Rare William Ashford and Yeats paintings highlight of June sale

Ashford and Yeats paintings on offer and could fetch up to €70,000

A rare pair of 1774/5 views of Dublin by William Ashford, first president of the Royal Hibernian Academy, will be a highlight of the James Adam sale of important Irish art in Dublin on June 1.

The paintings, Two Views of Dublin Bay Looking North and South, were commissioned by Thomas Dawson, 1st Baron of Dartrey. They were sold at Christie’s in London the following year with firm founder James Christie wielding the gavel. They are estimated at €500,000-€700,000.

'Two views of Dublin Bay, Looking North and South' by William Ashford at Adam's.

Works by many of our best-known artists over a 250-year span are in this sale with over €2m in estimates.

The Bridge, Skibbereen by Jack B Yeats was exhibited at The Dublin Society of Painters in 1920 and is now estimated at €400,000-€600,000.

One of the most recently painted works in the sale is a monumental 2008 oil by Hughie O’Donoghue, The Yellow Man II (€40,000-€60,000).

Among the artists represented by significant works in the sale are George Barret, Sir John Lavery, Gerard Dillon, Tony O’Malley, Edward Maguire, Barry Flanagan, Dan O’Neill, and William Scott.

Among 118 lots is an original copy of the Irish Proclamation, with an estimate of €150,000-€200,000.

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