. An “In Dialogue” presentation of the Snite Museum’s recent acquisition of a painting by Walter Osborne – At the Breakfast Table (1894) – rounds out the discussion of home and homecoming.
The Exposition d’Art Irlandais organized in conjunction with the Irish Race Congress in Paris in 1922 used culture as a signifier of Ireland’s distinctive character worthy of the independence from the United Kingdom just negotiated in the Anglo-Irish Treaty. As part of the Irish government’s Decade of Centenaries commemorations, the Snite Museum partners with Notre Dame’s Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies and the O’Brien Collection in Chicago to present an exhibition examining the use of art as a nation-building tool, asking “If we were to organise a similar exhibition today, who might be included and what themes continue to resonate?”
Paul Henry RHA (1877-1958) – Bogland Connemara (1930 – 32) sold for €100,000 at hammer
Bogland Connemara by Paul Henry was one of the top three lots at the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin this evening. It made a hammer price of €100,000. Through the streets to the hills, a 1950 oil by Jack B Yeats made €160,000 on the hammer and Cavanagh, an Aubusson tapestry by Louis le Brocquy made €80,000. This sale marked the culmination of a highly successful winter selling season for Irish art, which has finished the year on a high note. At least €12 million worth of Irish art changed hands during the season of winter sales at Sothebys, de Veres, Bonhams, Whyte’s, Morgan O’Driscoll and James Adam.
