Sean Scully’s Raval Rojo made a hammer price of €580,000 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International online art sale this evening. It had been estimated at 400,000-600,000. Among other top hammer prices were Still Life on White with Beans by William Scott (€160,000) and A Western Landscape by Paul Henry (€75,000), George Barret Landscape with Figures and the Ruins of Melrose Abbey, Roxburghshire (€52,000) and Sir William Orpen’s Portrait of Mary, Lady Gerard in a Green Dress made €23,000. The highly successful sale saw top prices achieved for a number of contemporary Irish artists.
Still Life on White with Beans (1978) by William Scott. UPDATE: THIS MADE 160,000 AT HAMMER
The high end of the art and antiques market continues to perform strongly and this augurs well for Morgan O’Driscoll’s scorching Irish and International online art sale which runs until the evening of April 18. There is a wealth of desirable art in this, his most expensively estimated sale yet, on view at the RDS this weekend and on Monday. With 180 lots on the online catalogue headed by internationally acclaimed painters like Sean Scully, Bridget Riley, William Scott, Paul Henry, Andy Warhol and Sir William Orpen this is an exciting sale. Plenty of internationally known names feature alongside Irish artists on the catalogue.
Teddy Roosevelt by Andy Warhol UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A 1986 screenprint of Teddy Roosevelt by Andy Warhol is estimated at €50,000-€70,000, Homage to Degas, an etching by Alex Katz, is estimated at €7,000-€10,000 and a woodcut in colours by Damien Hirst has an estimate of €8,000-€12,000.The most expensively estimated lot is a dramatic oil on linen by Sean Scully. Raval Rojo (€400,000-€600,000) is signed and dated 2004 and was purchased by the present owner at the Kerlin Gallery in 2005. An oil on canvas by William Scott from 1978, Still Life on White with Beans is estimated at €100,000-€150,000 and Paul Henry’s brooding Western Landscape has an estimate of €80,000-€120,000. These three widely differing works demonstrate the broad range and creativity of Irish art at the highest levels.
Untitled (1972) by Bridget Riley UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An untitled 1972 gouache and pencil on paper by the acclaimed British artist Bridget Riley is estimated at €60,000-€90,000. A signed and numbered artist print by Andy Warhol of Teddy Roosevelt, number 31 from a run of 50 artist proofs, is estimated at €50,000-€70,000. There is a similar estimate on an oil on canvas by George Barret of A Landscape with Figures and Ruins of Melrose Abbey, Roxburghshire. There are classical works by Dan O’Neill, Donald Teskey, Evie Hone, Gerard Dillon and Sir William Orpen and some highly collectible work by artists from John Shinnors and Hughie O’Donoghue to Norah McGuinness, Evie Hone and Tony O’Malley. The sculpture section is headed by Seated Dog (1967) by the late British artist Lynn Chadwick (€20,000-€25,000) and there is work by Elisabeth Frink, Imogen Stuart, John Behan, F.E. McWilliam and others. Many of the works on offer, like a 1945 view of Glengarriff from Garnish Island by Letitia Marion Hamilton (€3,000-€5,000), Evening Field by William Crozier and Washing Line by Basil Blackshaw, each estimated at €4,000-€6,000 are more afffordable and would enhance any collection.
PAUL HENRY (1876-1958) – A Western Landscape (1919). UPDATE: THIS MADE 75,000 AT HAMMER
There is a slightly ominous air about this 1919 Western Landscape by Paul Henry. It comes up as lot 20 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International online art sale. The sale takes place on April 18. Viewing at the RDS in Dublin gets underway tomorrow and will run until 5 pm on Monday April 17. This work was painted at a time when Henry and his first wife, Grace, were considering abandoning Achill Island, which had been their base since 1910, and moving eastwards. Grace was delighted with the prospect of the move, but Paul was downcast, for he remained enchanted with Achill. According to a note by the late art historian Dr. Brian Kennedy: “The heaviness of this scene, therefore reflects the artist’s mood at the time and, although he was not then to know, the period also represented the beginning of a decade of financial and domestic difficulties that eventually ended in his separation from Grace in 1930. This picture, therefore, was painted at a turning point in Henry’s life.” The estimate is €80,000-120,000.
SEAN SCULLY (B.1945) – Raval Rojo (2004). UPDATE: THIS MADE 580,000 AT HAMMER
Raval Rojo by Sean Scully comes up as lot 31 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International online art sale on April 18 with an estimate of €400,000-€600,000. Just one day after the catalogue went online it has already received 25 bids and is currently standing at €105,000. It is signed by Scully and dated 9.04. It was purchased by the current owner at the Kerlin Gallery in Dublin in 2005. If memory serves me correctly it was displayed in that show to gobsmacking effect on the rear wall of the rectangular white space at Kerlin. In a catalogue note Aidan Dunne explains: “The Red Ravine referred to in the Catalan title, and the simmering palette of warm earth hues, relate the painting to his Barcelona studio”.
The sale offers many other fine examples of the work of prominent Irish and international artists.
DAMIEN HIRST (B.1965) – Pharmacy Matchbooks. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400 AT HAMMER
This set of 54 individual matchbooks from a set of 60 designed by Damien Hirst for the Pharmacy Restaurant comes up at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current online art auction. Each matchbook is numbered and stamped with the pharmacy stamp along with the name and address: Pharmacy Restaurant in Notting Hill, London. The estimate for lot 42 is €600-900. The catalogue for the sale is online and the auction runs until March 13.
TONY O’MALLEY (1913-2003) – Collage (1986). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,400 AT HAMMER
This 1986 oil and collage on toned paper by Tony O’Malley comes up as lot 9 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish art online auction which runs until March 7. It is signed with a monogram on the lower left and measures 6.2″ x 9.6″. The estimate is €1,500-2,500. The catalogue for the sale is online.
CIARAN CLEAR (1920-2000) – Homing Hookers. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200 AT HAMMER
Homing Hookers by Ciaran Clear comes up at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current Irish art online sale, which runs until March 7. The catalogue is online and the sale will be on view in Skibbereen from March 2. The estimate for this evocative oil on board with its hookers in full sail, moonlight, clouds, islands and rocks, which measures 10.20 x 17cm (4 x 6.7inches) is €600-€900. It is already proving to be very popular with bidders.
JOSEPH WILLIAM CAREY (1859-1937) – R.M.S. Baltic UPDATE: THIS MADE 380 AT HAMMER
This early painting of an historic liner by Joseph William Carey comes up as lot 54 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s current online sale of Irish art which runs until February 7. The watercolour on paper of the RMS Baltic is estimated at €400-600. Until May 1906 this White Star Liner, built at Harland and Wolff in Belfast, was the world’s largest ship and served the Liverpool-New York route. In 1909 she came to the rescue of the Republic and the Florida when they collided. All passengers were saved. In April 1912 she picked up distress signals from Titanic, but was too far away to intervene. She carried troops between 1915 and 1918 and brought the first American soldiers to Europe with General John Pershing on board. She continued commercial service in the 1920’s and was finally replaced in 1932 and scrapped in Osaka the following year.
UPDATE: Illustrations by Jack B Yeats for The Turf Cutter’s Donkey by Patricia Lynch sold particularly well at Morgan O’Driscoll’s sale this week. The Turf Cutter’s Donkey made €27,000 at hammer, Look at the showdown by the red rock made €24,000 and How did you get here made €9,000. Two Pears by William Scott made €60,000 at hammer.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for January 30, January 21 and January 12, 2023)
SEAN SCULLY (B.1945) – Coloured Wall (2003). UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,200 AT HAMMER
Bidding is brisk on Morgan O’Driscoll’s current Irish art auction, which draws to a close this evening. The auction features works by William Scott and Jack B Yeats which have attracted spirited bidding. Pictured here is a 2003 lithograph by Sean Scully, Coloured Wall, number 30 out of an edition of 150, where bidding is already past the top estimate of €3,000.
How Did You Get there? He Asked in Amazement by Jack B Yeats. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,000 AT HAMMER
There is nothing new about celebrity donkeys in Irish fiction. Long before Jenny the Donkey from The Banshees of Inisherin stole the show at this years Golden Globes in Hollywood The Turf Cutter’s Donkey was a favourite of generations of Irish children. Written by Patricia Lynch (1898-1972) and first published in 1934 The Turf Cutter’s Donkey came complete with lovingly evoked illustrations of the Irish landscape by Jack B Yeats. Lot 15 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s sizzling online sale of Irish art which runs until January 30 is an illustration by Yeats of the Turf Cutter’s Donkey which has never before been on the auction market. The sale boasts no less than five watercolours by Yeats, three of them from the tale of mystery and adventure by Patricia Lynch. It follows the exploits of Seamus and Eileen, turf cutters children from a whitewashed cottage befriended by a donkey who leads them into a series of extraordinary adventures. Leading the three illustrations from the work is The Turf Cutter’s Donkey, estimated at €15,000-€25,000. How did you get there? He asked in amazement is estimated at €5,000-€7,000 and Look at the Showdown by the Red Rock is estimated at €8,000-€12,000. Other works by Yeats, The Derelict (1910) and The Pannier Market (1906) are estimated respectively at €10,000-€15,000 and €15,000-€25,000.
There will be much interest in Two Pears, a 1977 oil on canvas by William Scott estimated at €50,000-€70,000. Scott remains the most internationally celebrated Ulster painter of the 20th century and a work of this calibre is likely to generate significant competitive bidding. Among the other artists with a strong following featured in this sale are Donald Teskey, John Shinnors, Hughie O’Donoghue, Mainie Jellett and James Arthur O’Connor. The catalogue is online and viewing gets underway in Skibbereen on January 26.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 12, 2023)
