If the number of sales now underway in this busy season can be taken as a guide then the market for Irish art is in a healthy state across all levels. Over the next few weeks million of euro worth of Irish art will change hands. It would be wrong to assume that this market exists only for the wealthy. Big sales tend to grab the headlines. But a small amount of discretionary income and a love or art, or even just a particular piece, can get anyone on board. There are prices to suit every pocket.The online sale by Morgan O’Driscoll on Monday will be followed by Sotheby’s annual Irish art sale in London on Tuesday, Bonhams in London on Wednesday and Dolan’s in Limerick on Sunday week. Also on the schedule are sales by Whyte’s in association with Christie’s, de Veres, James Adam and further sales by O’Driscoll and Whyte’s. Art will feature strongly in a variety of mainstream sales between now and Christmas, from Sheppards in Durrow to Lynes and Lynes in Carrigtwohill, Aidan Foley in Sixmilebridge and the James Adam Mid Century Modern sale in Dublin next Tuesday evening.The selection at Morgan O’Driscoll’s online sale on Monday evening includes work by Donald Teskey, Kenneth Webb, Roderic O’Conor, Patrick O’Reilly, John Shinnors, Sean Scully, Mark O’Neill and a wide variety of well known and less well known Irish artists.
Sotheby’s has worked hard to promote their annual Irish sale, which will be the subject of considerable interest in London. Charlie Minter, head of Irish art at Sotheby’s, describes this years sale in the following words: “The vibrancy of Ireland’s cultural and artistic scene has always been a cause for celebration. This year’s Irish Art sale celebrates both past and present, from legendary figures such as Jack B. Yeats, Paul Henry, William Orpen and Louis le Brocquy, to new blood from Ireland’s dynamic contemporary art scene. The heart of Irish culture is encapsulated in a diverse selection of works with subjects ranging from literary icons to immediately recognisable landscape motifs, many of them making their auction debut.”Among a strong selection of works by Irish artists at Bonhams sale of Modern British and Irish art in London on Wednesday are works by Paul Henry, William Scott, Rowan Gillespie, Basil Blackshaw, Dan O’Neill and William Crozier.
The sale by Dolan’s at Castletroy Park Hotel in LImerick next Sunday week will include a studio collection of the work of Clare artist Michael Hanrahan, official artist for the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland in 2011. These paintings will be sold without reserve. The auction goes on view next Friday.
