Art and Antiques: Deluxe doghouse and a canine keeping his cool

An incredible London season and affordable art in Ireland tempt Des O'Sullivan this month

Edwin Landseer's 'Scene in Braemar', top left, at Sotheby's; 'Minding his own Business' by Patrick O'Reilly, right; Thomas Lawrence's portrait of Arthur Wellesley, below, centre; and 'Stargazer Lily' by Rosaleen Brigid Ganly will be at Whyte's, below, left.

From old-master paintings, antiquities, sculpture and rare books to a prehistoric woolly mammoth head and Galileo’s first drawing of the moon, the incredible London season now in full swing continues on its merry way.

London’s flagship Treasure House Fair continues at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea this weekend. It is Classic Week at Christie’s, and Sotheby’s offerings next week include Scene in Braemar by Edwin Landseer, a little-known sister painting to The Monarch of the Glen.

In Ireland, summer online sales of much more affordable art will be held at Whyte’s on Monday and Morgan O’Driscoll on Tuesday. It all adds up to a very healthy market for art and collectibles.

The trove of masterpieces at Treasure House includes a 25,000-year-old woolly mammoth head, drawings by Galileo Galilei, a luxurious doghouse made for Marie Antoinette’s favourite pet, a pair of commodes owned by Madame de Pompadour, jewels from the era of Henry VIII and Shakespeare, an exhibition of contemporary British women artists, a show of British surrealism and a sculpture walk with monumental artworks by Eduardo Paolozzi, Elisabeth Frink, Ron Arad, Nicola Anthony and Patrick O’Reilly.

Thomas Lawrence's portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, features at Christie's.

Christie’s has an estimate of £8 million-£12 million (€9.22 million-€13.83 million) on Thomas Lawrence’s portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. In this portrait, painted after Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the artist succeeded in penetrating Wellington’s aura of heroism to capture the essence of the man.

The old master’s sale takes place on Tuesday evening (June 30). Sales during Classic Week feature art from antiquity to the 21st century.

The Mayor Gallery, London, will show 'Minding his own Business' by Patrick O'Reilly as part of the sculpture walk at Treasure House Fair.

The estimate for Landseer’s Scene at Braemar at Sotheby’s on the following evening (July 1) is £3 million-£4 million (€3.46 million-€4.61 million). Painted in 1857, the nearly nine-foot canvas is a darker sister painting to the iconic and renowned Monarch of the Glen.

There is a good selection of affordable art at Whyte’s summer online art auction, which gets underway at 6pm this Monday (June 29). The catalogue features 241 lots and includes work by Jack Butler Yeats, Walter Osborne, Estella Solomons, Eva Hamilton, Harry Kernoff, Dan O’Neill, Henry Moore, James Brohan, Liam Treacy, Banksy, Nelson Mandela, Brigid Ganly and many more artists.

The most expensively estimated lots are Fishing Boats by James Brohan and Self Portrait by Eva Hamilton, each estimated at €2,500-€3,500. A signed lithograph by Nelson Mandela from his Robben Island series, The Tennis Court, is estimated at €2,000-€3,000.

Edwin Landseer's 'Scene in Braemar' features at Sotheby's.

Morgan O’Driscoll’s off-the-wall online sale of affordable art is on view in Skibbereen next Monday and Tuesday.

It gets underway at 6.30pm on Tuesday (June 30), and the catalogue is online. An oil-on-board of Montpellier by Arthur Maderson carries the highest estimate of €4,000-€6,000.

There is art by a wide variety of artists, including William Crozier, Paul Henry, Damien Hirst, Robert Ballagh, Shepard Fairey, Andy Warhol, Jack B Yeats, Jim Sheehy, George Campbell and John Behan.