Markey Robinson (1918-1999) – Achill Sound. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500 AT HAMMER
Achill Sound, a gouache on board by Markey Robinson, is lot 6 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s off the wall art auctions which runs to 6.30 pm on June 8. The estimate is €1,000-1,500. More than 450 affordable lots of art are on the catalogue. There are etchings by popular artists like Sean Scully, Donald Teskey and William Crozier, oils by Norman McCaig, Brian Ballard, Kenneth Webb and Graham Knuttel, drawings by Tony O’Malley, Mainie Jellett and John Butler Yeats and sculpture by Siobhan Bulfin and Michael Foley among the wide selection on offer. The auction kicks off with a pastel on paper by John Shinnors, Day at the Circus II and the catalogue is online.
West of Ireland Bog by Paul Henry at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 125,000 AT HAMMER
An array of exciting choices will come up at major sales of Irish art in Dublin by Whyte’s, de Veres and James Adam on May 26, 27 and 28 respectively.
Art worth a couple million euro is set to change hands at sales headed by Paul Henry (Whyte’s), Gerard Dillon (de Veres) and Roderic O’Conor (Adams). All are on view this weekend.
Achill Horses by Mainie Jellett at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 210,000 AT HAMMER
A spectacular 1933 oil of Achill Horses (€70,000-€100,000) by Mainie Jellett will create interest among serious collectors. This modern abstract style was in marked contrast to the prevailing realist mode of her contemporaries like Paul Henry and Charles Lamb. Jellett was chosen to create murals of the life and people of Ireland for the Free State Pavilion at the Glasgow Empire Exhibition of 1938. Another version of Achill Horses is included in the Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone exhibition at the National Gallery until August 10.
The most expensively estimated work at all three sales is West of Ireland Bog by Paul Henry (€120,000-180,000). It is one of three works by the artist at Whyte’s where Cottages, West of Ireland (€60,000-€80,000) and Keel Bay, Achill (€50,000-€70,000) also feature. In Hill Fair at Achill Island by Letitia Hamilton (€15,000-€20,000) the viewer joins the busy scene through an uneven path between two large limestone rocks.
There is international art by John Atkinson Grimshaw, Ferdinand Roybet, Paula Rego, Bridget Riley and Maurice Poirson as well as a sketch of James Joyce by his close friend Frank Budgen. The auction offers major works by William Leech, Dan O’Neill, Colin Middleton and George Russell, Dublin scenes by Flora Mitchell, prints by Patrick Scott, William Scott and Louis le Brocquy, sculpture by Rowan Gillespie and John Behan and work by popular artists like Kenneth Webb, Graham Knuttel, Cecil Maguire and Arthur Maderson.
Little Girl’s Wonder by Gerard Dillon is the top lot at the art and sculpture sale by de Veres next Tuesday. In tune with the naive style and strong use of colour for which Dillon is known it was shown at The Irish Exhibition of Living Art in Dublin – set in 1943 up to promote modernism in Ireland – in 1955. This work is estimated at €50,000-€80,000.
Little Girl’s Wonder by Gerard Dillon at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE 55,000 AT HAMMER
The sale at de Veres offers art by Louis le Brocquy, Colin Middleton, Daniel O’Neill, Patrick Collins, John Shinnors, Peter Curling, Lillian Davidson, George Russell (AE), May Guinness and Mainie Jellett. The sculpture in the auction, on view in the garden of the Merrion Hotel, includes work by Rowan Gillespie, F. E. McWilliam, Patrick O’Reilly, Jason Ellis and Michael Warren.
A reclining nude and a night scene of a boat in a storm, both by Roderic O’Conor and estimated respectively at €40,000-€60,000 and €15,000-€25,000, lead the sale of Important Irish Art at James Adam next Wednesday evening. A dreamlike image by Hughie O’Donoghue, The Sea, The Sea from 2003 is estimated at €15,000-€20,000. Among 100 lots on offer is The Path of the Lamb (1966), an oil on canvas commissioned by The Dominican Order for St. Saviour’s Church on Dominick St. in Dublin (€10,000-€15,000). Figures Asleep by Mary Swanzy from the 1940’s (€10,000-€15,000) shows a makeshift arrangement that possibly depicts neighbours sheltering during air raids. Two arresting and contrasting works by renowned artists are the dense and restrained Black and White Scarecrows by John Shinnors (€5,000-€8,000) and Silent Gardens, a colourful piece from 1985 by Tony O’Malley (€12,000-€15,000).
Convict Woman, a bronze by Rowan Gillespie (€8,000-€12,000) is based on one of the life size figures by the artist unveiled in Hobart, Tasmania in 2017 known as the footsteps toward freedom statues. It represents the 13,000 convict women and 2,000 of their children who were transported to Van Diemen’s Land. A selection of sculpture by John Behan and Oisin Kelly is also on offer. Viewing is underway and all catalogues are online.
Black and White Scarecrows by John Shinnors at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,000 AT HAMMER
Kite Over Clare Island I by John Shinnors sold for a hammer price of €36,000 over a top estimate of €20,000 at de Veres Design Auction in Dublin today. The oil on canvas laid on a board is signed and inscribed verso. From a private collection it was purchased at Carlow Arts Festival in 1997. Study for Homerton by Albert Irvin made €8,000, an Italian 1960’s wall of mirrors in six sections made €7,500, a Barcelona day bed by Mies van der Rohe made €6,000, Departure (White Water) by Hughie O’Donoghue made €10,000 and Disengage by Mark Francis made €9,000.
John Shinnors – Over Hook Head (Dunmore East in the distance). UPDATE: THIS MADE 17,000 AT HAMMER
This fairly figurative oil by John Shinnors is lot 21 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International online art auction on April 8. It is estimated at €15,000-€20,000. After the excitement of the Art Evolve fair which drew large crowds to the RDS over the weekend viewing for this auction continues at the Minerva Suite at the RDS in Dublin today. The auction will get underway at 6.30 pm tomorrow.
John Shinnors – White Ship, Estuary, October. UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,000 AT HAMMER
Art by John Shinnors, Pauline Bewick, Carey Clarke, Tony O’Malley and William Crozier features at de Veres timed online March Irish art auction which runs until next Tuesday (March 28), There are 142 lots on this interesting catalogue, including three late 1950’s gouaches of scenes in France by the late Cork artist John O’Leary. The sale much to whet the appetite at across the board rates.Colourful watercolours by the late Pauline Bewick are full of the joy of spring, there is a particularly cheerful work titled Bog Cuts by Brian Bourke, an interesting Lake Study by John Luke, a watercolour of harbour boats in Spain by William Crozier, colourful works by Mary Theresa Keown and Desmond Carrick,, flower studies by Stella Steyn, Brigid Ganly, Carey Clarke, Phoebe Donovan and others, still lifes, abstractions and a collection of oils by Richard Kingston.
Economic uncertainty is no bad thing for the art market and John Shinnors, Hughie O’Donoghue and John Doherty are among the more contemporary blue chip Irish artists that Adams will bank on to deliver a good sale of Important Irish Art on the evening of December 7. Yeats, Paul Henry and Louis le Brocquy are there too.
Line, one of John Shinnors larger works and one of his most significant, is an arresting response to Frank Bramley’s Domino at the Crawford Gallery and is estimated at €60,000-€80,000. Two fine oils by Yeats head this auction of 144 lots. The Sick Bed failed to sell when it came up in 2020 with an estimate of €250,000-€300,000 and is now estimated at €150,000-€200,000. The Duet (€70,000-€100,000) is a more joyful work and graces the catalogue cover.The Garlanded Goat, an Aubusson tapestry and an oil of canvas of a fantail pigeons, both by le Brocquy, and Paul Henry’s deeply atmospheric Connemara Hills are all estimated at €40,000-€60,000. Other top lots include Lighthouse, Man’s Twin Cats and Washing by Shinnors, The Canal Turn, Aintree by Peter Curling, Jasper’s Here … O’Donovan, Union Hall by John Doherty and Afloat by Hughie O’Donoghue. The sale is on view at St. Stephen’s Green and the catalogue is online.
The Canal Turn, Aintree by Peter Curling. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
John Shinnors – Girl and White Umbrella. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,000 AT HAMMER
Girl and White Umbrella by John Shinnors is lot 56 at Dolan’s November online auction which runs until the evening of November 29. It is estimated at 4,000-6,000. The sale features art by Sean Keating, Sir William Orpen, Kenneth Webb, Mat Grogan, John Morris and many other artists. There is a selection of fine Irish whiskeys as well as antique furniture and collectibles among 252 lots on offer. The catalogue is online.
John Shinnors – Small Scarecrow, Striped Kites. UPDATE: THIS MADE 15,000
Small Scarecrow, Striped Kites by John Shinnors is lot 20 at de Veres sale of Outstanding Irish Art on November 23. The auction has now gone on view at Kildare St. in Dublin and the catalogue is online. There are major works by Roderic O’Conor, Paul Henry, Sir William Orpen and a number of other leading Irish artists. This work is estimated at €8,000-€12,000.
JOHN SHINNORS (B.1950) – Edward Delaney Sculpture, Road to Carraroe (2005). UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,600 AT HAMMER
This oil on canvas by John Shinnors is lot 25 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International online art sale on Tuesday October 25. It is estimated at 5,000-7,000. The sale goes on view at Morgan O’Driscoll’s offices in Skibbereen, Co. Cork from October 15-17. This will be followed by Dublin viewings at the RDS from October 22-25.
Scarecrow Portaits – no less than 18 canvases painted by John Shinnors as a single work of art – comes up as Lot 46 at de Veres timed sale of Outstanding Irish Art and Sculpture in Dublin on June 22. These are no ordinary scarecrows. Each one acts as a stage for the use of dark and light. In a catalogue note the art historian John P. O’Sullivan points to their eerie and nightmarish quality and draws a comparison to the eyeless Sydney Nolan paintings of Ned Kelly. Shinnors traces his scarecrow motif back to summers in rural Co. Clare and an alarming childhood encounter with a scarecrow which he associated then with stories of the banshee. Each piece is individually signed and numbered and measures a hefty 36″ x 36″. First exhibited at Limerick City Gallery of Art in 2002 the work is estimated at €70,000-€100,000. This is a quality art auction with major work by Jack Yeats, Paul Henry, Roderic O’Conor, Louis le Brocquy, Basil Blackshaw and others. The O’Conor is a large colourful still life, there is a horse painting by Yeats along with one of the artist looking out from the attic of his house in Dublin’s Fitzwilliam Square. There is delight at de Veres at the quality secured for this auction. They are looking forward to welcoming viewers back to Kildare St. from next Thursday and to the Merrion Hotel, where the sculpture is displayed. Interest in sculpture has grown enormously in recent years in Ireland and the display of lots at The Merrion Hotel garden will include work by Patrick O’Reilly, Ian Pollock, Ana Duncan, F.E. McWilliam, Anthony Scott, Catherine Greene, Killian Schurmann, Orla de Bri and John Behan. There are smaller pieces by sculptors like Sandra Bell, Vivienne Roche and Melanie le Brocquy. The catalogue, which is online, displays a wonderful and not to be missed selection of contemporary Irish art.
Scarecrow Portraits by John Shinnors UPDATE: THESE MADE 125,000 AT HAMMER
