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JANE O’MALLEY (1944-2023) – GULL EVENING, 1996. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 750
Gull Evening, an oil on board by Jane O’Malley, is lot 152 at Whyte’s autumn online art sale which runs until October 20. The oil and gesso on board is estimated at €800-€1,200. The sale of 277 affordable lots is on view at Molesworth St. over the coming weekend.
Stephen McKenna PPRHA (1939-2017) – Two Melons 1990. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An oil on canvas by Stephen McKenna entitled Two Melons with an estimate of €4,000-€6,000 will lead the timed online only autumn art sale at Whyte’s which runs until October 20. Among the artists in the sale are Graham Knuttel, Liam O’Neill, Elizabeth Cope, Kenneth Webb, Dan O’Neill, Tony O’Malley, Pauline Bewick, Banks and Picasso. The sale is on view at Whyte’s in Dublin from October 13 and the catalogue is online.
Abstract Composition by Mainie Jellett (1897-1944). UPDATE: THIS MADE 32,000 AT HAMMER
Art by Louis le Brocquy, Paul Henry and Roderic O’Conor will lead Whyte’s sale of Irish and international art in Dublin on the evening of September 29. A total of 152 lots valued at over €1.2 million will come under the hammer. The catalogue cover lot is le Brocquy’s Image of Samuel Beckett from 1980 (€100,000-€150,000). In Connemara by Paul Henry has an estimate of €90,000-€120,000 and a self portrait by Roderic O’Conor has an estimate of €60,000-€80,000.
Abstract Composition by Mainie Jellett is estimated at €18,000-€22,000 and a watercolour with ink from le Brocquy’s Tinker series, Tinker Children at a Fair (1946) is estimated at €15,000-€20,000. Artists featured include Percy French, Rose Barton, Gerard Dillon, Dan O’Neill, Pauline Bewick, Rowan Gillespie, John Behan and Liam O’Neill.
Mother and Baby Achill by Lillian Lucy Davidson and Dublin Bay by Norah McGuinness are the top lots at the de Veres sale which runs until next Tuesday (September 30). Each is estimated at €7,000-€10,000. A total of 230 lots will come under the hammer by artists including Martin Gale, Frank McKelvey, Barbara Warren, Kenneth Webb, Kitty Wilmer O’Brien, Mark O’Neill and many more. Brown and White Cob by Basil Blackshaw (€12,000-€18,000) and Fire, from The Elements by Damien Hirst H6 (€8,000-€12,000) are the top lots at Gormley’s auction at Francis St. in Dublin at 7.30 pm next Tuesday. Catalogues for all these sales are online.
Dunquin Pier, Kerry by Sean O’Sullivan (1906-1964). UPDATE: THIS MADE 4,000 AT HAMMER
Maser – Colourway. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Colourway by the Dublin artist Maser, who first made his mark on the grafitti scene in 1995, is lot 81 at Whyte’s sale of Irish and International art on September 29. He has created immersive installations in cities including Berlin, Paris, Zurich, Milan, Hamburg, Munich and Amsterdam. The unframed acrylic and spray paint on canvas is estimated at €2,500-3,500. Artists in the auction include Roderic O’Conor, William Orpen, Harry Clarke, Mainie Jellett, Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy, Donald Teskey and Rowan Gillespie. Viewing for the sale is underway at Whyte’s on Molesworth St. in Dublin.
Paul Henry – In Connemara. UPDATE: THIS MADE 90,000 AT HAMMER
This oil on panel by Paul Henry with an estimate of €90,000-€120,000 is among the leading lots at Whyte’s sale of Irish and International art in Dublin on September 29. Painted in the open air three cottages viewed from above are located in the bottom third of the image. In a catalogue note Dr. Mary Cosgrove observes that: The freedom and spontaneity that this little sketch demonstrates was learnt by Henry in Paris. The technique derives from the ébauche stage of the academic system of painting that affected the practice of landscape painting in particular and led to the development of Impressionism. Henry’s genius lay in amalgamating his artist’s eye with this training whilst still leaving space for the emotion to dwell in. At the same time he was painting what he saw and what people recognised, a new realism in Irish art.
Turfcutter by Liam O’Neill
Getting to see Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Banksy, Julian Opie and Salvador Dale in Kerry – where Jack B Yeats went to study Irish in 1913 – is not an opportunity that arises every day. In latter years Gormley’s have attracted tens of thousands of people to exhibitions of Irish and international art and sculpture in luxurious settings like the K Club, the Culloden Estate and Spa and Castlemartyr Resort.
Set in stunning natural surroundings Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare will be added to this list from tomorrow.
There will be a striking collection of outdoor sculpture along with an exhibition of new work by the renowned Kerry artist Liam O’Neill. Art at the Falls runs from tomorrow until October 12, but there are certain days when it will be closed so it is advisable to check before travelling.
The artist Jack B Yeats spent time learning Irish in Kerry in 1913 and produced a series of landscapes from around Mount Brandon, Lough Gill, Castlegregory and Tralee Bay. A small oil on board from that period entitled Hot Weather/A Hot Day will feature at the sale of Important Irish Art at James Adam in Dublin on September 24. The estimate is €40,000-€60,000.
Jack B Yeats – Hot Weather/A Hot Day 1913. UPDATE: THIS MADE 69,OOO AT HAMMER
Self Portrait – Baked Bean Boy by Paul Hewson (Bono) at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,050 AT HAMMER
The Irish art market reflects global trends and right now these trends are particularly favourable to online sales of the type that Whyte’s will hold on June 30 and Morgan O’Driscoll on July 1.
Auctions of affordable art by popular Irish and international artists are where the market is at. The value of art sold last year went down but the number of transactions grew because of greater activity at lower levels. Even as the market remains in a state of flux the interest in acquiring art is on the up. In Ireland and around the world more and more people are prepared to buy online at lower prices even as global uncertainty contributes to a situation where fewer records are being broken at the top.
Celebrity sells and Whyte’s will have offerings by Bono (a self portrait though not one that you recognise him in) and Damien Hirst among their offerings. The screenprint by Bono – Self Portrait – Baked Bean Boy – is estimated at just €300-€400. Heart Spin, the acrylic by Damien Hirst, is among the most expensive offerings in the auction with an estimate of €2,500-€3,500.
Seaside Day by Brian MacMahon at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE 850 AT HAMMER
Among the art at the Morgan O’Driscoll sale is a poster by Tracey Emin and a preparatory design by Mainie Jellett for The Stations of the Cross. The latter artist is currently on show at the National Gallery where The Art of Friendship exhibition featuring paintings, stained glass and preparatory drawings by Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone continues until August 10.
With estimates from €80 and €100 up at both Whyte’s and Morgan O’Driscoll there should be more than enough to tempt newcomers to the exciting world of Irish art auctions. They will join a growing band of seasoned collectors.
One of a set of six prints from the Irish animal series by Pauline Bewick at Whyte’s. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,200 AT HAMMER
Choices from 286 lots at Whytes include work by Gerard Byrne, Cecil Maguire, Desmond Carrick, Susan Webb, Peter Curling, Banksy, Pauline Bewick, John B Yeats, Tom Nisbet, Harry Kernoff and Joseph Sloan.
The were will be 430 lots at Morgan O’Driscoll’s sale with work by Graham Knuttel, Donald Teskey, Brian MacMahon, Gretta O’Brien, Ken Hamilton, Bridget Flannery, Ivan Sutton, Annemarie Bourke, Louis le Brocquy, Arthur Armstrong, Maria Simonds-Gooding and Maurice Desmond.
On Watch by Graham Knuttel at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500 AT HAMMER
Gretta O’Brien (1933-2017) – Autumn Reflection 1983. UPDATE: THIS MADE 660 AT HAMMER
This oil on canvas by Gretta O’Brien is lot 108 at Whyte’s summer online art auction which runs until June 30. The sale offers an array of affordable art from Ireland and around the world among 284 lots on offer. Autumn Reflection is estimated at just €700-900.
SEAMUS COLEMAN – NEAR ROUNDSTONE, CONNEMARA, 2004
This oil on canvas by Seamus Coleman is lot 32 at Whyte’s summer online art auction which runs until June 30. Viewing for this sale gets underway today. It offers a range of affordable art from Ireland and around the world. On offer is art by Graham Knuttel, Gerard Byrne, Cecil Maguire, Paul Henry, Jack Butler Yeats, Sidney Nolan, Pauline Bewick, Damien Hirst, Diana Copperwhite and many more. The catalogue is online. The estimate for lot 32 is €500-700.
Mainie Jellett – Achill Horses, 1933.
There was a new world record for Mainie Jellett at Whyte’s in Dublin when Achill Horses, painted in 1933, sold for a hammer price of €210,000. This is the second highest price for a painting by an Irishwoman. The painting was the focus of a battle between two telephone bidders and went to a private collection. A Sarah Purser portrait of Constance and Eva Gore Booth made €240,000 in the Lissadell House auction in 2003.
Whyte’s auction demonstrated continuing confidence in the market for Irish works of rarity and quality. Paul Henry’s West of Ireland Bog sold for €125,000, while Anglesea Market, Dublin, 1933 by Harry Kernoff made the top estimate of €40,000.
William John Leech’s Gardeners Joy nearly doubled its lower estimate of €15,000 to sell at €28,000, and a Louis le Brocquy watercolour Image of Francis Bacon, 1980, made double its lower estimate of €12,000. An Evie Hone watercolour Abstract Composition estimated €2,000 to €3,000 made €5,400, Charles Vincent Lamb oil West of Ireland Landscape, estimated at €1,500 to €2,000 made €3,600, Bridget Riley Magenta And Blue, 2002 lithograph, estimated at €8,000 to €12,000 made €14,500.
The previous record for Jellett was €110,000 for The Land Éire 1940 at Whyte’s in 2019. This painting can be seen at the National Gallery of Ireland’s current exhibition Mainie Jellett Evie Hone The Art of Friendship.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for May 24 and May 20, 2025)
