Sotheby’s vote of confidence in Irish art market

Sotheby’s has decided to re-introduce a standalone Irish art sale in London in 2015 – another step in the gradual recovery of the market which was badly affected by the economic crisis. Irish art prices, especially for modern and contemporary art, fell sharply – for some artists by up to 70 per cent – following the banking crash.

Sotheby’s Irish sale, first held in 1995 and traditionally a highlight of the annual auction calendar, was dropped in 2011 and Irish art was thereafter sold in joint British and Irish Art auctions.

But the company is now reintroducing the standalone Irish Art sale which will take place in the New Bond Street salesroom on October 21st.

The sale will include paintings by major artists including Jack B Yeats, Sir William Orpen, Sir John Lavery and Paul Henry and also a selection of works by contemporary Irish artists.

Consignments are being sought. Sotheby’s specialists will be travelling throughout Ireland over the coming months and will be available to offer valuations on Irish works or discuss the market.

Arabella Bishop, Sotheby's director for Ireland, said that given the huge interest internationally in contemporary art, Sotheby's would try to "promote a new generation of Irish artists to collectors at home and abroad". She said 71 per cent of the buyers of Irish art in Sotheby's in 2014 were from outside Ireland and she expects the market will continue to gather pace.

Irish art in demand

Although Sotheby’s – like other auctioneers – does not reveal the identity of buyers or sellers, the demand for Irish art in London is predominately from Irish buyers either based in Ireland or living abroad.

"The clients are predominately Irish diaspora", but Sotheby's had also, in recent years, "sold Irish works to collectors from South Korea, Italy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China, Taiwan, Mexico and Russia," Ms Bishop said.

In addition to Irish art, Sotheby’s is also seeking consignments from Ireland for its other international auctions. The current strength of sterling and the dollar – and the booming international market for art and antiques – may tempt Irish vendors to sell at auction overseas. Sotheby’s achieved some extraordinary prices at auctions worldwide last year.

Record prices worldwide

In New York, the highest price was for a sculpture, Chariot by Alberto Giacometti, which made $100.9 million. In London, a painting by Claude Monet titled Nymphéas made £31.7 million, and in Geneva a Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication – described as "the most complicated watch ever made completely by human hand" – sold for CHF 23.2m (€19.3 million).

A private Dublin collector’s “rare late 12th/early 13th century wooden corpus (figure of Christ crucified)” made £278,500 – more than 18 times the estimate – in a London sculpture auction.

Sotheby’s experts will visit Ireland to offer free advice and assessments to potential vendors on the following dates: watches (January 27th); European works of art and sculpture (February 3rd and 4th); Chinese ceramics and works of art (February 10th and 11th); photographs (February 17th); Irish and English furniture (March 3rd and 4th); British pictures 1550-1850 (March 24th); and fine jewels (March 25th and 26th).

Contact Sotheby’s at 16 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, Telephone 01-6711-431 to make an appointment.