Nude of singer Sinéad O’Connor and Paul Henry painting feature in sale of important Irish art

An iconic painting by Paul Henry is top of the list at Whyte’s upcoming sale of important Irish art. Other renowned artists including Daniel O’Neill and Donald Teskey also feature, as does a nude of singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor by Dublin-born painter Jim Fitzpatrick.

Overall, about a €1 million of important Irish art will be offered at the sale, in a live online auction at the Freemason’s Hall in Dublin. Viewing is available this weekend at the company’s gallery on Molesworth Street. For those who live outside the capital, the auction house has lots of photos online and an Art Realizer app, whereby you can project a painting on to your walls at home to see if you like it.

One of the highlights is Strange Days, a nude of O’Connor by Fitzpatrick.

Listed at €20,000-€30,000, it was originally commissioned by Dublin nightclub Lillie’s Bordello but was ultimately purchased by the sitter. Catalogue notes state that this was at her then husbands’ insistence, as he didn’t like the idea of an image of his naked wife on display in a club. The portrait includes the Pigeon House area of Dublin, which was apparently requested by O’Connor to be included in the painting as she was living nearby at the time. A long-time friend of the singer, Fitzpatrick designed the cover of O’Connor’s Faith and Courage album and has also written and illustrated numerous books. His more renowned works include the design for a stained glass window in the Bewley’s cafe on Mary Street and his graphic reproduction of Cuban photographer Alberto Korda’s photograph of Che Guevara – a work that became an icon worldwide. whytes.ie

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The most expensive painting is an iconic Paul Henry, Landscape, Connemara. Listed at €100,000-€150,000, Henry’s biographer, the late Dr SB Kennedy, noted that the heavy impasto employed in the painting is relatively uncommon in the artist’s work and suggests that this is possibly a scene of the Atlantic Drive in Achill, as he dated it to the 1940s on stylistic grounds.

The sale has a number of works that are a bit unusual from the general oeuvre of renowned Irish artists. Old Houses, Pau, by Daniel O’Neill (€20,000-€30,000), is a river view of brightly coloured houses and reflections. It is from a time early in the artist’s career when he was introduced to French art, Picasso, Cézanne et al by his contemporaries Gerard Dillon and Sidney Smith. His equally striking Mother and Child (€15,000-€20,000), is a more recurrent theme in O’Neill’s work.

In Donald Teskey’s Docklands VII, critic Aidan Dunne suggests that this is a painting where the artist “couldn’t get the Atlantic out of his mind and was prompted to turn his attention to the sea on his doorsteps”. Often considered Ireland’s foremost contemporary landscape artist, Teskey is heavily influenced by the western seaboard and the vagaries of the turbulent Atlantic Ocean. His depiction of Dublin docklands serves as a reminder that Dublin always was, and is, a port city (€30,000-€40,000).

Other works by Teskey include Autumn Coastline (€20,000-€30,000) and Downpatrick Head (€15,000-€20,000), which reflect his time at Ballinglen Arts Foundation, where the artist is a regular visitor.

Along with notable works by Louis le Brocquy that include Lemon Growing (€20,000-€30,000), Image of Seamus Heaney (€15,000-€20,000), and Being (€8,000-€10,000), are a number of lithographs by the artist. Priced within the €1,000-€3,500 bracket, they make affordable options for those who cannot stretch to an oil or watercolour.

Marmara Dawn (€15,000-€20,00), a sizeable work by Stephen McKenna that marks his time as president of the Royal Hibernian Academy, also features.

Diamond highlights

On March 7th, Kells-based auctioneer Damien Matthews will hold a mammoth sale with more than a thousand lots to include clearances, executor sales and unredeemed pledges from pawnbrokers. Highlights include some solitaire diamond rings including a late Victorian 3.53ct model (€18,000-€25,000) and a 18ct white gold Cartier ladies watch (€12,000-€18,000). In terms of furniture, there’s an Irish Regency brass toe caster mahogany fold over card table (€1,000-€1,500) and an imposing William IV figured mahogany twin pedestal side board (€400-€700). matthewauctionrooms.com

The following day, March 8th, Hegarty’s of Bandon will host its March Fine Interiors live sale to include jewellery, Irish art, silver and antique furniture. Highlights are a two-stone sapphire and diamond twist ring by Tiffany that comes in a porcelain Tiffany & Co presentation box (€4,000-€6,000); a 14ct yellow gold rope and pineapple tassel necklace by New York heritage jeweller Hammerman (€1,500-€2,500); and a large orange citrine and diamond cluster ring at €1,000-€2,000. A pair of 19th-century French mahogany tall side lamp cabinets in need of some restoration is listed at €800-€1,000, while works of art include Interior by Liam Treacy (€800-€1,000) and Reflections, a small oil on board by John Morris at €250-€350. hegartyantiques.com

Colour collections

Pastel Revealed is now open at the National Gallery, in a display dedicated to the medium that has not taken place for almost 30 years. With works by renowned artists such as Edgar Degas, Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Harry Kernoff and more, it provides a “rare opportunity to view almost half the gallery’s rich collection of pastels”, according to curator Niamh McNally. nationalgallery.ie