Sir John Lavery – The Bathing Hour, the Lido, Venice (1912)
The National Gallery of Ireland has announced two new acquisitions, the Bathing Hour, the Lido, Venice (1912) by Sir John Lavery and Young Ireland (1907) by Sir William Orpen. The Lavery was enabled by the 1997 Taxes Consolidation Act which offers tax relief in respect of donations of important heritage items. The Orpen was bequeathed by Alan and Mary Hobart whose Pym’s Gallery in London tirelessly promoted Irish art for many years. The two new works are now on display in Room 16.
Brian Hurley of Kinsale will bring a selection of porcelain like this appetising Cantonese set to the National Antiques Art and Vintage Fair at Limerick Racecourse this weekend.
The National antique, art and vintage fair at Limerick racecourse, a two day At Home sale by Adam’s and one of the largest ever convent contents sales by Victor Mee make for a very busy upcoming week.
Collectors will find all sorts of everything from rugs to art to porcelain and cloissonné ware to coins and banknotes and antique furniture at Ireland’s biggest fair at Limerick Racecourse at 11 am today (June 6) and tomorrow.
With Tiffany style lamps from Raymond Byrne, porcelain from Brian Hurley, coins and miltaria from Robert Hutchinson, art from Treasures of Athlone and galleries like the Purple Onion, Persian rugs from Annamoe Antiques, variety at Country Mile Antiques and jewellery and vintage items this treasure trove has the capacity to fire the imagination of any collector. There is ample parking, loads of space and price points to suit every pocket.
A c1755 Limerick silver sugar bowl at Adam’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,000 AT HAMMER
A real Limerick rarity, a c1755 silver sugar bowl by Jasper Johns, is the top lot on day one at Adam’s At Home auction on June 9. The two day online only sale is on view in Dublin from today until Tuesday. There is an extensive collection of silver, fine furniture, rugs, decorative interiors and works of art among 610 lots on offer. The auction on June 8 with 255 lots is dedicated to silver and offers an appetising selection of rare Irish provincial silver from Limerick and Cork. The Jasper Johns sugar bowl has an estimate of €8,000-€10,000. Other top lots include a Limerick soup ladle by Samuel Johns (€5,000-€7,000), a pair of serving spoons by Maurice Fitzgerald of Limerick c1780 (€4,500-€5,500), a near pair of c1795 Cork silver sauce boats by John Warner (€4,500-€5,500), a c1790 Cork sugar bowl by John Gibson (€3,000-€5,000), a c1780 Cork silver soup ladle by Carden Terry (€2,500-€3,500) and a c1755 Cork silver loving cup by John Warner (€2,000-€3,000).
Anglo American sunglasses from the 1970’s designed by Lawrence Jenkin at Adams. UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD
Among the more unusual lots at Adam’s on Wednesday are two pairs of highly distinctive vintage Anglo-American sunglasses by Lawrence Jenkin from the 1970’s, Parrots and Liberty Flame (€500-€700). Another timely offering is a pair of 1985 Oliver Goldsmith Tennis Racquets Wimbledon sunglasses (€800-€1,200). Leading lots on the second day of the At Home auction are a 19th century Louis XVI style giltwood suite (€3,000-€5,000), an inlaid Killarney wood jewellery cabinet (€2,000-€3,000), a pair of Italian marquetry and walnut console tables (€2,000-€3,000), a Kashan carpet from central Persia (€2,000-€3,000) and a George IV mahogany dining table on twin quadruped supports (€1,500-€2,500).
The 1700 lot three day sale by Victor Mee of contents from the Convent of Mercy in Newry, other convents and clients next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday is remarkable on many fronts. One of the largest convents sales ever held in Ireland harks back to the 1990’s when convent and friary sales were frequent. Nowadays it is the contents of pubs that feature regularly at sales. The old Ireland is transforming, rapidly, in front of our eyes.
A re-discovered triptych by Sir John Lavery at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,000 AT HAMMER
Among top lots in an auction on view in Newry until Monday evening are two remarkable Killarney wood pieces of furniture, a marquetry davenport and a shaped centre table, each estimated at €8,000-€12,000 and a rediscovered painting of The Madonna of the Lakes by Sir John Lavery (€5,000-€10,000). The study for the Lavery triptych in St. Patrick’s Church, Belfast was presented by the artist to Fr. John O’Neill in 1919. It depicts the Madonna, St. Patrick and St. Brigid and is estimated at €5,000-€10,000).
There are six harps made by the Belfast craftsman James McFall in the late 19th/early 20th. centuries. The McFall harp, closely associated with the Irish cultural revival movement, became popular in convent schools and institutions throughout Ireland. The auction offers a large Irish Georgian breakfront bookcase, a wake table measuring ten feet in length and various other lots of Killarney furniture. This is a sale with a strong mix of ecclesiastical pieces, Irish furniture, silver, art and interiors. The online catalogue will reward a thorough examination.
A rare smaller scale version of Sir John Lavery’s celebrated Belfast “Madonna of the Lakes” triptych discovered in the former Sisters of Mercy Convent in Newry will be auctioned in June by Victor Mee. A copy or study for Lavery’s triptych in St. Patrick’s Church, Belfast, is believed to have been presented by the artist to Fr. John O’Neill.
The provenance has been significantly strengthened by a report published in the Belfast Gazette on June 17 , 1960, following the death of Fr. O’Neill, which records among charitable legacies a bequest of “Sir John Lavery’s presentation copy of ‘The Madonna of the Lakes’ to the Sisters of Mercy, Crumlin Road, Belfast. A dedication along the lower edge of the work reads: “To Fr. O’Neill. From John Lavery, 1919,” while an inscription on the reverse reads: “Received Oct 21 st , 1919. J. O’Neill.” It is estimated at €5,000-€10,000.
Victor Mee will conduct a three day convent sale in Newry on June 9, 10 and 11. Believed to be one of the largest such sales ever held in Ireland it will include contents sourced from several former Convent of Mercy properties together with a substantial selection of fine furniture, decorative arts, silver, sculpture and garden pieces. The sale will be on view at the historic convent location on Catherine St., Newry from June 5-8.
Rare portrait lithographs of Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith signed both by the sitters and artist Sir John Lavery feature at Whyte’s timed online Eclectic Collector sale which runs from April 7-18. Lavery painted portraits of Griffith and Collins in 1921 whilst they were in London negotiating the terms of the Irish Treaty. Within months of their portraits being painted, both men were dead – Griffith of a heart attack, Collins assasinated. The lithographs are based on the oil portraits now in the collection of the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin and estimated at €8,000-12,000.
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
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.
Study for The Ratification of the Irish Treaty in the House of Lords, December 1921 by Sir John Lavery (1856-1941).
This historical study by Sir John Lavery sold for £43,750 (€52,562) at Bellmans in Britain today and was bought by the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin. Estimated at £20,000 – £30,000, the work generated competition from both online and telephone bidders before the hammer came down at £35,000 (£43,750 including premium). The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin hosted the 2021 centenary exhibition, Studio & State: The Laverys and the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and were delighted to add to their collection of works by Lavery.
On Friday, 16 December 1921 the Irish Treaty passed from the Commons to the House of Lords for ratification. It was the moment the British Empire changed – it had been expanding rapidly since the 1870s, but went into steep decline, and led to civil war in Ireland and ultimately the emergence of a ‘Free State’.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for August 25, 2024)
SIR JOHN LAVERY – THE TURQUOISE SEA, MIMIZAN, 1917. UPDATE: THIS MADE 58,000 AT HAMMER
Early viewing gets underway at Whyte’s on Molesworth St., Dublin today for a sale of Irish and International art on December 2. There is art by Yeats, Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy, Roderic O’Conor, Tony O’Malley, William Crozier and many more artists. Pictured here is The Turquoise Sea, Mimizan, a 1917 work by Sir John Lavery which is estimated at €60,000-80,000. He painted it while staying at the Duke of Westminster’s shooting lodge at the Landes. At that time he had been unable to paint seascapes since 1914 due to World War I.
Sir John Lavery – The Ratification of the Irish Treaty in the House of Lords, December 1921
A re-discovered study by Sir John Lavery of The Ratification of the Irish Treaty in the House of Lords, December 1921 will come up at auction in England in November. The Treaty passed for ratification from the Commons to the Lords on December 16, 1921. It was a moment when the British Empire changed from the rapid expansion from the 1870’s to steep decline in the 20th century.
By then in his ’60’s Lavery, who had been knighted for his services as an official war artist, sought assistance from Sir Patrick Ford and Lord Birkenhead to paint while the house was in session. Armed with these sketches he began work immediately on the large version now in the Glasgow Museums. Lavery frequently gifted his preparatory sketches and gave this one to sculptor George Henry Paulin in gratitude for his portrait of Lavery, a cast of which is in the Glasgow Museums. The study has remained with the family and it will lead Bellmans auction of Modern British and 20th century art on November 21 with an estimate of £20,000-£30,000 (€23,460-€35,190).
It could make more. At Dreweatts in the UK earlier this year a Lavery study for The Hearing of the Appeal of Sir Roger Casement sold for £155,200 with fees (€182,050) over a top estimate of £25,000 (€29,330) after a long bidding battle.
Lavery’s view on Irish independence was clear. In 1910 he wrote to his friend and pupil Sir Winston Churchill, then Minister for the Colonies, that he believed Ireland: “will never be ruled by Westminster, the Vatican or Ulster without continuous bloodshed … and leaving Irishmen to settle their own affairs is the only solution”.
This study by Sir John Lavery of The Hearing of the Appeal of Sir Roger Casement sold for £155,200 with fees (€182,050)
The Hearing of the Appeal of Sir Roger Casement, a Study, by Sir John Lavery (1856-1941) sold for £155,200 against an estimate of £15,000-£25,000
A bidding battle between a telephone bidder and an online bidder saw an origin an original unseen study by Sir John Lavery of The Trial and Roger Casement sell for a hammer price of £124,000 (£155,200 with fees) at Dreweatts Modern and Contemporary art sale at Newbury in Berkshire. The final price was over ten times the original low estimate. The high-profile case against Roger Casement for treason took place in 1916 in the High Court in London and was witnessed by Lavery. The full-scale painted version of The Hearing of the Appeal of Sir Roger Casement was proposed by the presiding judge, Sir Charles Darling 1st Baron Darling, PC (1849-1936). Having commissioned the artist to paint other portraits of his family and having seen the artist’s other publicly exhibited works, he invited him to capture the court proceedings. The finished final painting of the work was produced in Lavery’s studio and completed in 1931. It remained there until the artist’s death in 1941, when he left it to the nation. It hung firstly in the Royal Courts of Justice and in 1950 at the request of Sergeant Sullivan, who had been part of Casement’s defence team, it was lent to King’s Inn, Dublin.
Lavery’s portrait of Lieutenant John Clive Darling, 20th Hussars (1887-1933), son of the Honourable Mr Justice Charles John, 1st Baron Darling sold for £8,190 against an estimate of £7,000-£10,000. A portrait of Mary Caroline Darling, mother of Major John Clive Darling, made £5,040 against an estimate of £3,000-£5,000. A Grey Day by Lavery made £32,700 against an estimate of £10,000-£15,000 and a study by Laver for a full length portrait of Minnie Plowden and her son Humphrey, painted in c. 1897 made £8,190 against an estimate of £7,000-£10,000.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 14, 2024)
