Bringing his architect’s eye and passion for the modernist era, Dermot Bannon has been engaged by deVeres to preview its upcoming Art & Design auction on November 4th.
And his top picks?
Bannon, of RTÉ’s Room to Improve, reminds us that Arne Jacobsen was not only the architect of Copenhagen’s SAS Royal Hotel in 1958 – Denmark’s first skyscraper – but he also designed every detail of the interior, including the furniture, its placement and the colour palette.
The auction includes a pair of swan chairs (€1,500-€2,000) by Jacobsen that were originally designed for the lobby of the SAS Hotel. These chairs are among a number of other pieces of furniture inspired by natural forms, including a circular tulip table and a leather parrot chair.
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Eileen Gray, one of the pioneers of the modernist movement, is another favourite of Bannon’s. He describes the Transat chair from the Irish architect and furniture designer as a standalone “hero” piece, that can elevate your home.
Just such a chair is included in the deVeres auction (€4,000-€6,000), as are some of her other most iconic pieces, including two of her nonconformist chairs (€2,000-€3,000 each) and day bed (€2,500-€3,500).
The most striking piece, inspired by the natural world, is the surrealist Traccia table by the German-born Swiss artist, Méret Oppenheim. The gold-leaf top has bird’s feet imprints on it to complement the brass sculpted bird’s legs base (€2,000-€3,000). The original design was first shown in an exhibition of avant-garde furniture in Gallery Rene in Paris in 1939. In the early 1970s Oppenheim produced the table commercially for Studio Simon in Milan. At this time the Traccia formed part of the Ultramobile Collection, where surreal objects were transformed into functional artworks adapted for use.
Another piece inspired by organic form is the Model 550 chest by Italian architect and designer Gianfranco Frattini for Milan-based furniture manufacturers Bernini (€2,000-€4,000). While the Danes and other Scandinavians were making strides internationally from the 1960s onwards, the Italians were cultivating the equally strong Made in Italy brand, whose designs spread across the globe.
The auction also includes a number of handwoven wool rugs with Mainie Jellet designs made by Ceodogán Rugs in Co Wexford. The 20th-century Irish artist, renowned for her cubist paintings, adapted her designs for textiles and exhibited her first carpet designs at her first solo exhibition in 1928. While few of her actual designs for carpets and rugs were produced during her lifetime, from the 1990s onwards, Ceodogán Rugs has used her original designs under licence from the artist’s estate for its Mainie Jellet rug collection. The auction includes four of these, the most striking of which is the 200cm-200cm square black and white rug (€6,000-€9,000).
Lighting is also such a strong component of modernist furniture design and the deVeres auction has a fine array of lamps. Two noteworthy examples are a balloon lamp by artist Yves Christin for Bilumen (€200-€400) and a Tikal 1555 swivel lamp by Italian designer and architect, Pier Giuseppe Ramella (€400-€600).
The auction includes a special focus on the artist Manar Al Shouha, a Syrian refugee who has been winning awards since her arrival in Ireland in 2021.
Bannon’s selections, as well as the entire catalogue, will be on view at the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) gallery on 15 Ely Place, Dublin 2, ahead of the auction on November 4th.
Even if you can’t afford to buy the pieces, getting a chance to see these beautifully crafted 20th-century tables, chairs, cabinets, sideboards and lamps is an aesthetic experience not to be missed. There are some fine paintings by contemporary Irish and international artists on show too.
Viewing takes place on Saturday and Sunday, November 1st and 2nd, 11am-5pm; Monday, November 3rd, 10am-5pm; and Tuesday, November 4th, 10am-1pm.
Warhol’s cats
Lot 100, the Waterford-based art auctioneers run by Beth-Ann Smith and Ken Madden, have more than 80 lots of paintings, prints, vintage posters, photography and sculpture in their late autumn online sale, which ends on November 4th. Popular among new collectors, the sale has a mix of styles with work by both national and international artists. One highlight is 25 cats name Sam and One Blue Pussy (€200-€400) by Andy Warhol (1928-1987). The book of 19 hand-coloured lithographs was published in 1957 by Warhol as a limited edition to coincide with his exhibition of illustrations at the Bodley Gallery in New York.
Warhol owned many cats and he loved making drawings of them. This book – which comes with a volume of Holy Cats by the artist’s mother, Julia Warhola – was published as a facsimile reproduction in 1987.
Finally, a few reminders for antiques fair enthusiasts. The Wexford Opera Antiques Fair continues in the Talbot Hotel 11am-8pm daily until October 27th, while Vintage Ireland will host an antiques fair in the Tower Hotel in Waterford city on November 2nd from 11am-5.30pm.
What did it sell for?
Self-portrait Fragment, Lucian Freud
- Estimate: £8-£12 million
- Hammer price: £7.6 million (€8.8m)
- Auction house: Christie’s
Woman with a Tulip, Lucian Freud
- Estimate: £3-£5 million
- Hammer price: £3.22 million (€3.7m)
- Auction house: Christie’s
Night Road, William Crozier
- Estimate: €6,000-€9,000
- Hammer price: Not sold
- Auction house: Morgan O’Driscoll
1933 All-Ireland Finals match programme
- Hammer price: €4,100
- Auction house: Usher Auctions
