CLOUDS PART AS WHYTE’S AUCTIONS RESUME WITH GLORIOUS SUMMER ONLINE SALE ON 6 JULY
Highlights in the sale include a delightful oil painting by Paul Henry depicting Claddagh Village, 1928 (lot 15, estimated at €40,000-€60,000). 'An Cladach', meaning 'The Sea-shore', was a small fishing village on the edge of Galway city and since demolished.
For those with a taste for some more contemporary art, Louis le Brocquy features heavily. The offering by him is headlined by a striking double portrait in watercolour Two Studies Towards An Image Of James Joyce (Diptych) (lot 68, €30,000-€40,000) dating to 1982. Examples from his Táin series, a self-portrait and the colourful 1970s Seven Aquatints will cater to those with a more modest budget. William Scott’s pared back still lifes continue to attract competitive bidding at auction and lot 51, Still Life with Mug, 1968 (€15,000-€20,000) should be no exception.
SCULPTURE
Striking examples of Irish sculpture are included in this sale including two exceptional works by Orla de Brí, as well as bronzes by Rory Breslin, John Behan, Joseph Sloan, Paddy Campbell as well as the lesser spotted Eamonn O’Doherty (of Anna Livia fame) among others. Guides from €1,000 to €5,000.
“THE BELFAST BOYS”
A number of strong examples by ‘The Belfast Boys’ can be seen in this sale including lot 30 by Daniel O’Neill, The Little Harbour, Annalong, Co Down by Daniel O’Neill (€10,000-€15,000) or The Apprentice Clown (lot 32, €8,000-€12,000, right) from the estate of George and Maura McClelland. George Campbell’s, Brown Still Life (lot 34, €6,000-€8,000) is a beautiful example of his unique style while Arthur Armstrong’s oil Light on the Sea (lot 39, €800-€1,200) is very attractively priced.
HARRY CLARKE
The inimitable style of Ireland’s best-known stained-glass artist and illustrator can be seen in two lots by him in this sale in lot 152, The Sleeping Beauty In The Wood, 1922 (€4,000-€6,000 left) and Figures In Conversation dating to 1914, lot 153, (€2,000-€3,000). Both show his exquisite attention to detail in striking black and white.
A number of works by John Butler Yeats (father to artist Jack B & poet William B.) also feature including an exhibition work in gouache titled In A Gondola (lot 148, €3,000-€4,000) based on Robert Browning's series of poems entitled ''Bells and Pomegranates'. This work was included in the artist’s joint loan exhibition with Nathaniel Home in 1901. An early example by his son Jack B. Yeats Invalides, It Was His Favourite Spot, Another Hotspur In The Field, c.1890, guides €1,500-€2,000.
Topographical scenes of well-known places usually “fly” at auction and a series of small-scale example by John Henry Campbell (1757-1828) depicting, Dalkey, Clontarf, Rathmines, Ireland’s Eye, The Sugar Loaf and others are sure to drawn bids. Their guides - at €300-€500 – will make them hard to resist
Quirky lots included in the auction include a miniature cased in gold attributed to John Stordy (lot 141, €600-800), a Francis Bacon exhibition poster (lot 78, €300-€500) a collection of 80 topographical scenes of County Cork from the 1880s by a Susan Letitia Lyle (lot 144, €1,500-€2,000) and a limited edition Rosenthal porcelain plaque of Marilyn Monroe after Andy Warhol (lot 61, €500-€700).
Attractively priced works by William Orpen, Seán Keating, Jack Butler Yeats, Frank McKelvey, James Humbert Craig, Harry Kernoff, Tony O’Malley, the late Cecil Maguire will all be well worth a bid while auction staples such as Graham Knutel, Markey Robinson, Arthur Maderson, Gladys Maccabe, Ivan Sutton, Kenneth Webb, Liam Treacy, the late Elizabeth Brophy among many others all feature.
All the artworks are on display with full descriptions and several with insightful notes from art experts at www.whytes.ie. This fabulous auction will be on view online at whytes.ie and, strictly by appointment only, at Whyte’s Galleries, 38, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.