Auctioneers must instinctively know that summer time is a good time to sell art, as Whyte’s, deVeres and Adam’s will all hold art auctions towards the end of May. With the darker months dedicated to consolidating works for sale, and meeting collectors and inheritors of art collections, the excitement is building. Potential buyers are looking up online catalogues and visiting auction rooms to view paintings, sculptures and other works before the auctions on May 25th (Whyte’s); 26th (deVeres) and 27th (Adam’s).
Whyte’s Irish art sale is up first, with viewing in the Freemasons Hall, Molesworth St, Dublin 2 from Monday, May 18th to Monday, May 25th, the day of the sale. The top lot is Paul Henry’s Dapping on Lough Mask (€150,000-€200,000). Described as a rare, late example of the Belfast-born artist’s work, Henry himself chose this painting as one of eight works to illustrate his autobiography, An Irish Portrait. Another earlier Henry work at Whyte’s, A Bog by the Sea (€70,000-€90,000), depicts Blacksod Bay, north of Achill Island.
DeVeres’ art auction on Tuesday, May 26th, also includes a Paul Henry painting. Entitled Evening at the Upper Lake, Killarney (€100,000-€150,000), it was exhibited in a North American exhibition of contemporary Irish art in 1950. Painted when Henry was in his mid-60s, art critics say that it – and the Blacksod Bay painting – were influenced by the work of American abstract painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler, who tutored Henry in Paris years earlier.
The painting Travelling People, 1945 (€100,000-€150,000), from Louis le Brocquy’s series of works on Irish Travellers, at Whyte’s, is also expected to attract interest. In the catalogue notes, Dr Yvonne Scott says le Brocquy combined “antiquity, migration, exclusion [and] religo-mythical superstitions” in this painting of a Traveller encampment in the Irish midlands. Le Brocquy was 30 when he completed the series.
A watercolour on paper, of one of Aloysius O’Kelly’s most famous paintings, Mass in a Connemara Cabin, was found in the attic of a rectory in New York state in the 1960s. It hung on the wall of a retired priest’s home until it was sold in the Gorry Gallery in Dublin in 2005. The present owner is now selling this historically significant piece through Whyte’s, with an estimate of €20,000-€30,000. The painting itself – which was exhibited in Paris in 1884 – is on permanent loan to the National Gallery of Ireland from a Catholic diocese in Scotland.
Paul Henry’s Dapping on Lough Mask (€150,000-€200,000), Whyte’s Art Auction Watercolour on paper of Mass in a Connemara Cabin (€20,000-€30,000), by Aloysius O’Kelly, Whyte’s
One of Andy Warhol’s Moonwalk screen-prints (€200,000-€300,000) is a highlight in the deVeres Art Auction. A leading figure in American pop art, Warhol explored the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, consumerism and celebrity culture. while becoming a celebrity himself.
In the deVeres catalogue, art critic Aidan Dunne writes that the Moonwalk prints were among the last works the artist created before his death. “They were intended as part of a portfolio entitled TV, that would depict important images from the history of television in America,” writes Dunne. There were 66 trial prints produced, each with a unique colour variation. The print for sale is number 39.
Andy Warhol Moonwalk screenprint (€200,000-€300,000), deVeres
Cubist Trees by Mary Swanzy (€15,000-€20,000) at deVeres was painted at around the same time as the Swanzy painting Cubist Landscape with Trees ($30,000-$50,000/€25,4800-€42,470), which is for sale at the live auction of Doyle auctioneers in New York on May 20th.
It – alongside Evie Hone’s cubist work, Composition With Guitar ($20,000-$30,000) – is part of the Irish Modern Art collection of the late Joseph M Murphy that Doyle auctioneers is selling. The son of Irish immigrants, Murphy was a distinguished financier and philanthropist in the United States. Work by Irish artists Gerard Dillon and Patrick Collins are among others included in the sale.
Cubist trees by Mary Swanzy (€15,000-€20,000), deVeres
Finally, one of Ireland’s most captivating architectural salvage and antiques shops, the Store Yard in Portlaoise, Co Laois, is the venue for the preview of Adam’s House to Garden auction this weekend.
Aficionados of this treasure trove of furniture, decorative objects, interior and exterior fittings and furnishings can peruse the enchanting collection. It includes stone pillars and bird baths, limestone troughs, pier caps, classical-style marble and metal statuary, sundials, cast-iron garden benches and farm gates, exhibited in the large warehouse and its outdoor space today and tomorrow from 11am-5pm and on Monday (May 18th) from 10am-5pm.
Stone and wrought-iron gazebo (€4,000-€6,000), at Adam’s House to Garden auction, previewing in the Storeyard, Portlaoise this weekend Pair of large Italian lemon tree urns (€2,000-€3,000), Adam’s House to Garden auction Marble bust by John Gibson (1790-1866), with an estimate of €6,000-€10,000, Adam’s House to Garden auction Garden designer Diarmuid Gavin at Adam’s sale
Highlights include a marble bust of a classical female with headdress by John Gibson (1790-1866), with an estimate of €6,000-€10,000. A pair of large Italian lemon tree urns (€2,000-€3,000), and a stone and wrought-iron gazebo (€4,000-€6,000) are other standout pieces.
Garden designer Diarmuid Gavin gives potential buyers inspiration by filling some of the large urns and vases with floral displays for the viewing. The timed online-only auction will go ahead on Tuesday, May 19th from 11am at Adam’s.
Whytes.ie; Deveres.ie; Adams.ie; Doyle.com
What did it sell for?
Kashmir sapphire ring in the centre of a cluster of diamonds, Adam’s
Kashmir sapphire ring
- Estimate: €50,000-€90,000
- Hammer price: €102,000
- Auction house: Adam’s
Cartier Art Deco rock crystal, enamel and diamond set clock, Adam’s
Cartier Art Deco clock
- Estimate: €20,000-€30,000
- Hammer price: €65,000
- Auction house: Adam’s
Late 19th century French gold and sapphire desk clock, Adam’s
19th century French gold and sapphire clock
- Estimate: €8,000-€12,000
- Hammer price: €36,000
- Auction house: Adam’s
Upright portraits, late 17th/early 18th century
Pair of upright portraits from late 17th/early 18th century
- Estimate: €3,000-€4,000
- Hammer price: €73,000
- Auction house: Fonsie Mealy
Madonna and Child, with the Infant St John the Baptist, by Raffaellino del Garbo (Florence, 1466-1524)
Madonna and Child, with the Infant St John the Baptist, Raffaellino del Garbo
- Estimate: €5,000-€7,000
- Hammer price: €13,000
- Auction house: Fonsie Mealy
