Sotheby's man has fine Irish pedigree
THE SOCIAL NETWORK:The chairman of Sotheby's Europe, Henry Wyndham, travelled from London for the private preview, at Sotheby's on Molesworth Street on Thursday evening, of highlights from the company's British & Irish Art Sale.
He was dubious about confirming whether George Wyndham, former chief secretary for Ireland, was a kinsman. "He's a relation of mine, but I think I had better keep that rather quiet, hadn't I?" he said.
After it was explained that George was looked on favourably in many quarters due to the Wyndham Land Purchase Act, he changed his tune: "I am, I'm directly related to George Wyndham who brought in the Wyndham Act. That's true." Wyndham caught up with the fine-art dealer Mark Fielding, from Dundrum, who previously worked at Sotheby's in Bond Street.
The chairwoman of Goff's, Eimear Mulhern, proved her political credentials when asked if she were buying or selling. "I'm viewing," she replied. She was paying particular attention to the equestrian portraits downstairs while chatting to Jacqueline O'Brien, the widow of the late horse trainer Vincent.
Princess Frances Colonna travelled in from Wicklow and was accompanied by her daughter, Donna Lucrezia Colonna. Lucrezia told me that she recently qualified as a barrister and is devilling with the barrister Paul Anthony McDermott.
Phyllis MacNamara, of Cobwebs in Galway, was accompanied by her friend Jimmy McGing, from Sandycove. McGing's family are from Westport but he grew up in India where his father worked as an engineer.
The director of the National Gallery of Ireland, Sean Rainbird, is enjoying his relatively new post in Dublin. The former director of Staatsgalerie of Stuttgart has been in the job for six months, lives on Baggot Street and walks everywhere "even to Heuston Station".
Despite the building and refurbishing work, which is ongoing at the National Gallery, Rainbird mentioned that "it is also good to keep the acquisitions going". It remains to be seen whether the gallery buys any of the works.
The art is on view at Sotheby's on Molesworth Street today until 5pm (Saturday) and the auction takes place in London on Tuesday, November 13.
Who we spotted The British ambassador, Dominick Chilcott; Lady Iona Conyngham from Slane Castle; Harry McDowell from Celbridge; Clodagh Duff from Laragh; Margaret Downes; Bruce Arnold; Miriam Campion; John Pat Colclough and his brother John Nick Colclough; the artist Bernadette Madden, on her way to the opening of Vue, the National Contemporary Art Fair in the RHA; the painter Esme Lewis, who is preparing for an exhibition at Ranelagh Arts Centre to coincide with her 75th birthday.
Poets on song
The Hon Garech Browne took the floor, literally, at the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland on Merrion Square on Wednesday evening for the launch of The Wild Dog Rose album, which features the poet John Montague and Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains. Browne knelt on the floor as he listened to Montague's poetry while Moloney, Kevin Conneff, Néillidh Mulligan, Sean Potts, Michael Tubridy and Peter Browne played.
