Bonhams Auctioneers,

101, New Bond Street, London

www.bonhams.com/irishart

The long heralded launch of Bonhams Irish Art Department is nearly upon us. Bonhams will hold its first sale of Irish Art on the 9th February in New Bond Street, marking the end of the company’s long-standing association with Adams Auctioneers in Dublin. After twelve years of working jointly on Irish Art auctions, Bonhams and Adams have decided to hold separate sales.

Bonhams Irish Art Department is headed up by Penny Day, also a Senior Specialist in the 20th Century British Department at Bonhams. She joined 20th Century British & Irish Art at Bonhams in 2006, following a year with Christie’s British & Irish Art division.  The Department will offer an annual sale including traditional and modern paintings, works on paper and sculpture, representing the very best of Irish art.

IRISH ART SALE

On: 9^th February, 2011 at 2.00pm

108 Lots including works by Maurice Canning Wilks, Paul Henry, Jack B Yeats, Louis le Brocquy, Colin Middleton etc.etc. As usual it is one of the big names – Louis le Brocquy who is expected to fetch the top price (Lot.50), yet another of his heads, “ Image of Francis Bacon” which carries an incredible estimate of €71,000 – €95,000 for a barely visible image. However, this time I’ll let him away with it and I reserve my scorn for Lot.59. a childish daub by Séan McSweeney entitled “The Pool” which is like something my seven year old would have brought home from school a couple of years ago! You be the judge, here it is below in all its glory and carries an estimate of €3,600 – €4,700 – surely another candidate for “The Emperor’s New Clothes Award”?

Lot.59. "The Pool" by Séan McSweeney. Est.€3,600 - €4,700!

Full catalogue available here: http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/WService=wslive_pub/pubweb/publicSite.r

Morgan O’Driscoll,

Cork Road, Skibbereen, Co.Cork

Telephone: (028) 22338/21183

Mobile: (086) 247 2425

Email: info@morganodriscoll.com

IRISH ART AUCTION

On: Monday 7th February, 2011 at 6.30pm

At: The Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Little Island, Cork

Directions: http://www.radissonblu.ie/hotel-cork/location

276 Lots of Art with many familiar names: Robert Ballagh, Pauline Bewick, Frank Egginton, Percy French, Harry Kernoff, Cecil King, Graham Knuttel, Arthur K Maderson, Gladys McCabe, John Morris, Markey Robinson, Norman Teeling and a host of lesser known artists. Prices range from a couple of hundred Euros to the high single figure thousands i.e. there are no stellar works by artists such as Paul Henry but still lots to interest the collector.

Viewing: Sun.6th Feb. 12 Noon to 10pm and Mon.7th Feb. 10am to 4pm.

Lot.14. "A Soft Day Co.Kerry" by Frank Egginton - Est.€600-900.

Full illustrated catalogue online here: http://www.morganodriscoll.com/searchresults.asp?AucID=81

Dolan’s Art Auction House,

11 Woodquay, Galway

Tel: (091) 569 300 or 569 3001

Email: info@dolansart.com

IRISH ART AUCTION IN CORK

230 Lots of paintings & sculpture – majority of lots sold with no reserve.

At: The Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork

On: Sunday 23^rd January, 2011 at 3pm

Viewing:

Fri. 21^st January  2pm -9pm

Sat. 22^nd January 9am-9pm

Sun.23^rd January 9am-2.30pm

Online catalogue here: http://dolansart.com/catalogue.pdf

Telephone Bidding and Commission Bidding on Request. Buyers Premium 18% + VAT.

Once again Dolans have pulled out all the stops in putting together an eclectic mix of highly affordable Irish Art for their Cork sale. There are some 230 Lots including many of the usual faces – Kenneth Webb, Alexander Williams, Markey Robinson, Arthur K Maderson, Norman Teeling and Graham Knuttel – but it is some of the less well known names that give the sale added interest. Amongst these are a large number of very pleasing seascapes by former RTE presenter Thelma Mansfield, a selection of still-life works by David Ffrench le Roy, paintings with a maritime theme by Ivan Sutton and Mat Grogan, plus some distinctive John Morris beach scenes.  There are also a number of interesting paintings with a Cork connection including some fine views of shipping on the Lee; Glandore, Crosshaven  and Kinsale also feature. Some fascinating caricatures by Irish born John Schwatschke see:  http://www.johnschwatschke.com/ complete what is a really worthwhile sale with something for every taste and pocket.

Lot.52. "The Office Day Out" Oil on canvas by John Schwatschke - Est. €750-850

Whyte’s Fine Art & Collectibles Auctioneers & Valuers
38 Molesworth Street,  Dublin .2.
Tel: (01) 676 2888  Fax: (01) 676 2880

iw@whytes.ie

ART FOR CHRISTMAS SALE

On: Monday 13th December 2010 at 6pm

226 Lots. An eclectic mix of paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture and art books, estimated from €100 to around €2,000. The ideal hunting ground for a thoughtful gift of real and enduring value.

Viewing: Wednesday 8th December to Monday 13th December
10am to 6pm daily (12 noon to 6pm on Sunday)

Catalogue online here: www.whytes.com

Amongst the interesting collection is Lot.128. a wonderful Paul Henry poster produced for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway. A fraction of the price of an original Paul Henry, and of infinitely superior quality to a print, but it’s not clear from the catalogue whether the poster header is missing. Even without the header it’s a nice item but if it is missing the value as an item of railway memorabilia will be greatly reduced – although perhaps not to an art collector.

Lot.128. LMS poster by Paul Henry. Est. €800-1,000.

“COME TO ULSTER FOR A BETTER HOLIDAY”

Printed by S. Callen & Co Belfast and London. A very rare and desirable collector’s item. Paul Henry’s paintings lent themselves to poster designs and he received many commissions, principally from the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, who ran the Irish Sea passenger ships in the 1920s to 1940s. Even after nationalisation British Railways continued to use his landscapes and the Irish Tourist Board were using a Henry painting in a poster design in the 1970s. Est. €800-1000

Yesterday’s (29^th Nov.) sale at the RDS saw almost 30% of the 191 lots go unsold which is probably more of a reflection of the times we are living in rather than the quality of art on offer. That said, top quality items still achieved decent prices and “Fisherman in a Currach” by Paul Henry sold for €145,000 (Est.€100-150,000) with “The Bog Road” by the same artist going for €44,000 (Est.€50-70,00). Sixteen out of the seventeen Percy French watercolours were sold at or above their pre-sale estimates, with the particularly seasonal “Girl with Toboggan” selling for €6,000 (Est.€2,500-3,500). The two Jack Butler Yeats paintings failed to sell.

"Girl with Toboggan" by William Percy French. Sold for €6,000 (Est.€2,500-3,500)

Full realisation list online here: http://www.whytes.ie/i6.asp?Auction=20101129

Dolan’s recent sale (21^st November) at the Marriot Hotel in Galway saw many paintings sell at very affordable prices with the bulk of the 237 lots fetching between €500 and €1,000. There were many bargains at the lower end of the price range  with Lot.19. the atmospheric “Mallard at Downpatrick” –oil on canvas – by Bertie Higgins being knocked down for a paltry €250 – surely one of the bargains of the sale?

Mallard at Downpatrick by Bertie Higgins. Est.€3-400. Sold €250.

Star of the show was Lot.126. “The Claddagh” by Kenneth Webb – oil on canvas – which sold for €8,000 (the upper end of its pre-sale estimate).

The Claddagh by Kenneth Webb. Sold for €8,000.

Full realization list here: http://dolansart.com/home.htm

Adam’s,

St.Stephen’s Green, Dublin.2.

Tel: (01) 676 0261 Fax: (01) 662 4725

info@adams.ie

SALE OF IMPORTANT IRISH ART

At: The Salerooms, 26 St.Stephen’s Green

On: Monday 6th December at 6pm

180 lots – a veritable who’s who of the Irish Art World including Jack B Yeats, Graham Knuttel, Tony O’Malley, John Luke, Louis le Brocquy, Maurice MacGonigal, Colin Middleton, Daniel O’Neill, Gerard Dillon, Nathaniel Hone, Sir John Lavery, Frank Egginton, Peter Curling, Paul Henry, Norah McGuinness, Mary Swanzy, Roderic O’Connor, Martin Mooney, Markey Robinson, Charles Lamb.

Once again it the ‘art’ of Jack B Yeats which dominates this sale between his admittedly pretty doodles from a sketchbook presented to his friend Ernie O’Malley, to another of his famous daubs – “Lingering Sun“. An extract from the catalogue reads as follows: Lingering Sun, O’Connell Street, This painting is an early example, of a highly significant work from Yeats ‘mature style. This resplendent picture featured in the prominent collection of one of this century’s most flamboyant admirers of Ireland and of Yeats, the film director John Huston.
The painting is set along the quays in the centre of Dublin. The city is bathed in a fading evening light, as dusk takes hold, the roof tops are silhouetted against the lustrous western sky. In the foreground, back turned, the flower seller gazes out to the viewer, a contemplative figure lounges on a parapet close by, while life winds down in the background, a book seller closes up for the day and a lighted tram passes over O’Connell bridge.

Here it is in all its glory – see what you make of it.

"Lingering Sun, O'Connell Bridge" by Jack B Yeats. Est.€150,000-200,000

Viewing:

Sat. 4th December 11.00am – 5.00pm;

Sun. 5th December 11.00am – 5.00pm

and day of sale 9.30am – 4.00pm

Catalogue online: http://www.adams.ie/BidCat/catindex.asp

Adam’s Bank of Ireland Art Sale on Wednesday 24^th November saw only one lot fail to sell with the sale realising some €1.5 million – not bad in these post- Celtic Tiger times!

Unsurprisingly the star of the sale was Lot.109. ‘Clouds at Sunset’ by Paul Henry which sold for €55,000 (Est.€30-50,000) closely followed by Lot.11. ‘Out with the Nets’ by Gerard Dillon which sold for €50,000 – well above its pre-sale estimate of €25-30,000.

Out with the Nets by Gerard Dillon. Sold for €50,000 (Est.€25-30,000)

Lot.89. ‘Sand and Light’ by Tony O’Malley (see picture  in earlier post) went for €36,000 against the pre-sale estimate of €40-60,000 while Lot.22. ‘Moorland Water’ by Patrick Collins – a horrible daub pictured below – sold for an unbelievable €38,000. Amusingly the Adams website contains several references to pictures being ‘upside down or wrong way round’ in the  catalogue  – that speaks volumes about so called ‘modern/abstract’ Art.

Moorland Water by Patrick Collins. Sold for an incredible €38,000!

The full catalogue with prices achieved online here: http://www.adams.ie/default.asp

Whyte’s Auctions,

38, Molesworth Street, Dublin.2.

Tel: (+353) (0)1 676 2888

Email: iw@whytes.ie

Monday 29^th November, 2010 at 6pm

SALE OF IMPORTANT IRISH ART

At: The RDS Clyde Rooms, Anglesea Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin.4.

Approx. 200 lots of Fine Irish Art to include works by William Percy French,  Andrew Nicholl, Mildred Anne Butler, Erskine Nicol, Nathaniel Hone, William Conor, Harry Kernoff, Patrick Leonard, George Russell (“AE”), Jack Butler Yeats, Paul Henry, Mary Swanzy, Gerard Dillon, Louis le Brocquy, Robert Ballagh, Francis Bacon, Tony O’Malley, John Shinnors, Kenneth Webb, John Francis Skelton, Norman Teeling, Markey Robinson, and Graham Knuttel.

Fisherman in a currach by Paul Henry. Est.€100-150,00

As usual it is the two Paul Henry works that eclipse everything else in this sale in terms of the their expected sale value. Fisherman in a Currach has an estimate of €100,000-150,000 while The Bog Road has an estimate of €50-70,000. There are also two large collections of works by William Percy French (17  to choose from!) and 10 works by Markey Robinson.

Online catalogue here: http://www.whytes.com/i7.asp?Auction=20101129&Lot=1

Viewing at The RDS Clyde Rooms – see above.
Saturday to Monday 27th-29th November, 10am-6pm daily

Dolan’s Art Auction House,

11 Woodquay, Galway

Tel: (091) 569 300 or 569 3001

Email: info@dolansart.com

Dolan’s Galway Art Auction,

At: The Marriott Hotel, Headford Road, Galway

On: Sunday 21^st November at 3pm

237 lots of paintings (incl.works by Graham Knuttel, James Cahill, Norman Teeling, John Skelton,Henry Morgan, Markey Robinson, John Morris,Val and Roland Byrne,  Arthur K Maderson) and some superb Connemara landscapes by Liam Jones carry very reasonable estimates,  sculpture by Charles Ludlow, prints and much more besides. The majority of lots will be sold with no reserve.

Connemara Ponies by Liam Jones.Oil on canvas. Est.€1,000-1,500. A gem!

Viewing:

Fri.19^th Nov. 2.00pm – 9pm

Sat.20^th Nov. 10.00am – 9pm

Sun.21^st Nov. 10.00am – 2.30pm

Online catalogue here: http://dolansart.com/home.htm