A newly discovered Lavery painting, a rarely seen Jupe-style table, and the last of Michael Smurfit’s artworks are some of the highlights of upcoming sales.
Bonham’s sale of modern British and Irish art on Wednesday, June 30th, features what the auction house are calling a “newly discovered Lavery masterpiece”. The painting, In Morocco, which has been in the same family collection since it was acquired in the 1930s, has John Lavery’s signature in the left-hand corner, but perhaps the owners did not realise the importance of what was hanging on their walls (£100,000-£150,000/€116,760-€175,150).
Also in London, Sotheby's British art evening sale, on June 29th, has a superb Lavery – The Bathing Hour, Lido, Venice – which he painted after being confined to his London studio for four months. A newly popular belief in the efficacy of sea bathing brought the European aristocracy to the Istrian shores – despite the Lido having occasional outbreaks of cholera – and is summed up well in Thomas Mann's Death in Venice, as "the sight of sophisticated society giving itself over to a simple life at the edge of the elements" (£500,000-£700,000/€583,820 -€817,340). The sale also includes Myself and Cupid, an unusual painting by William Orpen, which is part of the Michael Smurfit collection (£250,000-£350,000/€291,910-€408,670).
Jupe-style table
Sean Eacrett's sale on July 2nd and 3rd has a most unusual and rarely seen rosewood Jupe-style table. The fascination on how to create an expanding circular table had confused cabinet makers for centuries. Originally patented by Johnstone, Jupe and Co and known as the Jupe's Improved Expanding Table, it is really a combination of superb mechanical engineering and aesthetic design. It typifies the spirit of the age, when England was at the cusp of the industrial revolution and the focus was on mechanics (€12,000-€15,000). Also in the sale, which includes the contents of a property on Shrewsbury Park in Dublin, are Danish design pieces from the 1960s and artworks by Harry Kernoff, Cecil King and John Morris.
Sheppard's annual Glantelwe Gardens in Durrow sale of architectural and ornamental garden statuary on June 30th also includes a private collection of floral-themed jewellery. Highlights include Untitled, by John Burke of a large iron creation that stood outside the Crawford Gallery in Cork for many years (€80,000-€120,000); Bacchanal Circle, a bronze by Robin Buick (€25,000-€35,000), and a lovely pair of life-size bronze cranes (€2,000-€3,000). More garden statuary will be offered at Oliver Usher's sale on July 12th, along with a Chippendale style leather-topped partners' desk (€1,200-€1,500); a J Patterson of Kells grandfather clock (€700-€1,000), and a pair of Cork Georgian glass decanters (€1,200-€1,600).
For those in search of well-priced art works, Adam's of St Stephen's Green affordable online art sale is currently open and ends on July 8th. With estimates starting at €40, it is a good place to start for those dipping their toes into the world of online auctions. The sale spans three centuries, from traditional landscapes to modern works by Robert Armstrong, Patrick Hickey, Michael Farrell and Anne Madden.
