AUTUMN ART SALE CLOSES FOR BIDDING NEXT MONDAY
AFFORDABLE ART ABOUNDS IN WHYTE’S AUTUMN ONLINE-ONLY AUCTION 5 OCTOBER
Opening the sale is an enticing selection of works by John Francis Skelton, an artist gathering momentum on the auction scene; among the scenes available is the iconic 'An Opening', Aran, Galway (illustrated above, lot 4 €600-€800) as well as Dublin views in Dalkey, the Phoenix Park, Kerry and Bantry Bay. Examples by North County Dublin native Ciaran Clear – consigned from the family of the artist – (lots 9 & 11) guide €1,500-€2,000 for a sizeable seascape in oil and only €200-€300 for a rare abstract in gouache. Other attractive examples in the genre include Summer Festival, Roundstone Bay, Co. Galway by Ivan Sutton (lot 87, €1,500-€2,000), John Morris, Surfboard on Lahinch Beach, Co. Clare, 2006 (lot 121, €300-€500) and a wonderful example in watercolour – Beach Scene, lot 93 - by renowned artist Frank McKelvey guides just €800-€1,200.
COOL CONTEMPORARIES
Thought you couldn’t afford a work by Hughie O’Donoghue, Louis le Brocquy, Basil Blackshaw, Richard Gorman… think again! A beautiful carborundum by O’Donoghue (lot 13) guides €500-€700, while le Brocquy’s lithograph, Hand, 1971 (lot 17) is estimated €1,000-€1,500. Gorman recently exhibited a new body of work, ‘Dalkey’, with the prestigious Kerlin Gallery in spring, a woodblock by him (lot 16) should sell between €600-€800. Keep an eye out for wonderful oils by Robert Armstrong (lot 14, €800-€1,000) and Jeremiah Hoad (lot 102, €700-€1,000) both artists featured in Irish Arts Review autumn 2020 edition.
WONDERING WHAT YOUR NEW MASTERPIECE WILL LOOK LIKE ON YOUR WALL?
What we ask ourselves before we buy… will it fit, will it tie in with our other pictures or the wallpaper, will the other half approve? Don’t worry, Whyte’s has you covered. The online catalogue offers the Art Virtualiser App so you can – using your smart phone – envisage how each picture will look to scale on your own wall. For those with plenty of space there is great value in larger canvases such as lots 18 & 19 by American pop artist and former assistant to Andy Warhol - Steve Kaufman. His screenprints on canvas of Marilyn guide €800-€1,200 and €600-€800 respectively and were acquired directly from the artist by the seller. Other international names included in the sale are Salvador Dalí (lot 20, €900-€1,200) and George Braque (lot 48 €100-€200).
International best-selling author Maeve Binchy’s original artwork for some of her best-loved novels – by British artist John Hancock - makes an unusual collection in the sale (lots 181 to 186 guide €400-€700). The late Irish author and artist J. P. Donleavy features with a watercolour (lot 188, €400-600) shown at his retrospective exhibition in Dublin in 2006.
LOOKING FOR A PIECE OF IRISH ART HISTORY?
Ireland’s best-known names feature in this sale. If an oil by Paul Henry is out of reach, a photolithographic print, The Potato Diggers, lot 173 guides €300-€500. However, even these prints can spiral in price as our May online sale proved. A delightful collection of Cuala Press prints by Jack Butler Yeats guide from €100 to €800 including lot 165, The Camelopard (€150-€250). Lots 156-162 by Harry Kernoff guide from €150 for a signed print to €600-€800 for an original pastel such as Man of Aran (lot 157). A strong body of work by Gladys Maccabe – consigned from the artist’s family – comprises lot 133-138 and includes an example by her husband Max. Still Life, lot 136 guides €500-€700. A number of works by lesser spotted women artists are included in the sale and very reasonably estimated. Among them, lot 214 by Sarah Cecilia Harrison, Head of A Bearded Gentleman. Harrison became the first female city councillor for Dublin Corporation in 1912 and was closely involved in Hugh Lane's efforts to establish a gallery of modern art in Dublin. She claimed that they were engaged to be married prior to his death on the Lusitania. Fascinating artist and pioneering glider pilot Kathleen Mackie features with 5 watercolours (lots 193-197, guides from €300 to €700) most of which were included in her 1985 retrospective.
Attractively priced works by William Orpen, Seán Keating, the late Cecil Maguire will all be well worth a bid while auction staples such as Markey Robinson, John Kingerlee, Tom Ryan, Gerry Marjoram, Kenneth Webb, Liam Treacy, the late Elizabeth Brophy among many others all feature. All the artworks on display with full descriptions and condition reports at www.whytes.ie. The auction will be on view online at whytes.ie and, strictly by appointment only, at Whyte’s galleries, 38 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.