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Viewing begins in Castlecomer today for Fonsie Mealy’s Important Irish and International art sale on November 16. There are 417 lots on offer including works by Jack B Yeats, Sean Keating, Michael O Nuallain, William Sadler, Augustus Burke, Maurice MacGonigal, Evie Hone, John Shinnors, Pauline Bewick and John Behan. The catalogue is online.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for November 6 and October 25, 2022)
The divisive nature of the Irish Civil War is addressed in this 1924 painting, An Allegory by Sean Keating. The prevailing sense of disquiet and uncertainty is a reflection of Ireland in the wake of the war which raged on this island exactly a century ago. Among the characters featured are the artist, his wife and child. A new display which opens at the National Gallery on August 20 comprises nine works by Keating and one by William Orpen. Art on display includes Men of the West, On the Run – War of Independence and Homo Sapiens: An Allegory of Democracy. A number of portraits of nationalist figures such as Erskine Childers, John Devoy and Terence MacSwiney will be on display alongside William Orpen’s monumental painting The Holy Well in which Keating is the central subject.
This is one of three displays marking the conclusion of the Decade of Centenaries at the National Gallery. Hughie O’Donoghue Original Sins now on show addresses memory, history and questions of identity. In September an exhibition by Estella Solomons will feature portraits of leading revolutionary and cultural figures of that time.
This Man of Aran is a self portrait by the artist Sean Keating (1889-1978). The stained glass artist Harry Clarke introduced Sean Keating to the Aran Islands in 1912. They had met at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art the previous year and became firm friends. In the years leading up to Ireland’s Treaty of Independence the Aran Islands became the place of Keating’s artistic and political identity. As early as 1915 Keating began to portray himself on the islands, wearing typical island clothing. This charcoal drawing is a study for a painting, possibly I Fein (Me Myself) exhibited at the RHA in 1924. It comes up as Lot 98 at Dolan’s timed online auction of 360 lots of art and antiques with an estimate of 9,000-12,000. The auction runs to the evening of May 10. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 9,000 AT HAMMER
Viewing gets underway in Dublin today for the auction of Important Irish Art at James Adam on June 12 at 6 pm. Prime lots include Homeward Bound by Sean Keating (60,000-80,000), Cottages in a Landscape by Paul Henry (60,000-80,000), Low Water, Spring Tide, Clifden by Jack B. Yeats (40,000-60,000) and Cuchulainn VIII, 1999, an Aubusson tapestry by Louis le Brocquy (30,000-50,000). The selection is broad and the catalogue is online.
This charcoal and pastel portrait of Movita by Sean Keating comes up at the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin on March 27. Forever associated with Cobh boxer, actor and tenor Jack Doyle – the Gorgeous Gael – Maria Movita Castenada was a Mexican actress who starred in the Hollywood films Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Fort Apache (1948). Movita came to Ireland in the 1940’s as singing partner to Jack Doyle (1913-1978). They married at Westland Row Church in Dublin and their double act drew sell out crowds when they toured this country and Britain. Sean Keating would have known Movita and Doyle as they were fellow habitues of the Wicklow Hotel in Dublin. The couple divorced in 1945 and Movita went on to marry Marlon Brando. She died aged 98 in 2015. The portrait is estimated at 1,200-1,600.
Sean Keating HRA, HRSA (1899-1977) Fear agus ban on Oilean. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
The catalogue cover lot for Dolan’s two day sale in Ballyconneely, Connemara on Bank Holiday Monday August 6 and on the following day is a cheerful pastel and charcoal portrait by Sean Keating (1889-1977), Fear agus bean an Oilean is estimated at 25,000-30,000. Born in Limerick Sean Keating studied under Sir William Orpen. He won the Taylor Scholarship in 1914 and went to visit the Aran Islands with Harry Clarke. This was a turning point in his career and the islands and their inhabitants became the subject of many of his works. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Hibernian Academy and represented Ireland at the New York World Fair of 1939.
Dolans art and antique auction is to be a marquee sale in Ballyconneely. Viewing there gets underway at noon on July 29 and continues until the start of the sale at 12.30 pm on August 7.
A long case clock with brass dial and a French tortoiseshell and pewter mantle clock will be included as well as some 19th century Irish silver. Outdoor pieces include a pair of garden lions, a griffin, a pair of ornamental cannon and a ships anchor. There are designer handbags by Chanel, Cartier, Fendi and Dior and a Rolex watch in its original case. Here is a small selection:
A 19th century inlaid French mantle clock
Na Fir on Oilean by Sean Keating (1889-1977) UPDATE: THIS MADE 17,000
Child in interior by John Shinnors UPDATE: THIS MADE 21,500
Sean Keating (1889-1977) – Portrait of an Aran woman and her children.
There was a record for a work by Sean Keating at Mealy’s today. His c1946 Portrait of an Aran Woman and Her Children has just sold for a hammer price of 130,000 at Mealy’s sale in Castlecomer. This large scale work – 49″ x 58″ – has not been seen in public since the 1940’s and was not on the open market before. According to the art historian Dr. Eimear O’Connor this is no ordinary Aran scene. The models are Sean Keating’s wife, May (née Walshe) (1895-1965), and the couple’s two sons, Justin (1930-2009) in the centre, and Michael (1927-2001), who all sat for him at various intervals throughout 1944. The cat, whose name is now lost to time, was a family pet. Keating’s plan was to exhibit the painting with the RHA, the Oireachtas, or with Victor Waddington that year. However, in spite of his good intentions, he put the canvas to one side and did not get back to complete it until 1946.
Their eldest son, Michael, pictured in a youthful day dream, was to become a highly respected civil and mechanical engineer, while Justin, also deep in thought, qualified as a vet, and went on to become a politician of note. The work had been estimated at 40,000-50,000. The top price for a Keating was 190,000 and there has not been a six figure sum paid for a Keating since 2008.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for December 1, 2016)
Sean Keating – Portrait of an Aran Woman and her children. UPDATE: THIS MADE 130,000 AT HAMMER
A c1946 Portrait of an Aran Woman and Her Children at Mealy’s is a large work by Sean Keating that has not been on the open market before. According to Dr. Eimear O’Connor the sitters in the portrait – lot 780 at Mealy’s Winter Sale in Castlecomer on December 6-7 – are the artist’s wife, two sons and pet cat. The estimate is 40,000-50,000. The auction will feature lots from the Gore-Booth family of Lissadell, the collection of Sir Anthony O’Reilly at Castlemartin and from the estate of Professor Anne Crookshank among others. One of the more unusual lots is the Mountainstown House elk antlers. Around 11,000 years old the antlers of this Great Irish Elk were found on the estate by members of the Pollock family. The lot is estimated at 8,000-12,000.
An early 20th century Rolex silver and cobalt blue enamel ball pendant watch is believed to have belonged to Countess Constance Markievicz and is estimated at 700-1,100. An exceptional Regency rosewood breakfast table is estimated at 7,000-11,000, a 1st UK edition of The Lord of the Rings with all final impressions has a similar estimate and A Mountain Landscape by Paul Henry is estimated at 20,000-30,000. There are 1,100 lots in total and the catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:
A Regency rosewood breakfast table. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200 AT HAMMER
The ist UK edition of The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,000 AT HAMMER
A Porsche diesel tractor (16,500-20,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 17,000 AT HAMMER
An Errard double action harp (1,500-2,500) UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,700 AT HAMMER
A 19th century French brass sonnerie repeater clock by Grohe. UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
A Rolex pendant ball watch. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,200 AT HAMMER
A set of Great Irish Elk antlers. UPDATE: THESE MADE 7,500 AT HAMMER
The two day Connemara art and antiques auction by Dolan’s in Ballyconneely on August 1 and 2 is sure to be a crowd puller. There is an across the board selection of Irish art as well as antique furniture, collectibles, silver and rugs among around 500 lots on offer. The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:
Tony O’Malley – The Studio, New Ross, 1959
Robert Taylor Carson – Lobster Man UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,250
Sean Keating – An Fear an Oilean
John Schwatschke – Morning at Heuston
