Irish art market viewed with ‘continued confidence’, say Whyte’s

Earlier this year, Whyte's auctioneers in Dublin announced the consignment of over 350 lots by the estate of the late Northern Ireland collectors George and Maura McClelland to be sold in a series of auctions in 2016 and 2017. The collection includes paintings and sculptures by leading Irish artists during the last four decades of the 20th century.

Whyte's sold the first batch at auction in September and auctioneer Ian Whyte said the results showed "continued confidence in the Irish art market, and sensible buying by informed collectors".

The latest offering from the McClelland collection will go under the hammer on Monday evening (November 28th) in the RDS. Auctioneer Ian Whyte said the works include several paintings by Tony O'Malley ranging in value from €1,000 to €20,000, including lot 67, Morning Flight, Paradise Island, Bahamas, dating from 1980 (€15,000-€20,000); drawings by William Conor "modestly estimated at about €2,000-€3,000"; and Colin Middleton paintings "from €2,000 to €5,000 apiece".

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West of Ireland Landscape, by Paul Henry (€90,000-€120,000), in its “original Combridge Gallery black frame, circa 1925-35”.

In addition to the McClelland collection, other highlights include lot 32a, West of Ireland Landscape by Paul Henry (€90,000-€120,000) in its "original Combridge Gallery black frame, circa 1925-35" which depicts a scene "formerly thought to be a view of Clare Island from Achill" but, following new research, "the view is almost certainly of Moyteoge and Achill Head, seen from the Keel to Dooagh road".

Kernoff oil

Lot 114 is a watercolour titled

Peacocks at Kilmurry, Co Kilkenny

by

Mildred Anne Butler

(€2,000-€3,000). Lot 38,

The Tram, Dublin Nocturne

a 1926 oil painting by

Harry Kernoff

which shows a tram negotiating Leeson Street Bridge at night (€12,000-€15,000).

Lot 89, Garden at Night by William Crozier, who died in 2011, is described as "a very large and colourful painting, one of the best from his West Cork oeuvre, which would have made €70,000 in 2007" and is now estimated at "a modest €20,000-€30,000" which Whyte says is "surely a good investment for the serious and shrewd collector".

Among the contemporary art is lot 197, In Too Deep an oil-on-canvas self-portrait by Shane Blount (€2,000-€3,000) who was born in Dublin in 1978, grew up in Bray, Co Wicklow and after three years of studying life drawing at Ballyfermot Senior College, became a full-time artist in 2001.

Viewing from 10am Saturday-Monday at the RDS (Anglesea Road entrance), Dublin 4 where the auction will take place on Monday, November 28th at 6pm. For catalogue and online bidding details online see whytes.ie.