Abstract Composition by Mainie Jellett (1897-1944). UPDATE: THIS MADE 32,000 AT HAMMER
Art by Louis le Brocquy, Paul Henry and Roderic O’Conor will lead Whyte’s sale of Irish and international art in Dublin on the evening of September 29. A total of 152 lots valued at over €1.2 million will come under the hammer. The catalogue cover lot is le Brocquy’s Image of Samuel Beckett from 1980 (€100,000-€150,000). In Connemara by Paul Henry has an estimate of €90,000-€120,000 and a self portrait by Roderic O’Conor has an estimate of €60,000-€80,000.
Abstract Composition by Mainie Jellett is estimated at €18,000-€22,000 and a watercolour with ink from le Brocquy’s Tinker series, Tinker Children at a Fair (1946) is estimated at €15,000-€20,000. Artists featured include Percy French, Rose Barton, Gerard Dillon, Dan O’Neill, Pauline Bewick, Rowan Gillespie, John Behan and Liam O’Neill.
Mother and Baby Achill by Lillian Lucy Davidson and Dublin Bay by Norah McGuinness are the top lots at the de Veres sale which runs until next Tuesday (September 30). Each is estimated at €7,000-€10,000. A total of 230 lots will come under the hammer by artists including Martin Gale, Frank McKelvey, Barbara Warren, Kenneth Webb, Kitty Wilmer O’Brien, Mark O’Neill and many more. Brown and White Cob by Basil Blackshaw (€12,000-€18,000) and Fire, from The Elements by Damien Hirst H6 (€8,000-€12,000) are the top lots at Gormley’s auction at Francis St. in Dublin at 7.30 pm next Tuesday. Catalogues for all these sales are online.
Dunquin Pier, Kerry by Sean O’Sullivan (1906-1964). UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
There was a new world record for Mainie Jellett at Whyte’s in Dublin when Achill Horses, painted in 1933, sold for a hammer price of €210,000. This is the second highest price for a painting by an Irishwoman. The painting was the focus of a battle between two telephone bidders and went to a private collection. A Sarah Purser portrait of Constance and Eva Gore Booth made €240,000 in the Lissadell House auction in 2003.
Whyte’s auction demonstrated continuing confidence in the market for Irish works of rarity and quality. Paul Henry’s West of Ireland Bog sold for €125,000, while Anglesea Market, Dublin, 1933 by Harry Kernoff made the top estimate of €40,000.
William John Leech’s Gardeners Joy nearly doubled its lower estimate of €15,000 to sell at €28,000, and a Louis le Brocquy watercolour Image of Francis Bacon, 1980, made double its lower estimate of €12,000. An Evie Hone watercolour Abstract Composition estimated €2,000 to €3,000 made €5,400, Charles Vincent Lamb oil West of Ireland Landscape, estimated at €1,500 to €2,000 made €3,600, Bridget Riley Magenta And Blue, 2002 lithograph, estimated at €8,000 to €12,000 made €14,500.
The previous record for Jellett was €110,000 for The Land Éire 1940 at Whyte’s in 2019. This painting can be seen at the National Gallery of Ireland’s current exhibition Mainie Jellett Evie Hone The Art of Friendship.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for May 24 and May 20, 2025)
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
Evie Hone (1894-1955) – SUMMER IN THE PARK. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,800 AT HAMMER
Summer in the Park, a gouache on paper by Evie Hone, kicks off Morgan O’Driscoll’s off the wall online art auction which runs until April 14. Lot 2 in the sale is another gouache, Study for a Rug by Mainie Jellett. Both works are estimated at €800-€12,000 and both artists are currently the subject of a major exhibition on pioneering Irish Modernists now underway at the National Gallery of Ireland which runs until August 10. The catalogue for the auction is online.
Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) – STUDY FOR A RUG. UPDATE: THIS MADE 650 AT HAMMER
Western Procession by Mainie Jellett. Photo, National Gallery of Ireland
Pioneering Irish Modernists are celebrated in a major exhibition which opens on April 10 at the National Gallery of Ireland. Mainie Jellett & Evie Hone – The Art of Friendship brings together 90 works. It explores their experiences in the 1920’s where they studied with the French Cubists André Lhote and Albert Gleizes in Paris and the south of France. traces their careers back to Ireland and highlights the early convergences and later divergences in their styles. The paintings, stained glass and preparatory drawings reveal how both women were trailblazers in Irish art while remaining connected to conventional themes like religion and landscape. Hone (1894-1955) was an early pioneer of Cubism before turning to stained glass, Decoration by Jellett (1897–1944) was one of the first abstract paintings shown in Ireland when it was exhibited at the Society of Dublin Paintings group show in 1923. The first joint exhibition of their work since 1924 runs until August 10.
THE annual Turner watercolour exhibition is now underway and with major exhibitions focussed on Picasso, Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone it is going to be an exciting year at the National Gallery of Ireland. We will have to wait until October for Picasso: From the Studio, a monographic exhibition in collaboration with the Musée Picasso national-Paris.
Picasso lived surrounded by his art. His personal life and his work, his homes and his studios were always intimately linked. This exhibition places Picasso in the context of his studios, highlighting the various facets and phases of his art and life. It will explore the key locations that defined him, from his arrival in Paris at the start of the twentieth century to his studio in Villa La Californie (1955-1961) in Cannes. Featuring paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and works on paper, as well as photographic and audio-visual works the exhibition will run from October 11 to February 22, 2026.
Mainie Jellett & Evie Hone – The Art of Friendship from April 10 to August 10 will bring together 90 works from these pioneering Irish modernist women artists. The exhibition will highlight the early convergences and later divergences in their styles as they developed distinct artistic voices. Featuring paintings, stained glass, and preparatory drawings, it reveals how both women were trailblazers in Irish art although remaining connected to conventional themes such as religion and landscape.
Ludovico Mazzolino – The Crossing of the Red Sea Photo, National Gallery of Ireland
Among many more events at the Gallery is the display of Ludovico Mazzolino’s masterpiece The Crossing of the Red Sea (1521). On display from February 15 to July 6 it celebrates the conservation and re-display of a rarely seen work. Supported by a grant from the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund, the painting has undergone extensive scientific analysis and conservation, revealing its remarkable detail and historical significance. Mazzolino, who worked extensively for the D’Este rulers of Renaissance Ferrara, is best known for his small- scale paintings.
Meantime the annual Turner extravaganza at the National Gallery comes with a new twist in 2025 with an exciting exchange with the National Galleries of Scotland. Both institutions benefitted from the bequest of the wealthy English collector Henry Vaughan. The 38 Vaughan Bequest Turner watercolours which he bequeathed to Scotland are now on display in Dublin. Ireland’s Turner collection are being showcased this month at the Royal Scottish Academy Building in Edinburgh.
JMW Turner – The Piazetta National Galleries of Scotland. Henry Vaughan Bequest 1900
Visitors have an opportunity to see and appreciate a new selection of these masterful watercolours in the annual January show of 2025.The works on loan range from his detailed topographical views of the 1790s to the vibrant and expressive watercolours of Venice and the Alps that highlight his innovative techniques. The exchange, very much in the spirit of Vaughan’s bequest, comes after many years of discussion and planning by the two institutions.
Bequeathed in 1900 the Turner watercolours have been displayed every year since 1901 with the notable exception of the pandemic year of 2021. It was a stipulation of the bequest that the delicate watercolours be displayed only in January, when the natural light is at its lowest. Turner’s Watercolours: Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest runs until January 31 and is supported by Grant Thornton.
Mary Swanzy H.R.H.A. (1882-1978) South of France landscape
Some of the most significant female figures in Modernism in Ireland will feature in The Irish Sale: Vision & Voice online at Bonhams from November 26 to December 5. A collection of 20 works by Norah McGuinness will be offered without reserve and the auction features Mainie Jellett and Mary Swanzy who were among Ireland’s first abstract painters.
All three artists were pioneers of a national avant-garde and were strong supporters of modern art in Ireland. They all studied at Dublin’s Metropolitan School of Art and were widely travelled, influenced by the work of cubism, fauvism, symbolism and many of the modernist movements prevalent at that time. Their works are held in many prestigious collections both in Ireland and the UK. Jellett together with McGuiness co-founded the Irish Exhibition of Living Art in 1944 which was formed in opposition to the dominance of more traditional institutions such as the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) and the National College of Art in Ireland.
There is art by Sir John Lavery, Dan O’Neill and John Doherty along with historical artefacts, literature and design.
Kieran O’Boyle, Bonhams Head of Ireland and Northern Ireland commented: “We are delighted to be offering such a rich collection of works. Jellett, Swanzy and McGuiness were pioneers who blazed a trail for female artists and for Modernism in Ireland. Interest among collectors has increased significantly over the last 20 years for Irish women artists, reflecting the long-overdue recognition of their historical and cultural contribution to Irish art.”
A model of a currach at Aidan Foley’s sale in Kilcolgan. UPDATE: THIS MADE 660 AT HAMMER
Art, contents from two bars including a model of a currach, Irish vernacular furniture, a collection of Hummel figures and two vintage tractors will be included in Aidan Foley’s online sale from Kilcolgan tomorrow and Monday at 4 pm on each day. More than 1,000 lots are on offer with art by Mark O’Neill, George Gillespie, Maurice Wilks, Jack Butler Yeats, Elizabeth Brophy, Geraldine O’Brien, Norman McCaig and many more Irish artists. The sale is on view in Kilcolgan today and the catalogue is online.
Aidan Foley’s collections sale in September was in association with de Veres of Dublin who will hold an Irish art and design auction on November 5. A feature of this upcoming sale is a selection of statement art works including large oils by Donald Teskey, John Shinnors, Barrie Cooke and Felim Egan with tapestries by Louis le Brocquy and Mainie Jellett. The auction will be on view at Kildare St., Dublin from November 2 and the catalogue is online now.
Mainie Jellett No. 3 is the title of this handwoven Ceadogan Rug at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,000 AT HAMMER
MAINIE JELLETT (1897-1944) ABSTRACT COMPOSITION. UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,000 AT HAMMER
This gouache on paper by Mainie Jellett, which is the opening lot at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish art online sale this evening, has already attracted much competitive bidding, with 32 bids so far. The estimate for Abstract Composition of €3,000-€5,000 has been exceeded. It is the opening lot in sale with a total of 195 lots on offer.
COMPOSITION BY MAINIE JELLETT (1897-1944) MADE 16,000 AT HAMMER
Composition, a gouache on paper by Mainie Jellett, made a hammer price of 16,000 over a top estimate of 5,000 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish art online auction this evening. Among other top hammer prices were: Poplars in the Jura Valley by Letitia Marion Hamilton (10,500); On a Run by Montague Dawson (8,000); Cradle by Sean Scully (7,500); Woman of Aran by Sean Keating (6,600); Yellow Rabbit II by Basil Blackshaw (6,200): An Irish Village by Markey Robinson (6,200) and Painting by Evie Hone (6,000).
