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Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Mainie Jellett painting fetches record price
There was great excitement at Whyte's art auction on Monday night when the Mainie Jellett painting Achill Horses, 1933, was sold to a private collector for €210,000. This is the highest price achieved for one of the Irish modernist painter's works to date, and the second-highest for a painting by an Irish woman. Sarah Purser's portrait of Constance and Eva Gore-Booth made €239,000 at the Lissadell House auction in 2003. The Jellett painting, which had an estimate of €70,000-€100,000, was one of a series of more representational works by the artist created in the 1930s. Previously, the highest price achieved for a Jellett painting was €110,000 for The Land Eire 1940, at Whyte's in 2019. This latter painting is part of the current National Gallery exhibition, Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone: The Art of Friendship . Garden calm Thoughtfully designed and thoroughly maintained gardens are more relaxing for the mind and body, according to a new Japanese study. The researchers found a correlation between rapid gaze shifts and a reduction in heart rate and improved mood among students interacting with Kyoto's famous Murin-an garden, compared with a garden in the University of Kyoto. READ MORE Visitors to Bloom , the annual gardening festival in the Phoenix Park this weekend will no doubt be seeking inspiration on how to create moments of calm when viewing the 21 show gardens on display. While many of the show gardens focus on naturalistic planting and biodiversity, there is also a nod to heritage. The Pot Gallery Garden's uses free standing and vertical pots to show how to create green spaces on terraces and balconies, and the Estate's Essence, a mini-walled garden inspired by garden designer Patrik Weisser's work on Abbeyleix House and Farm in Co Laois, are cases in point. Victor Mee's Summer Garden sale in Co Cavan on Tuesday, June 10th and 11th, has been timed to follow Bloom, with the expectation that gardening enthusiasts will be keen to create new areas of interest in their green spaces after their visit to the country's largest and most popular gardening festival. The 2025 Summer Garden sale at Mee's auction rooms has more than 1,000 lots. Outdoor sculptures are always of interest, but this year the bronze and cast-iron statuary features a range of wild and domesticated animals, including Irish hares, horses, sheep, ducks, pigs and red squirrels. Two life-size bronze pigs (€600-€1,200) at Victor Mee's Summer Garden sale Two bronze hares (€1,500-€2,500) Two bronze geese (€600-€1,200) Take for example, the two life-size bronze pigs (€600-€1,200), the two bronze hares (€1,500-€2,500), the two bronze geese (€600-€1,200) or the bronze galloping horse (€10,000-€20,000). Peter Dowdall of the Irish Gardener says animal sculptures can do something quite magical in a garden. 'They catch the eye, spark curiosity and often bring a sense of playfulness or nostalgia,' he says. There are also some larger pieces with the potential to become the centre pieces of a garden. These include a wrought-iron English Victorian-style glasshouse (€18,000-€22,000). And, then there is the usual mix of cast-iron tables, garden seats, bird baths, sundials and a good range of troughs in limestone and granite. The French wrought-iron entrance gates (€1,500-€2,500) might be exactly what a rural or urban homeowner requires to bring a dash of style to the entrance to their property. Irish sculptor Bob Quinn's Best Night Ever (€47,000) will feature on the grounds of Cork's Castlemartyr resort Irish sculptor Eamonn Ceannt's Happy Face III (€55,000) will feature on the grounds of Cork's five-star Castlemartyr resort The five-star Castlemartyr resort in Co Cork is the venue again this year for Art and Soul, the touring art and sculpture exhibition run by Gormleys Fine Art Gallery. This is the third time that Oliver Gormley has opted to use one of Cork's most luxurious hotels as the sumptuous setting for his art and sculpture sale. With more than 350 works for sale, including pieces by world famous artists such as Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Banksy and Salvador Dalí, the show is an opportunity for people to view works – even if they can't afford to buy. Ninety large sculptures and installations will be set throughout the 220-acre grounds of the 18th-century manor house estate. These include works by Irish sculptors Bob Quinn (Best Night Ever, €47,000) and Eamonn Ceannt (Happy Face III, €55,000). Both sculptors are renowned for their figurative work in bronze. Following a career as a commercial artist and designer, Quinn became a full-time sculptor in 2002. His works can be seen in the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, the Newman House garden on St Stephen's Green and on the University College Dublin sculpture trail. Similarly, Eamonn Ceannt turned to sculpture later in life, after a long career in the private and public sector. His work can be seen at Blarney Castle, Co Cork; Sligo town; Bewley's Cafe on Grafton Street; and on the UCD sculpture trail. Art & Soul at Castlemartyr runs June 1st-29th, 11am-7pm daily, with guided tours at noon, 3pm and 5pm each day. There is also a series of talks by participating artists. Anyone keen to incorporate a visit into an overnight at the hotel can avail of the Art + Soul visit and stay package. Finally, the biggest Vintage and Antiques Fair, run by Robin O'Donnell of Hibernian Antiques Fairs, goes ahead next weekend, June 7th and 8th, 11am-6pm at Limerick Racecourse. Admission €5 for adults and children go free. Antique and vintage dealers will also gather to sell their wares in the Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire, tomorrow (June 1st), 11am-5.30pm. Admission €3.50. And an Antiques, Vintage and Collectables fair will be held in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, on Sunday, June 8th, noon-5.30pm. , , , What did it sell for? West of Ireland Bog by Paul Henry West of Ireland Bog, Paul Henry Estimate €120,000-€180,000 Hammer price €125,000 Auction house Whyte's Anglesea Market, Dublin, 1933 by Harry Kernoff Anglesea Market, Harry Kernoff Estimate €30,000-€50,000 Hammer price €40,000 Auction house Whyte's Mid-18th-century limestone Medici lions Mid-18th-century Medici lions Estimate €50,000-€70,000 Hammer price €42,000 Auction house Adam's A life-size bronze horse by Anthony Scott. Bronze horse, Anthony Scott Estimate €30,000-€50,000 Hammer price €26,000 Auction house Sheppard's
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Artist Michael Kane dies at 89 shortly after opening show at Taylor Galleries
Celebrated Irish artist Michael Kane, who opened an exhibition of new work on Thursday, has died at the age of 89. Mr Kane, who would turn 90 on Monday, died on Friday afternoon following a short illness, his family said in a statement. Speaking to The Irish Times this year , Mr Kane acknowledged there was a possibility he might not reach 90, saying: 'Without actually trying, I do find myself living more in the moment than in the future or in the past.' The artist and writer from Dublin celebrated the opening of his solo exhibition of new work at the Taylor Galleries on Kildare Street, Dublin, on Thursday night with close family. READ MORE The painter was still producing work in his Dublin studio this month. Video: Bryan O'Brien His work is also currently on display at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma) and Hillsboro Fine Art in Dublin. Kane was still producing work in his studio this month and attended the opening of a major exhibition, Staying with the Trouble, at Imma, which featured several of his paintings. Born in Dublin in 1935, he was raised in Wicklow, before returning to the capital in 1956 to study at the National College of Art and Design. At the time, he said he was surprised to be accepted and more surprised to receive praise for his work by a tutor. 'I was in my early 20s, and that was the first person who ever praised anything I did. It was of tremendous significance to me,' he said. Since the 1960s, Kane has worked consistently, exhibiting his painting, drawing and print in Ireland and Europe including shows in Hugh Lane Gallery, Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), and Imma. Artist Michael Kane in his studio. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien/The Irish Times He was also among the first members of Aosdána, the affiliation association of creative artists in Ireland, and was a pivotal figure in the Independent Artists, a group created as an alternative to the RHA and the Living Art exhibition. In his 2023 memoir, Blind Dogs, he wrote: 'We were ambitious not just for our individual selves, but for art itself.' Kane was also a co-founder of the Project Arts Centre, and the editor of the sociopolitical art journal, Structure. Speaking to The Irish Times this year, Kane said he wondered if he would work again after spending part of 2024 in ill health. He subsequently began to paint while sitting down at a table instead of standing, 'to see what would come.' In the wide-ranging interview, he said: 'Most people are very intelligent, but they don't use parts of their brain a lot of the time and I think if they observed more, they would enjoy living a lot more.' Kane is survived by his widow, architect Shelley McNamara, his children Aoife and Oisín, and his brother Tony.
Irish Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Prominent Irish art from collection of former postman for sale at deVeres
The late art collector Alan Conroy had a good eye – an innate ability to discern quality. 'It's amazing how few people can distinguish a great painting from a good one, and how many people enthusiastically buy poor ones,' writes Dr Frances Ruane in a catalogue essay about him. The former postman, who lived in a relatively small house filled with art, art books and catalogues, regularly visited art galleries and auction rooms. He collected the work of prominent Irish artists from the 1970s onwards including Nano Reid, Sean McSweeney, Barrie Cooke, Colin Middleton, John Shinnors, Charles Tyrrell and Patrick Scott. 'His acquisitions suggest that he was drawn specifically to the painterly, semi-abstract tendency that dominated Irish art of that period,' writes Dr Ruane in the deVeres catalogue for an upcoming sale of part of his collection. READ MORE Conroy bequeathed several paintings to the National Gallery and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Now, the remaining 60 paintings in his collection are included in the Irish Art & Sculpture auction at deVeres on Tuesday, May 27th, at 6pm. One painting of note in the auction is Summer Inscape, Callan by Tony O'Malley (€15,000-€20,000). Dr Ruane describes O'Malley as 'a kingpin of the poetic genre that dominated the second half of the 20th century' – more upbeat than Louis le Brocquy and Patrick Collins, and more positively enraptured by his subjects and by certain places such as his birthplace, Callan, Co Kilkenny. O'Malley often drew from memory, capturing the 'inscape' of the place. Interestingly, Head of Tony O'Malley by Brian Bourke (€2,000-€3,000) is one of several pieces of sculpture in the deVeres auction. The sculptures will be exhibited in the garden of the Merrion Hotel, Dublin 2, May 19th-26th, while the art is on view at deVeres showrooms at 35 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Meanwhile, just around the corner, Whyte's auction rooms on Molesworth Street is also hosting an Irish and international art auction next week, on Monday, May 26th at 6pm in the Freemasons Hall, 17 Molesworth Street. The auction includes many impressive paintings by some of Ireland's best-known 20th-century artists, including Wiliam Percy French, Mildred Anne Butler, Grace Henry and Willian Leech. Anglesea Market, Dublin 1933 by Harry Kernoff (€30,000-€50,000) at Whyte's Irish and International Art auction Anglesea Market, Dublin, 1933 by Harry Kernoff (€30,000-€50,000), a painting purchased directly from the artist and for sale for the first time since then, is one piece of note. Viewing of all works in Whyte's galleries is May 19th-26th. Also at 31 Molesworth Street, Bonhams will hold a showcase of paintings, prints, furniture and sculpture in their forthcoming summer London sales, May 22nd-28th. Jack B Yeats: Crossing the City Roderic O'Conor: A Woman Seated, Holding Two Roses These include highly collectable pieces by Paul Henry (The Milk Cart £120,000-£180,000/€140,000-€210,000), Jack B Yeats (Crossing the City, £100,000-£150,000/€120,000-€170,000) and Roderic O'Conor (A Woman Seated, Holding Two Roses, £50,000-£70,000/€58,000-€81,000) all of which will be for sale in Bonhams' Modern British and Irish Art auction on New Bond Street, London, on June 18th. Prints by Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein and others to be sold at Bonhams Print sale on New Bond Street, London, on June 25th, will also be on show. Finally, Adam's online auction of architectural salvage and garden statuary on Tuesday, May 20th, is on view at their auction partner The Store Yard in Portlaoise, Co Laois, today, tomorrow and Monday. The Store Yard – which was recently featured in this column – is a treasure trove of antiques and collectables. This auction has a wide selection of stone statues and busts from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, as well as garden urns, cast iron gates, seats and fountains. In a catalogue essay, garden designer Diarmuid Gavin writes poetically that 'statues softened by time, urns that have held the weight of trailing roses, sundials once surrounded by lavender and bees' bring a 'quiet grandeur' to gardens. As Ireland has basked in early summer sun this year, garden owners will no doubt be seeking out striking pieces to enrich their verdant surroundings. Gavin continues, 'as a garden designer, I believe that beauty in a garden lies as much in its ornamentation and craft as in its growth – and these pieces offer that rare stillness, anchoring a space in both history and imagination.' The top lot in the Adam's Home to Garden auction is a pair of mid-18th-century limestone Medici Lions (€50,000-€70,000) The top lot in the Adam's House to Garden auction is a pair of mid 18th century limestone Medici lions (€50,000-€70,000). Inspired by a second-century Roman marble statue and a later work carved by Roman sculptor Flaminio Vacca for Villa Medici in Rome (later moved to Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence), carved stone versions of the Medici lions became widely adopted ornaments in 18th-century gardens in Britain and Ireland. Another standout piece is a cast-iron fountain of the Three Graces (daughters of Zeus) (€8,000-€12,000), made in 19th-century Paris, inspired by one commissioned by Catherine de Medici to house the ashes of her husband, King Henri II of France. , , , What did it sell for? Ring with Kashmir sapphire and diamonds Kashmir sapphire Estimate €150,000-€200,000 Hammer price €550,000 Auction house Adam's A rare cultured pearl clip pendant brooch circa 1940 Pearl clip pendant brooch, circa 1940 Estimate €5,000-€7,000 Hammer price Not sold Auction house Adam's An early-20th-century pearl necklace with diamond clasp, circa 1920 Early-20th-century pearl necklace Estimate €8,000-€12,000 Hammer price €48,000 Auction house Adam's René Boivin Bombé ring René Boivin Bombé ring Estimate €15,000 – €20,000 Hammer price €17,000 Auction house Adam's
Irish Times
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Pioneering modernists Jellett and Hone on view and on sale
The current National Gallery exhibition will undoubtedly bring more attention to works by two 20th-century trailblazers in Irish art. Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone – The Art of Friendship, is the spring/summer exhibition at the National Gallery , comprising of 90 works of paintings, stained glass and drawings by these pioneering modernists. The exhibition explores the 'early convergences and later divergencies in their styles', and their shared experiences of studying in Paris during the 1920s. Interestingly, many of the works on display are borrowed from private collections (it must be quite prestigious to loan your paintings to an exhibition in the National Gallery). Evie Hone piece at Morgan O'Driscoll's auction is entitled Abstract Composition with an estimate of €8,000-€12,000. Photograph: Phil Pound Coinciding with the exhibition, there are works by Evie Hone for sale at two upcoming auctions – Morgan O'Driscoll's Irish Art Auction, which closes on Monday from 6.30pm-9.45pm, and Sheppard's Irish and International Art auction on Wednesday, May 14th at 7pm online and in person. Evie Hone's cubist composition study for a stained glass window at Sheppard's Irish and International Art auction (€3,000-€5,000). The Evie Hone piece at Morgan O'Driscoll's auction is entitled Abstract Composition, and has an estimate of €8,000-€12,000. Her piece at Sheppard's is a cubist composition study for a stained glass window (€3,000-€5,000). There is also a Floral Study by Mainie Jellett at the O'Driscoll auction (€800-€1,200). READ MORE Floral Study by Mainie Jellett at Morgan O'Driscoll auction (€800-€1,200). Fans of Hone and Jellett may be interested in a talk by artists Susan Connolly and Brian Fay about the influence Jellett has had on their work. This will take place on Thursday, May 15th at 6.30 pm in the National Gallery. Meanwhile, coincidentally, aquatint etchings created by Irish artist Sean Scully appear in both the O'Driscoll auction, and the Lot 100 Contemporary Art sale, online until May 20th. Liliane #7 (O'Driscoll's) by Irish artist, Sean Scully has an estimate of €5,000-€7,000 at Morgan O'Driscoll's Irish Art online auction. Photograph: Phil Pound According to Ken Madden of Lot 100, this series of aquatints from 2010 were among the most personal works created by Scully, just after the birth of his son, Oisin. 'Named after his wife, artist Liliane Tomasko, they capture a new chapter in Scully's life and reflect the relationships, feelings and emotions… at this time,' says Madden. Liliane #1 (Lot 100) and Liliane #7 (O'Driscoll's) each have an estimate of €5,000-€7,000. Lot 100 is selling Dancing at Lismore Castle, Ireland by American artist, Dale Chihuly (€3,000-€5,000) in their upcoming Contemporary Art May Sale. The American artist, Dale Chihuly spent some time at Lismore Castle in Co Waterford in 1995, as part of his preparation for his ambitious project of glass chandeliers to be hung at 15 locations around Venice the following year. While in Ireland, Chihuly worked with local glassmakers at Waterford Crystal, adding colour to the Irish crystal glass. He also travelled to glass factories in Finland, Mexico and Italy, and his subsequent project, Chihuly Over Venice, was a striking three-dimensional addition to this already richly adorned city ( ). Now, Lot 100 is selling a Chihuly painting, Dancing at Lismore Castle, Ireland (€3,000-€5,000), which he completed during his stay in Lismore. The Sheppard and Morgan O'Driscoll auctions also have a wide range of works by established artists working during the turn of the 20th century, as well as the generation of artists which followed them. Contemporary pieces by sculptors such as Rowan Gillespie, John Behan, Catherine Delaney, Conor Fallon, and Markey Robinson – who is perhaps better known for his representational paintings than his sculptures – are also included. A life-size bronze horse by Anthony Scott (€30,000-€50,000) is perhaps one of the most stand-out piece of sculpture for sale at Sheppard's Irish and International Art auction. A life-size bronze horse by Anthony Scott (€30,000-€50,000) is one of the stand-out pieces of sculpture for sale at Sheppard's, while Morgan O'Driscoll says that the work of Taiwanese artist, Chiu Ya-tsai is very popular at the moment. His painting, Female Profile (€30,000-€50,000), is one of the 250 lots in O'Driscoll's auction. Taiwanese artist, Chiu Ya-tsai's painting, Female Profile (€30,000-€50,000) is one of the 250 lots in Morgan O'Driscoll's auction. Photograph: Phil Pound Finally, film prop rental companies and theatre set managers may be interested in Sheppard's auction of items from a former private museum dedicated to Irish transport and rural life on Tuesday, May 13th. The auction has everything from a 1949 Ford Anglia two-door car (€4,000-€6,000), to a Marston Landau carriage - circa 1908 – (€8,000-€12,000), to a 19th-century penny farthing bicycle (€4,000-€6,000). There is also a wide range of vintage household and gardening utensils and tools and 19th- and 20th-century vernacular Irish furniture – chairs, tables, cabinets, kitchen dressers, spongeware pottery, etc – which would fit well into many period dramas. The public can view the items from the Transport Museum Collection between Saturday, May 10th and Monday, May 12th from 11am-4pm across two locations, depending on lot number, in Rathcoole, Dublin (D24 XP52) and Durrow, Co Laois (R32 FN88). The sale itself will take place live and online at Sheppard's Durrow auction rooms, starting from 10am on Tuesday, May 13th. Vintage vehicle enthusiasts in Wexford, Wicklow and Carlow should also keep an eye out for the Rolls Royce Ghost Club tour from May 11th-16th, as Irish Georgian Society London members travel through these counties visiting country houses en route. ; ; ; What did it sell for? A letter written by Colonel Archibald Gracie, a first-class passenger and survivor of the Titanic. The letter has sold for £300,000 at auction. Photograph: Henry Aldridge & Son/PA Wire Letter from Titanic survivor Estimate £60,000 Hammer price £300,000 (€352,000) Auction house Henry Aldridge and Son Co Kerry by Henri Cartier-Bresson, which sold at auction for nearly €8,000. Co Kerry, Henri Cartier-Bresson Estimate $6,000 - 8,000 Hammer price $8,890 (€7,840) Auction house Phillips Going to the Mill, by LS Lowry, sold at auction in the UK. Photograph: David Parry/Lyon and Turnbull/PA Wire Going to the Mill, LS Lowry Estimate £700,000-£1 million Hammer price £805,200 (€912,000) Auction house Lyon and Turnbull Longines. Longines chrome watch Hammer price €8,320 Auction house Bonham's Paris
