Whyte’s RDS Irish & International Art Sale
Royal Dublin Society, Anglesea Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin .4.
A sale full of quality and many of the big names of Irish Art are represented.
Amongst the 211 Lots are fine landscapes by William Percy French, James Humbert Craig, Paul Henry, Maurice Canning Wilks, portraits by William Orpen, Seán O’Sullivan, Paul Nietsche, and Harry Kernoff. There’s also a fair dollop of Abstract rubbish in the sale including two Jack B Yeats works both of which carry the top estimates in the sale of €100,000 – €150,000 and which will undoubtedly reach or surpass their reserves.
Lot.9.”A Kerry Bog” 1934/35, oil on canvas (16″ x 18″) by Paul Henry which carries an estimate of €60/80,000.
Lot.19. “A Passage is Required” 1953, oil on board (9″ x 14″) by Jack Butler Yeats – Est: €100/150,000.
The star of the sale, for me, is the Harry Kernoff portrait of Aer Lingus Pilot, Captain John Tweddle (pictured below) which has an interesting back story.
Born in 1917, John Lawson Tweddle was a keen sportsman, winning medals for activities as diverse as diving and athletics, and being capped for Ulster rugby on at least four occasions. During World War II he served with the RAF and was made Flight Lieutenant. After the war, he worked for Aer Lingus and was one of the first pilots to fly BAC 1-11 jets in the early sixties. He was a close friend of Harry Kernoff. The painting comes with a copy of a 1965 newspaper article from the Daily Express, featuring Captain Tweddle who was shortly to appear in a musical. The paper reported that Tweddle (the “Singing Skipper”) was being allowed a week’s leave from Aer Lingus in order to play the part of Sultan Ali Ben Ali in the airline company’s own production of the “Desert Song”. Ref.Whytes.
Lot.42. “Portrait of Aer Lingus Pilot, John Tweddle” 1960, pastel (13.5″ x 10″), Harry Kernoff – Est: €800/1,200.
Viewing: Saturday 2nd to Monday 4th March from 10.00am – 6.00pm daily
Full catalogue with online bidding here: 
Strong Results at Whyte’s Sale of Irish & International Art
Whyte’s sale of Irish & International Art – Dublin 29th September, 2014
There were strong results for both contemporary and traditional works in last night’s Irish & International Art Auction. The top result achieved was for the featured front cover entitled LE COURTISAN GROTESQUE (NO. 6) by Joan Miró which sold for €68,000 and Sir John Lavery remains ever popular with bidders battling it out for LADY IN GREEN (MRS. CARA H) which finally sold for €30,000. Andy Warhol was in demand by both national and international bidders with DOUBLE DAISY exceeding its estimate to sell for €27,000. Whyte’s Press release.
Above: Lot.101. The child-like series of squiggles of Spanish painter Joan Miró “Le Courtisan Grotesque (No.6)” achieved, as expected, the top price – €68,000 (pre-sale Est.€60-80,000). As abstract stuff goes, it’s inoffensive, but not my cup of tea.
Below: Lot.100. the Andy Warhol screenprint “Double Daisy” again inoffensive is the best that I can say but at €27,000……
Suprisingly, Lot.22. an oil on canvas by Paul Henry “In the West of Ireland” failed to sell (the pre-sale estimate of €45-55,000) but you can still have it – see below.
Many of the unsold lots are still available see list here: http://www.whytes.ie/AuctionPDFs/20140929US.pdf
Collect Ireland 