Collectors of modern art, and art galleries seeking new acquisitions, will be excited to see the paintings, prints and sculptures for sale in the Oliver Dowling Collection at Adams auctioneers on Wednesday, September 11th.
Oliver Dowling, who died in January 2024, was a prominent figure in the Irish modern art scene. In the catalogue essay, art critic Aidan Dunne describes him as “having a meticulous curatorial style and distinctive aesthetic sense”, which allowed him to “generate an almost hallowed atmosphere in his Kildare Street gallery”.
Dowling, who was exhibitions officer for the Arts Council in the late 1960s, and then visual arts officer for the council in the late 1990s, ran the Oliver Dowling gallery from 1971 to 1995. He was also involved with the landmark ROSC exhibitions in the late 1960s, which his partner, the self-taught abstract painter Cecil King, organised. These events introduced Irish audiences to contemporary international art.
Dunne writes that “the works he collected along the way are testament to one of the sharpest, most inquiring minds in the visual arts at the time”. Over 160 of these works are now for sale, and more than a third of them are paintings by King (1921-1986). King, whose work was characterised by geometric forms and fields of colour, was widely influenced by international art movements including European avant-garde and American abstract expressionism. The works range from small pieces such as untitled, oil on paper (€300-€400) to larger paintings such as Flight, acrylic on canvas (€3,000-€5,000). The Irish Museum of Modern Art held a retrospective exhibition of King’s work in 2008.
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Other Irish artists whose work is for sale include Derry-born Willie Doherty (photograph with text, Lamenting and Longing, Derry 1988, €2000-€4,000) and Dublin-based artist Fiona McDonald (Electrolyte Field, print €200-€400).
International artists whose work is for sale include Basque sculptor, Eduardo Chillida; Scottish painter Patricia Douthwaite (including the pastel, Under the Deep Blue Sea, €600-€800); Spanish sculptor Silverio Rivas (whose Abstract Form bronze, €800-€1,200 is one of three striking bronze pieces); and German artist and performer Joseph Beuys, who Dowling brought to Ireland in 1974.
“It’s a who’s who of the contemporary and modern art scene with work by both Irish and international artists. With many estimates starting in the low hundreds, there could well be great value to be had,” says James O’Halloran of Adams. Many of these pieces for sale were shown in his gallery or were gifted to Dowling by artist friends.
Meanwhile, the Dublin Painting and Sketching Club, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, will host its annual exhibition at One WML, Windmill Quarter, Dublin 2 from September 9th-21st (opening hours 10.30am-4.30pm from Monday to Saturday and from noon-4pm on Sundays and on Culture Night, September 20th, until 8pm).
The club was founded by Dr William Booth Pearsall, a dental surgeon who was also a painter, illustrator and etcher. Sketching clubs were common in England and Ireland in the 19th century. The aim was to provide a working space and supportive atmosphere for artists of different skills levels and experience. Many early members worked in medicine, mathematics and other fields and were graduates of Trinity College Dublin.
The club – originally called the Dublin Sketching Club – was frequented by professional and amateur artists and then – as now – it was generally held that drawing was the best way to develop observational skills. Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, was one of its early members. Later, artists such as Nathaniel Hone, Walter Osborne, John Butler Yeats and Sarah Purser were members. The first major exhibition was held in 1876 in the Leinster Hall on Molesworth St, Dublin, and shows continued to be held there until 1974.
[ Was Bram Stoker’s Dracula inspired by his own Irish family history?Opens in new window ]
More recently, the annual exhibitions were held in the concourse gallery in Dún Laoghaire County Hall before temporary space in the CHQ building on North Quay was used. The annual exhibition has been held in the last few years in the Windmill Quarter, in Dublin’s south docklands. This year’s exhibits include mixed-media piece The Wild Side by Margo Banks (€1,600); If the Green opens a little by Lenore Collins (€1,500); Vintage enamelware with Lemon by Peter Dee (€850); and Red Rose by June Wright (€360).
With a membership of less than 100, the club is keen to attract new talent and younger members through its open submission prize, awarded to non-members responding to their annual open call for new works. The Dublin Painting & Sketching Club: A Concise History is a fascinating record of the club’s early years that was published this year to coincide with its 150th anniversary. It will be available for sale during the exhibition.
What did it sell for?
Pair of George III shield back hall chairs
Estimate: €500-€800
Hammer price: €460
Auction house: Adams
Limoges porcelain dinner service by Bernardaud
Estimate: €400-€600
Hammer price: €300
Auction house: Adams
19th-century satinwood and marquetry bureau de dame
Estimate: €500-€700
Hammer price: €700
Auction house: Adams
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