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  • Posts Tagged ‘Sir William Orpen’

    AN ORPEN HOLIDAY AT HOWTH RECALLED AT SOTHEBY’S

    Sunday, June 25th, 2023
    Sir William Orpen R.A., R.H.A. – The Yacht Race (Sighting the Boat). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    The Yacht Race (Sighting the Boat) by Sir William Orpen comes up at Sotheby’s Modern British Art sale in London on June 28. Orpen’s summer ritual from 1909 onwards had been to rent Arthur Bellingham’s house known as ‘The Cliffs’ overlooking the majestic sweep of Dublin Bay for the month of August. There he would be joined by his wife, Grace, and his daughters, Mary and Kit, along with other members of his family. Since the Howth holiday followed his summer term residency at the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin friends and students sometimes joined the party. These convivial gatherings became subjects for drawings and paintings for, as his brother Richard recalled, while these ‘long, lovely, never-to-be-forgotten summer days’ were carefree. The pencil and watercolour on paper is estimated at £90,000-£130,000. A Shining Place – a Venetian painting by William John Leech – comes up at the same sale with an estimate of £50,000-£70,000.

    SOTHEBY’S IRISH ART IN PARIS OPENS FOR BIDDING TODAY

    Thursday, May 4th, 2023
    Sir William Orpen R.A., R.H.A. – The Normandy Cider Press. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR €36,100

    This 1900 oil on canvas by Sir William Orpen comes up as lot 12 at Sotheby’s Irish art sale in Paris. The sale is on view in Paris. It opens for bidding today and runs online until May 10. This painting was once in the collection of Oliver St. John Gogarty, who acquired it from the artist. It is estimated at €30,000-50,000.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for April 2, 2023)

    IMPORTANT IRISH ART AT JAMES ADAM

    Sunday, February 26th, 2023
    Sir William Orpen RA RHA (1878 – 1931) – Portrait of Yvonne Aupicq as a Nun (Sister X) UPDATE: THIS MADE 125,000 AT HAMMER

    She was his lover and his model and Sir William Orpen kept this portrait of Yvonne Aupicq as a nun in his own collection. It comes up as lot 61 at the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin on March 1 with an estimate of €30,000-€50,000. Adams understand that Yvonne had met Orpen while working as a nurse during the war. He had been admitted to hospital with a suspected case of scabies which ended up being a far more serious case of blood poisoning as he recounts in his wartime memoir ‘An Onlooker in France’.  Their relationship continued after 1918 when Orpen was appointed as the official artist to The Paris Peace Conference.  He gifted to her another version of this portrait with Yvonne set against a completely white background.

    ORPEN PORTRAIT AT FONSIE MEALY ART SALE

    Monday, March 14th, 2022

    This 1904 portrait of James Hugh Smith-Barry by Sir William Orpen comes up as lot 123 at Fonsie Mealy’s sale of Irish and international art on March 23.  Closely associated with Barryscourt Castle and the Fota estate in Cork the Barry family were prominent from Anglo-Norman times.  With the death in 1823 of the 8th Earl of Barrymore the title became extinct.  It was revived in 1902 when Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry was created Baron Barrymore.  He commissioned Orpen to paint a posthumous portrait of his father to be hung at Fota with the Barry ancestors. It was based on a pastel sketch made in 1854 by James Rannie Swinton. The estimate is €20,000-€30,000. UPDATE: THIS MADE 19,000 AT HAMMER

    AN ORPEN AT DOLAN’S TIMED ONLINE AUCTION

    Sunday, November 28th, 2021
    SIR WILLIAM ORPEN – THE ROSCOMMON FUSILIER. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Among the lots at Dolans auction on November 29 are a drawing by Sir William Orpen of The Roscommon Fusilier. The drawing depicts a young woman, with hand on hip, wearing a militia uniform, complete with military hat and plume. It is sketched on ‘Metropolitan School of Art, Kildare Street, Dublin’ paper. Orpen taught there in the early years of the 20th century. The sitter was Vera Hone and it is estimated at 9,000-12,500. A charcoal study of The Men of Aran by Sean Keating is estimated at 16,000-20,000. UPDATE: THE KEATING MADE €16,000 AT HAMMER.

    The timed online sale features a selection of fine Irish whiskeys as well as antique furniture, silver and rugs.

    AFTER THE BALL BY ORPEN AT DE VERES

    Wednesday, November 10th, 2021

    Here is a video on After the Ball by Sir William Orpen, one of the highlights at de Veres sale of Outstanding Irish Art in Dublin on November 23. UPDATE: THIS MADE 310,000

    AN ORPEN INTERIOR AT SOTHEBY’S

    Monday, June 14th, 2021

    Interior by Sir William Orpen comes up as Lot 268 at Sotheby’s Modern and Post War British Art day sale in London from June 23-30. One of a group of exceptional interior paintings begun at 21 Fitzroy St., London in 1899-1901 it is estimated at £40,000-60,000. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES AT WHYTE’S SALE

    Friday, March 1st, 2019

    Whyte’s evening auction of Irish & International art at the RDS on March 4 promises to deliver another exciting opportunity for collectors to acquire rare artworks.  Viewing is from 10 am to 6 pm each day from March 2. The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

    UPDATE:  Just under 90% of lots sold with a gross total of 1.25 million.  The highest price paid was €150,000 for a Jack Yeats 14 by 18 inches oil, titled “Justice”. A smaller Yeats oil – “A Passage is Required”, 9 by 14 inches, took a winning bid of €115,000. Both went to collectors in Dublin. A very large oil by James Humbert Craig, which was painted for the Empire Marketing Board in the 1920s for use on a poster promoting the linen industry, well exceeded its pre-sale estimate of €20,000 to €30,000, going to a Dublin collector who outbid a Northern Ireland institution at €54,000.

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for February 24 and February 13,  2019)

    TONY O’MALLEY HRHA (1913-2003) – Abstract 1976 (6,000-8,000)  UPDATE:   THIS WAS UNSOLD

    MAINIE JELLETT (1897-1944) – Abstract Design (9,000-12,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE 15,000 AT HAMMER

    JACK BUTLER YEATS RHA (1871-1957) – At the Feis (6,000-8,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,800 AT HAMMER

    SIR WILLIAM ORPEN – Lord George Hell (25,000-35,000)  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    WAR WORKS OF WILLIAM ORPEN AT NATIONAL GALLERY

    Saturday, December 16th, 2017
    To mark the centenary of William Orpen’s visit to France as an official war artist the National Gallery of Ireland is exhibiting some of his war works.  Serving with the British Army he recorded the aftermath of the Battle of the Somme, a lifeless wasteland, the result of prolonged trench warfare, mining and heaving bombardment.

    In his 1921 memoir An Onlooker in France the artist wrote of the horror he had experienced. Drawing on this text the exhibition  explores a selection of his aftermath paintings.  The artist Garrett Phelan was commissioned by the National Gallery to produce art in response to Orpen’s experience and has created works in sound and clay acquired directly from the Somme. Aftermath, the War Landscapes of William Orpen, runs until February 11.

    Sir William Orpen – Sketch in a desolate landscape

    Sir William Orpen – Man with a cigarette

    Sir William Orpen – Thiepval II

    RE DISCOVERED ORPEN DRAWING AT WHYTE’S

    Wednesday, September 27th, 2017

    Sir William Orpen RA RI RHA (1878-1931) ON THE HILL OF HOWTH, COUNTY DUBLIN, c.1912-14  UPDATE: THIS MADE 30,000 AT HAMMER

    A re-discovered Orpen drawing of bhemian youth features at Whyte’s evening sale of Irish and International Art at the RDS on October 2. On the Hill of Howth, Co. Dublin c1912-14 depicts a girl holding a knot of tiny flowers and stretching her right arm skywards in an attitude of abandon. From the estate of Dublin judge Desmond Windle it is estimated at 30,000-50,000.  He was a collector for over 60 years and  among the other artists in his collection in this sale are Patrick Collins, John Behan, Michael Kane, Charles Brady, Charles Harper, George Campbell and Sean McSweeney. The catalogue, which is online, lists 188 lots. Here is a small selection:

    Hughie O’Donoghue (b.1953) DUTIFUL SON, 2007/8 (6,000-8,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,000 AT HAMMER

    Charles Brady HRHA (1926-1997) SHOE BOX (2,000-3,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,800 AT HAMMER

    John Behan RHA (b.1938) ARCHER (3,000-5,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,200

    Patrick Collins HRHA (1910-1994) THE HAPPY PRIEST, 1965 (15,000-20,000)  UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,000