Art and design lovers have an interesting selection of works to choose from over the next 10 days or so, with two prominent auction houses selling art and design items, while a large contemporary art fair is being held in the RDS in Ballsbridge, Dublin. With paintings from €500 all the way up to €100,000 and more, there will be pieces to suit all pockets.
Firstly, Skibbereen-based Morgan O’Driscoll is taking bids on a wide-ranging selection of paintings and sculptures by well-known artists from the 19th century right up to the present day in his Irish and International Art online auction.
Those drawn to still-life paintings should take a look at Peter Collis’s Still Life, from 1985 (€1,500-€2,500), or Mark O’Neill’s Still Life – Red Pears and Blue, from 2002 (€5,000-€7,000). Alternatively, James Arthur O’Connor’s The Avenue, A View in the Parc de Bruxelles, from 1835 (€20,000-€30,000), might appeal to retired those who spent time in the Belgian capital.
Donald Teskey’s Criss Crossing, Apocalypso, New York, from 2009 (€20,000-€30,000), gives viewers a grittier glimpse of American urban reality from the perspective of a commuter train.
The wide range of landscapes include lots of traditional gentle imagery of rural Ireland – albeit with some in a more abstracted style. This is why Tim Goulding’s Land Burn, from 2002 (€500-€700), catches one’s attention, reminding us of the furious impact on the natural world following a fire on the mountain side.
The Morgan O’Driscoll online art auction, which also has sculptures by Conor Fallon, Anthony Scott, Orla De Brí and others, closes on Tuesday, April 8th, 6.30pm-8.30pm. Viewing continues today, tomorrow and Monday, noon-4pm, in O’Driscoll’s Skibbereen offices. The artworks will then be on show in the RDS Minerva Suite, Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 4th-6th, 11am – 6pm, and on Monday, April 7th, 11am-4pm.
Modern art
Members of the Contemporary Art Gallery Association (CAGA) will join forces with other established galleries and individual artists for the Art Evolve fair in the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin, April 4th-6th.
“The demand for high-end modern art is dynamic at the moment and Art Evolve will highlight the latest work by our best living artists in an exciting and immersive setting,” says show organiser Patrick O’Sullivan.
For example, the Kerlin Gallery will show works by artists including Dorothy Cross, Sean Scully and Richard Gorman. Hillsboro Fine Art gallery will showcase work by Italian painter and sculptor Sandro Chia among others. Work by artists represented by the Taylor Galleries, the Oliver Sears Gallery, Solomon Fine Art – all members of CAGA – will also be for sale.
One of the more unusual items for sale is a chair made from Valentia slate by Limerick architect and furniture designer Edwyn James Hickey for €9,500 via Sol Gallery. The chair was created after Hickey became fascinated by Valentia slate following a visit to Ireland’s oldest slate quarry on Valentia Island, Co Kerry.
“It’s another world, and the textures and colours of the quarry are amazing,” Hickey told Deirdre McQuillan in an article in The Irish Times in 2024. The experience led him to design and make furniture from slate, working with men in the quarry who cut the stone with large machines and diamond wire rope saws. Valentia Slate, which is owned by Killarney geologist Dr Aidan Forde, once employed more than 450 people and provided slate for the Paris Opera House, Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Adam’s Mid Century Modern auction
Adam’s Mid Century Modern auction will have viewing from Friday, April 4th, to Tuesday morning, April 8th, and will close from 2pm on the Tuesday. Those drawn to this period of furniture, where rosewood and walnut feature prominently, will have plenty of choice among exquisite pieces from Danish, American and Italian designers.
The designs of Charles and Ray Eames feature strongly. The American industrial designer couple ran the Eames design office in Venice, Los Angeles, California, from the 1940s to the 1980s, employing many notable designers. The Eames pieces for sale include a lounger and ottoman (€4,000-€6,000) and the Eames Time Life swivel office chair for Herman Miller (€1,500-€2,000).
Long, flat-sided rosewood sideboards and rosewood coffee tables, which are very popular in both modern and period homes, are also included in this mid-century modern auction, as are several chairs and side tables by Irish designer Eileen Gray. These include one of her Bibendum chairs, produced by Classicon (€3,000-€5,000). This modernist armchair was inspired by the character created to sell Michelin tyres.
One of the famous Eileen Gray Transat chairs (€4,000-€6,000) – inspired by the outdoor seats on a Transatlantic ocean liners – is also for sale. And one of Denmark’s most famous designers, Finn Juhl, is represented with a pair of rosewood Diplomat chairs, produced by Cado (€2,000-€3,000).
Finally, de Burca books have chosen to highlight first edition books by female authors to coincide with Mother’s Day tomorrow. Edna O’Brien, Constance Markievicz, Sylvia Plath, Maeve Binchy and Flora H Mitchell are among the writers in their current rare books catalogue.
morganodriscoll.com, artevolve.ie, adams.ie, deburcararebooks.com
What did it sell for?
Tarragona Remembered by Barbara Warren
Estimate €2,000-€3,000
Hammer price €2,000
Auction house deVeres
Feeding Ground by Norah McGuinness
Estimate €14,000-€18,000
Hammer price €14,000
Auction house deVeres
Rare Belleek second period Chinese tea urn
Estimate £1,200-£1,600
Hammer price £2,900 (€3,500)
Auction house Ross’s
