Sizzling season of Irish art sales continues next week

Antiques and Fine Art: Des O'Sullivan guides you to upcoming events

Yeats' 'Shouting' made a hammer price of €1.4 million.

The sizzling winter season of Irish art sales is on track to surpass €10 million next week. Sales at Sotheby's, de Veres, Bonhams, Whyte's and Morgan O'Driscoll have already achieved an aggregate of around €9 million. A big sale of Important Irish Art at James Adam next Wednesday is certain to bring this figure racing past the €10 million post.

At Whyte's last Monday evening the most expensively estimated Yeats painting ever at auction — Shouting at €1.5 million-€2 million made a hammer price of €1.4 million. 

'The Fortune Teller' by Grace Henry.

Fees will bring this past the lower estimate. Women artists fared particularly well and works by Grace Henry, Letitia Hamilton and Nano Reid shot past their top estimates. 

The Fortune Teller by Grace Henry made €37,000 at hammer over a top estimate of just €7,000.

This Aubusson tapestry by Louis le Brocquy.

Adam's will offer major works by Yeats and Colin Middleton next Wednesday. Among the le Brocquy's at Adams is Ancestral Head (€60,000-€80,000) and Cavannagh, an Aubusson tapestry commissioned from the artist for Setanta House (€80,000-€120,000). There is a composition by Evie Hone (€30,000-€40,000) and Cubist Landscape, Trees, Houses by Mary Swanzy (€20,000-€30,000).

The auction features three landscapes by Paul Henry headed by Cottages and Turfstacks in the West of Ireland (€140,000-€180,000) along with sculpture by F E McWilliam, John Behan, Imogen Stuart, Breon O'Casey, Rory Breslin, Cliodna Cussen and paintings by Sir William Orpen, George Campbell, Camille Souter, Dan O'Neill, Tony O'Malley, Basil Blackshaw, John Shinnors, John Boyd and Donald Teskey. This sale promises to bring a remarkable season to an exciting close.