Hugh Douglas Hamilton RHA (1739-1808) – Portrait of “Colonel Hugh O’Donel (1760-1799) sold for €77,000 at hammer.
This portrait of Colonel Hugh O’Donel by Hugh Douglas Hamilton was the top lot at Fonsie Mealy’s sale of contents from Newport House, Co. Mayo. It made a hammer price of €77,000. The post is derived from the Apollo Belvedere at the Vatican. In 1793 with the threat of a French invasion, O’Donel raised a company of troops and became Lieutenant Colonel of the South Mayo Militia. Two years later in 1795 he was elected to the Irish House of Commons representing Donegal town. Along with his brother, Captain James Moore O’Donel (also elected to Parliament in 1795) he joined the parliamentary faction who strenuously opposed the proposed Act of Union with Great Britain-saying he would never surrender Ireland’s legislative independence. For his passionate opposition, and the Militia, to the Act of Union he was dismissed by the government from his colonelcy in 1799. The Lord Lieutenant, Lord Cornwallis, who suppressed the Rebellion of 1798, had offered him a peerage to vote for the Union but he refused. Hugh O’Donel died M.P., in Tralee, Co. Kerry in 1799.
Among the other top hammer prices a Georgian gilt rococo mirror made €50,000; a set of Giant Irish Elk antlers made €46,000; Waiting for the Steamer, Aran Islands by Sean Keating made €40,000; a Georgian dining table made €9,500; a portrait by Hugh Douglas Hamilton of Captain Henry Charles Sirr made €9,500 and a Regency chandelier made €5,200.
John Astley c. 1756 (1724 – 1787) – Portrait of Thomas Pepper, of Ballygarth Co. Louth (1733-1790)
This portrait by John Astley of Thomas Pepper of Co. Louth made a hammer price of €11,000 at the opening day of Fonsie Mealy’s two day auction of contents from Newport House in Co. Mayo. It had been estimated at €3,000-€5,000. A pair of 19th century Meissen vases estimated at €4,000-€6,000 made €9,500 at hammer and a 1911-1915 bracelet set with 19 half sovereigns made €8,500. The 19th century Irish School Hillsborough family portraits made €7,000 at hammer as did Marnock’s Strand by Nathaniel Hone, a portrait of Thomas, Earle of Leghorn attributed to Pompeo Batoni and a Kilkee coastal scene by Nathaniel Hone. The auction continues at The Grace Hotel Westport and online today.
This untitled work by Atsushi Kaga, originally from Tokyo and now living and working between Ireland and Kyoto, was the leading lot at Adams Mid Century Modern sale on October 20. It made a hammer price of €24,000 over a top estimate of €12,000. Brick Screen by Eileen Gray made €9,500 at hammer, a vintage steamer trunk by Louis Vuitton made €8,000, Tangram by Patrick Scot made 6,500, Sun from the Icarus series by Anne Madden made 6,500, a teak extending circular dining table by Hans Olsen made 5,500 and Farmhouse North Mayo by Donald Teskey made 4,600.
Paul Henry (1876-1958) – The Shower (1930-34) made 60,000 at hammer
The Shower by Paul Henry, a work from the early 1930’s which captures the sense of a passing shower, made a hammer price of €60,000 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International art sale on October 20. Other top hammer prices included: In the Market Place Bruges by Walter Osborne (€75,000); Abstract Composition by Evie Hone (€52,000); Achill Cottages by Paul Henry (€66,000); View of Ballydavid Head and the Black Rock Kerry by Liam O’Neill (€34,000); The Rivals by Jack B Yeats (€30,000) and West Road by Donald Teskey (€36,000).
PAUL HENRY, R.H.A. (1876-1958) – The Fairy Thorn (1925). Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd. 2026. UPDATE: THIS MADE £200,000 AT HAMMER
The Fairy Thorn by Paul Henry, Landline Crimson by Sean Scully, The Clown of Ocean by Jack B Yeats and Table with Still Life, No. 2 by William Scott will come under the hammer at Christie’s Modern British and Irish art evening sale in London on October 21. They are among the 39 lots on offer. Art by Yeats, Gerard Dillon, Roderic O’Conor and William Scott will feature in the day sale on October 22.
The Fairy Thorn was first exhibited in New York in 1929 as part of the landmark Contemporary Irish Art: First American Exhibition. There it was acquired by Mr and Mrs John J. Raskob and has been in the same collection since. Rather than depicting the hawthorn in its spring bloom, its branches filled with feathery leaves and delicate white flowers, Henry portrays the bare branches of winter, emphasising the dramatic, dynamic bent of the tree, the result of years spent bracing itself against the buffeting winds and strong gales along the Atlantic coast. The estimate is £100,000-£150,000. There is a similar estimate on The Clown of Ocean by Yeats.
The Cottage Window by Gerard Dillon at the day sale on October 23 has been in the same collection since 1950 and is estimated at £70,000-£100,000.
GERARD DILLON, R.H.A (1916-1971) – The Cottage Window, painted c1950.
Charles Lamb – The Red Shawl. UPDATE: THIS MADE 18,000 AT HAMMER
The Red Shawl by Charles Lamb is among the leading lots at the timed online auction by de Veres of the Smith collection of paintings by the artist. The sale of 54 lots draws to a close on the evening of October 20. The Red Shawl is estimated at €8,000-€12,000.
John Ffrench (1928-2010) – PINCH POT ICE CREAM BOWLS, 2008. UPDATE: THESE MADE 950 AT HAMMER
This set of five hand painted ceramics by John Ffrench is at Whytes autumn online art auction which runs until October 19. They are all signed and dated on the underside. The estimate is €1,000-€1,500. Known for his use of bright colours and unusual shapes John Ffrench was instrumental in the design industry in Ireland setting up the Ring Ceramic Studio in Kilkenny with Peter Brennan in 1956. He was closely involved with Kilkenny Design and the establishment of Arklow Studio Pottery (1962-9). His work is acclaimed and is included in the collection of the National Museum of Ireland.
This beautiful lacquered wood and brass brick screen by world renowned Irish designer Eileen Grey (1878-1976) is at Adam’s Mid Century Modern auction in Dublin on October 20. The freestanding piece functions both as a movable wall to divide living spaces and an abstract modern sculpture with solid shapes and empty space. It is one several works by Grey in a sale of 264 lots that offers art, furniture, lighting and collectibles like circular c1970 cocktail bar on wheels by Pierre Cardin, a dressing mirror by Alain Delon and an armchair in the form of a leaf by Fabrizio Cornelli for Mirabili, Italy c1980. Eileen Grey’s screen is estimated at €10,000-€15,000. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,500 AT HAMMER
A large scale mural from The Dock Green pub in Leeds by renowned artist John Gilroy, best known for his Guinness advertising campaigns, is the top lot at Victor Mee’s October collectors and advertising sale on Wednesday October 21. Rumour has it that Gilroy was a regular and painted the mural as an ode to the pubs previous history in lieu of drinking debts. The building which housed it was once a police station. It became a pub in 1961 and the mural was there until it closed in 2014. Gilroy’s Guinness work is highly collectible and this one has an estimate of €80,000-€100,000. There are 923 lots in the sale.
Sir William Orpen – Portrait of James Hugh Smith-Barry. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
An Orpen Smith-Barry portrait, Giant Irish Elk antlers, an Irish 18th century mahogany side table, a pair of large Meissen vases, Tribal art and a fine set of 19th century ornithology studies are among the delights at Fonsie Mealy’s two day sale of contents from Newport House in Co. Mayo next on October 20-21.
From four poster beds to Russian icons to Nubian torchéres and an August Edouart silhouette portrait of Daniel O’Connell the auction of 890 lots is full of variety and interest. What else can be expected, given that this fine mansion overlooking Clew Bay functioned both as a fishing lodge and an Irish country house hotel over many years. There is every opportunity to see for yourself as viewing at Newport House opens from noon to 5 pm today and tomorrow and from 10 am to 5 pm on Monday.
A pair of 19th century Venetian carved Nubian torchéres. UPDATE: THESE MADE 3,200 AT HAMMER
The live and online auction takes place at The Grace Hotel, Westport at 10.30 am on the following two days. The leading lot is a full length portrait of Colonel Hugh O’Donel MP (1760-1799) with family connections to Red Hugh O’Donnell (1572-1602) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton (€80,000-€100,000).
The Orpen portrait of James Hugh Smith-Barry of Fota (1816-1856) was painted posthumously though you would never guess. Based on a sketch by James Rannie Swinton made in 1854 it was commissioned by his son Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry (1843-1925) – created Baron Barrymore in 1902 – for Fota House. Barrymore paid Orpen £84 and ten shillings for a portrait now estimated at €15,000-€20,000.
There is a similar estimate on an impressive set of Giant Irish Elk antlers with 20 points and skull once at Powerscourt.
Waiting for the Steamer, Aran Islands, a c1950 oil on canvas by Sean Keating (€30,000-€50,000) is one of a number of West of Ireland themed paintings including a Coastal Scene of Kilkee, Co. Clare by Nathaniel Hone (€6,000-€8,000), Slievemore Mountain, Achill Island by Harry Epworth Allen (€3,000-€4,000), Cloudland, Connemara by Maurice MacGonigal (€2,000-€3,000) and Near Maam Cross, a watercolour by Peter Knuttel (€120-€140). Inevitably there are some specimen pike, salmon and trout mounted in showcases.
A Georgian gilt rococo mirror. UPDATE: THIS MADE 50,000 AT HAMMER
A fine Georgian gilt rococo mirror after a design by Thomas Johnson, whose mirrors always told stories to children in the 18th century, is estimated at €20,000-€30,000. A Georgian dining table (€8,000-€10,000) and an Irish 18th century side table (€4,000-€6,000) lead a selection of furniture with reasonable estimates.
Among the leading statement pieces are a pair of 19th century Venetian carved and parcel gilt Nubian torchéres (€4,000-€6,000) and a pair of 19th century Meissen Schneeballen vases and covers with birds (€4,000-€6,000). Tribal art includes a Zulu headrest, a Papua New Guinea cult figure, a Maori bust and an 18th century gavel with a grotesque mask handle used in Dublin’s Hellfire Club.
For the ease of viewers the catalogue is divided into sections in various categories such as silver and plate, jewellery and timepieces, objets d’art and miniatures, religious artefacts, oriental art, library, bar and outdoor effects and individual rooms like the dining room, study, stairwell, reception and the downstairs drawing room.
An Irish 18th century mahogany side table. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,500 AT HAMMER
