Roderic O’Conor (1860-1940) – Chrysanthemums and Christmas Roses, 1897
This oil on canvas by Roderic O’Conor is, at €80,000-€100,000, the most expensively estimated lot at Fonsie Mealy’s Chatsworth summer fine art sale in Castlecomer on April 29 and 30 and May 1. It has re-emerged on the market after many decades in a private collection. Painted in 1897 Chyrsanthemums and Christmas Roses was shown in Paris in 1904 in the Salon des Independents. More than 1,300 lots will come under the hammer at three days of sales. The catalogue is online and viewing gets underway in Castlecomer on Apirl 26.
Jack Butler Yeats – A Storm / Gaillshíon (1936) Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd. UPDATE: THIS MADE £165,100
At auction for the first time this painting by Yeats will lead Christie’s day sale of Modern British and Irish art in London on March 19. A Storm/Gaillshíon depicts a young man seated on a bench at the side of a sandy pathway overlooking the sea. According to the artist, this scene refers to no particular, identifiable place, but rather is intended to be indicative of a typical Irish coastal scene, a familiar landscape visible throughout the island. The secondary title of the work, the Irish word Gaillshíon, conjures a rich impression of the atmospheric conditions of the day, suggesting the coastline is being buffeted by rough, blustery weather. The estimate is £100,000-£150,000.
Irish art in the sale includes work by Yeats, Henry and Roderic O’Conor. Also at auction for the first time is Lavery’s After Breakfast, Tangier, which features in the evening sale on March 18. The estimate is £180,000-£250,000.
Paul Henry – Digging Potatoes, Achill Island, Co. Mayo, 1916-19(£85,000-£120,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE £107,950
Le Loing at Sundown by Roderic O’Conor. UPDATE: THIS MADE €245,000 AT HAMMER
From Roderic O’Conor to David Hockney and Paul Henry to Ciaran Clear the Irish and International art sale at Whyte’s on March 9 offers many exciting opportunities for collectors.
The museum quality Le Loing at Sundown by O’Conor leads an auction of 129 lots with a combined estimate of in excess of one million euro. Painted around 1902 it is the catalogue cover lot and carries an estimate of €150,000-€200,000.
O’Conor revisited Montigny, a small town on the edge of the forest of Fontainebleau in the autumn of 1902 where he captured the mysterious half light with the sun setting low on the horizon. The art historian Jonathan Benington recounts how the works executed at this time were; “characterised by a highly painterly handling of the oil medium, from translucent stains to textured scumblings and thick calligraphic strokes”. This approach, radical at that time, can be traced back to O’Conor’s friendship with Gauguin and allegiances with Van Gogh in the early 1890’s.
Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book by David Hockney. UPDATE: THIS MADE €38,000 AT HAMMER
David Hockney’s Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book was similarly radical when it was made in 1980. It reflects his long-standing fascination with pools, light and the California lifestyle, transforming an everyday subject into a vivid study of colour, surface and perception. The artist uses simplified lines and fluid forms to evoke the movement and shimmer of water. This signed lithograph from an edition of 1,000 is a highly sought after example from his inspirational swimming pools paintings and is estimated at €25,000-€35,000.
A holiday in Kerry brought inspiration back to Paul Henry. By the early 1930’s, after a fraught and financially troubled time in his life during which he had separated from his wife, the celebrated artist had settled into a new life in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow with his partner Mabel Young RHA, later his second wife. By September 1934 he was legally separated and his thirst for inspiration had returned following a holiday in Co. Kerry. This renewed passion for his surroundings is evident in the lightened palette of his Landscape, Connemara (1932-35) which comes up as lot 17 with an estimate of €120,000-€150,000.
A completely different take on a similar subject is evident in Ciaran Clear’s Moonrise, Connemara Shore (€4,000-€6,000) with its silvery sea, figures on a beach looking out to sea, dark sails and shadowy rocks.
A bust of James Barry by Joseph Panzetta UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A coade stone bust of the Cork born artist James Barry (1741-1806) by Joseph Panzetta dates to 1818 and is probably based on an engraving by Picart in Fryer’s two volume catalogue of Barry’s work in 1809. It is one of four busts, others being held by the Crawford in Cork and by St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. The estimate is €5,000-€7,000. Three Roses by Patrick Hennessy, complete with a Guildhall Galleries, Chicago label, is similarly estimated.
The artist L S Lowry was proud of his Irish roots and The Cart from 1959 is a possible memory of a jaunting car during one of his visits to Ireland. Other international artists in the sale are Mr. Brainwash, Sir Frank Bowling, Maurice Poirson and Josef Herman.
A rare 1921 artist’s proof set of two lithographs by Sir John Lavery of Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, each signed by both artist and sitter, is estimated at €8,000-€10,000. They were gifted to the previous owner by Arthur Griffith.
The Shuggleshoo by William Conor (€18,000-€22,000) was exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1951. Child Playing with Dice by Dan O’Neill (€12,000-€18,000) was acquired from the George Waddington Galleries in Montreal. This gallery held solo exhibitions of O’Neill in 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1965. The sale features a selection of watercolours by Percy French and art by Walter Osborne, Evie Hone, Maurice MacGonigal, Tony O’Malley, Mainie Jellett, Jack Yeats, Rowan Gillespie, Siobhan Bulfin, Kenneth Webb, Arthur Maderson and Elizabeth Cope. Viewing gets underway at Whyte’s next Monday and the catalogue is online.
Moonrise, Connemara Shore by Ciaran Clear. UPDATE: THIS WAS WITHDRAWN
Roderic O’Conor – Le Loing at Sundown c1902. UPDATE: THIS MADE €245,000 AT HAMMER
Le Loing at Sundown by Roderic O’Conor will lead Whyte’s sale of Irish and International art in Dublin on March 9. The museum worthy work is the catalogue cover lot for the sale. Valued at €150,000-€200,000 it is also the most expensively estimated lot of 129 in the auction. In the autumn of 1902 O’Conor revisited Montigny, a small town on the edge of the forest of Fontainebleau where that he captured the mysterious half light with the sun sitting low on the horizon. O’Conor author Jonathan Benington describes how the works executed at this time were “…characterised by a highly painterly handling of the oil medium, from translucent stains to textured scumblings and thicker calligraphic strokes.”
Landscape with Trees by Roderic O’Conor made €340,000 at hammer at de Veres.
The innate conservatism of the Irish art market was apparent at the big winter sales in Dublin where the dominant artists were the bankable Roderic O’Conor and Paul Henry. Yes the market is developing and making room for modern, postmodern and contemporary Irish artists. Yet while Francis Bacon and Sean Scully will cut it abroad it is the old reliables like Yeats, Orpen, Lavery and Osborne who dominate at home. Who will bring home the Bacon?
Paintings by Irish turn of the 20th century and later artists are in short supply. The best are in public and private collections from which they emerge only rarely. The home market must evolve. At times like this it sometimes seems as if it is being dragged kicking and screaming towards essential evolution. The greatest Irish artists of the last hundred years are still mostly overlooked at the highest levels of the auction market on the home front.
A landscape by Roderic O’Conor topped the bill at the big winter auctions of Irish art in Dublin. Paysage aux Arbres, Landscape with Trees (1890) made a hammer price of €340,000 at de Veres. The Great Sugar Loaf by Paul Henry (1929-30) was the top lot at Whyte’s making €235,000 at hammer. A Coastal Landscape with Galway Hookers by Paul Henry (1930’s) was the most expensive artwork at Adam’s, making a hammer price of €170,000. In October Francis Bacon’s Portrait of a Dwarf made £13.1 million (€14.88 million) at Sotheby’s in London.
Roderic O’Conor, 1860-1940 – PAYSAGE AUX ARBRES (LANDSCAPE WITH TREES), c.1890
This small oil on canvas by Roderic O’Conor made a hammer price of €340,000 at de Veres on November 25. According to the art historian Jonathan Benington new evidence indicates that Paysage aux Arbres sits earlier in O’Conors chronology than previously thought and, as such, the picture should be viewed as a key turning point in his career. There is even a suggestion of striping in the foliage of several of the trees a hint of things to come 18 months later.
Other top lots at de Veres include Standing Blue by Sean Scully (€140,000), Cottages Connemara by Paul Henry (€130,000), Nature Morte by Roderic O’Conor (€115,000), Composition (1922) by Mainie Jellett (€70,000) and Aran Man (Self-Portrait) by Sean Keating (€65,000).
Mick Jagger by Andy Warhol at Art Source at the RDS.
The winter art sale season with a feast in store is kick started in Ireland this weekend by Art Source at the RDS. With more than 200 artists and galleries this is Ireland’s largest art fair with a huge selection of affordable art. Highlights include a portrait of Mick Jagger by Andy Warhol and work by Tracey Emin exhibited by Gormleys. Expected to draw more than 15,000 visitors the event features the Irish debut of Naples based Fonderia Artistica Ruocco.
This is a prelude to the season’s major sales of important Irish art. An online sale by Morgan O’Driscoll on November 24 with highlights by Yeats, O’Malley, Blackshaw and George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson will be followed by Dublin auctions by de Veres and Gormleys on November 25. Roderic O’Conor, William Leech, Paul Henry, Yeats and Mainie Jellett are at de Veres. Adams on November 26 offers art by Paul Henry, Yeats, Harry Clarke, Camille Souter, Gerard Dillon, Mary Swanzy and Hughie O’Donoghue. Among the highlights at Whyte’s on December 1 is work by John Luke, Paul Henry, Grace Henry, Frank McKelvey, Louis le Brocquy, Rowan Gillespie, Donald Teskey and John Behan.
Nature Morte by Roderic O’Conor at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS MADE 115,000 AT HAMMER
Apples and Pear by Roderic O’Conor (1860-1940) UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £171,450
The gem like Apples and Pear by Roderic O’Conor at Christie’s Modern British and Irish art evening sale in London on October 22 epitomises his use of colour, texture and strong stripes. The painting featured at the O’Conor retrospective at the National Gallery in 2018. It dates to around 1893 and Christie’s say that opportunities to acquire a work so emblematic of its period and of O’Conor’s oeuvre arise infrequently. The estimate is £120,000-£180,000 (€137,900-€206,890).
Roderic O’Conor (1860-1940) – Reclining Nude (1921). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Reclining Nude by Roderic O’Conor leads the evening sale of Important Irish Art at James Adam in Dublin on May 28. Painted in 1921 the oil on canvas is estimated at €40,000-€60,000. A total of 100 lots will come under the hammer including work by Tony O’Malley, Basil Blackshaw, John Shinnors, Letitia Marion Hamilton, Barrie Cooke, Oisin Kelly, John Behan and Nathaniel Hone will come under the hammer. The catalogue is online.
Roderic O’Connor – Paysage, Pont Aven, 1892. UPDATE: THIS MADE £378,000
Paysage, Pont Aven, an important and vibrant example of Roderic O’Conor’s stripe pictures, comes up at Christie’s Modern British and Irish art evening sale in London on March 19. It was exhibited in Paris at the 1892 Salon des Indépendents demonstrating its avant-garde approach and technique. The stripe pictures are generally accepted as the artist’s most desirable period. The estimate is £200,000-£300,000.
The auction features an interior by Sir John Lavery, The Hall, Argyll House, A summer’s day (1925). Argyll House on the King’s Road was home to Sybil Colefax and her husband Arthur in 1925. Known for her exceptional taste, she founded her business in the 1930’s and in 1938 was joined by John Fowler. Her business became known as Colefax & Fowler. The estimate is £100,000-£150,000.
Sir John Lavery – The Hall, Argyll House – A Summer Day, 1925. UPDATE: THIS MADE £157,500.
