Most of the big art auction houses – both Irish and international – now broadcast their sales on the internet, allowing buyers anywhere in the world to compete with bidders in the saleroom and on the telephone.
Cork auctioneer Morgan O’Driscoll is among those now occasionally hosting online-only auctions. Prospective bidders can attend a viewing but the selling takes place on the internet. His latest auction is underway and bidding ends on Monday evening. The pictures are online at morganodriscoll.com where each lot is photographed hanging on a wall above a chair, enabling prospective bidders to see how the painting might look in a room.
For those who believe a painting has to be seen "in the flesh" to be properly appreciated, a viewing is underway this weekend at the Minerva Suite in the RDS. Some 115 paintings and prints are on offer, with many lots having estimates of below €1,000. They include: Bar Lights by David McElhinney, €500-€700; St George's, Hardwicke Place by Aidan Bradley, €700-€1,000; and Landscape, Cork (a watercolour) by Martin Gale, €600-€900.
Mid-price pictures include Fair Day, Clifden, Co Galway by Ivan Sutton, €1,500-€2,000; Sunday Morning, Belfast by Cecil Maguire, €3,500-€4,500; Collies by James Brohan, €3,000-€5,000; and Tramore by Kenneth Webb, €4,000-€6,000.
More expensive lots include: The Country Winner by Peter Curling €12,000- €15,000; Approaching The Last by Liam O'Neill, €10,000-€15,000; and, Michael Collins (a portrait) by John Shinnors, €8,000-€12,000.
Having viewed the lots, prospective buyers can register online and monitor the progress of the auction by logging in to see the latest bids. Bidding ends on Monday, February 10th, between 6.30pm and 8pm. O’Driscoll said “the sale will end with every lot finishing at 45-second intervals and each lot displays an individual end time”.
How quickly will bidders know they have secured a lot? O’Driscoll said that “If within five minutes of the end of the auction (for each lot) a new bid is placed, the auction time remaining reverts to five minutes from the time the new bid is placed. This continues until such time as no higher bid is placed during the last five minutes.
Bidders who can't, or don't wish to, use the online format can submit an absentee bid up until 5pm on Monday afternoon which is then executed by a member of the auctioneer's staff.
O'Driscoll Auctioneers Irish Art Online Auction, viewing at the RDS (Minerva Suite) Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 today and tomorrow, noon-6pm, Monday, 10am-5pm.
