Revealed: The Irish auctions putting affordable art in the frame

Auctions with art of lower monetary value have become a key part of the market in Ireland and globally, writes Des O'Sullivan

'La Tristesse du Roi', a poster by Henri Matisse, from the online sale by Lot 100.

Big-ticket art is a headline-grabber even in a year like this, when the top end of the market is relatively slim. Sales with estimates of up to €5,000 do not grab the same level of attention and often operate under the radar.

Auctions with art of lower monetary value have become a very important part of the art market in Ireland and right around the world. Interest in art has grown exponentially as more and more people collect and enjoy an enduring fascination with art.

The online Off the Wall sale by Morgan O'Driscoll, which runs until this Tuesday evening (October 28) follows on from his sale of Irish and international art earlier this week with important lots by Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy, Sir John Lavery, Andy Warhol and many others. Off the Wall sales of affordable art are a regular part of Skibbereen-based Morgan O'Driscoll's calendar and often feature big names.

'Pink Flowers' by Jack Donovan at Morgan O'Driscoll's online sale.

Lower-value sales reflect the fact that artists make work all the time. Not everything is major. Highly desirable etchings, drawings, preparatory works, maquettes and small pieces galore are available. Nearly everyone who ends up as a big collector starts as a small collector. A sale with plenty of pickings at prices that won't break the bank is as good a place as any to start.

The work Pink Flowers by the late Jack Donovan, former head of the Limerick School of Art, is at Morgan O'Driscoll's sale on Tuesday with an estimate of just €600-€800. A pastel-on-board by Victor Richardson of Drake's Pool near Crosshaven is similarly estimated. 

'The White Sail, Crosshaven' by Annemarie Bourke at Morgan O'Driscoll's online sale.

An oil-on-canvas of Crosshaven by Annemarie Bourke is estimated at €1,000-€1,500, Mark O'Neill's Outside the Basilica is estimated at €2,500-€3,500, and The Red Door by John Verling has an estimate of €1,200-€1,800. The catalogue, with several hundred lots, is online.

Meantime, over in Lismore, a new art auction business is gaining traction. Lot 100 was founded earlier this year by Ken Madden and Beth Ann Smith, creators of the highly successful Lismore Food Company. It has held four art sales to date, and the latest auction, with 80 lots of paintings, prints, sculpture, vintage posters and photography, is online until November 4.

There is work by Irish abstract expressionist Anne Harkin-Petersen, British pop artist Richard Smith and Italian sculptor Virginio Pessina. Among those featured are William Scott, Damien Hirst, Katherine Boucher Beug, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Patrick Scott, Charles Tyrrell and John Behan. The sales offer art for €10,000 and under, and most of the work is €1,500 and under.

'Woman with Horse' by Virginio Passina at Lot 100.

The aim is to achieve broad art market appeal, and already the founders have noticed that people who previously bought art are interested in trading up.

With its distinctive packaging, the Lismore Food Company was well known and renowned, and this has proved an advantage in setting up the new art auction business countrywide, as is the Dublin collection and drop off point offered by this Co Waterford enterprise. The catalogue for the sale is online, and the auction will be on view at Chapel Street, Lismore, on October 31 and November 1 and 2, from noon to 4pm.