Irish Fine Art Market News - 2008
Brief Guide to Auction Sales & Prices of Painting, Sculpture and Contemporary Artworks in Ireland: Whytes, Adams, de Veres Auctioneers.
Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art - HOMEPAGE - Irish Art News - Most Expensive Irish Paintings

Bowl, Eggs and Lemons.
William Scott. Sold for £1,071,650
June 6, 2008

The World Art Market
For comparative figures of auction
records achieved by paintings
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and other collectors at Sotheby's,
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please see the following:
Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings;
Top 20 Most Expensive Paintings.

Has the Irish Art Bubble Burst?
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Latest Market News

Watch Modigliani at Christie's

Although the Irish art market performs in a notoriously idiosyncratic manner, what happens to Les Deux Filles (1918) - the rare and exquisite masterpiece by Amedeo Modigliani - at Christie's next month, may well have a bearing on the market's potential. Bookmark this page for more news.

40 Percent Reduction in Art Sales in 2008

According to sales figures released by the big three Irish auction houses - Adam's, Whytes and De Vere's, who between them account for four-fifths of the Irish market - gross sales for the year fell by roughly 40 percent, compared with 2007. Total number of lots remained static at 3,500 - as did sales rates, at around 70 percent. Top prices reached €200,000 (eg. River Mouth 1946, by Jack B Yeats), compared with €680,000 in 2007 (A Family, by Louis le Brocquy). Reasons for the drop in sales include: lower sales rates at the upper end of the market, as well as a scarcity of top-priced works being offered by sellers, who were clearly unwilling to sell into a declining market. In addition, sales were reduced due to unrealistic minimum prices. Sales of Irish paintings at Sotheby's and Christie's fared no better. Sales receipts for 2008 were also roughly 40 percent lower than 2007. (Source: Irish Times, Dec 28).

Anecdotal Evidence of Downturn: Oct 27

Reports from galleries and artists seem to indicate a definite reduction in demand for certain categories of fine art. Works by new and emerging painters seem to be worst affected, although the downturn is likely (as the latest auction figures suggest) to spread to all categories. Whether this will simply lead to keener prices, or develop into something worse, is as yet unclear. Bookmark this page for regular updates about the market.

De Veres Fine Art Auction: 13 Oct

A seemingly lack-lustre set of auction results from de Veres produced only one pair of highlights: Autumn Coastline, and Downpatrick Head II by Donald Teskey (b.1956), which sold for €30,000 and €22,000 respectively.

Sales down at Water Colour Society of Ireland Show: 28 Sept - 11 Oct

According to organizers, sales were approx 30 percent down at the annual WCSI exhibition, the largest annual watercolour show in Ireland, which featured works by over 100 watercolourists, including members of the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Royal Ulster Academy.

Latest Irish Auction Results: 29 Sept - 1 Oct 2008

Sales of Irish fine art at Whytes, Adam's, Dolan's and O'Driscoll's auctions during the week were seen as reassuringly positive by most auctioneers and salesroom experts. The two big Dublin sales - Whyte & Sons (Mon 29 Sept) and James Adam and Sons (Wed 1 Oct) - both reported positive results, as did Dolan's (Galway) and O'Driscoll's (Cork).

At Whyte's, sales rates were almost unchanged over 2007 at 60 percent, for total gross sales of €1.1 million, with most lots selling within pre-sale estimates. Highlights included: Achill Head, a west of Ireland landscape by Paul Henry (1876-1958), which went for a mid-estimate €90,000; Lemon Growing by Louis le Brocquy (b.1916), which sold for a mid-estimate €54,000. Surprises included higher-than-expected prices for works by Sir Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850), James le Jeune (1910-83), Patrick Hennessy (1915-80) and Patrick Swift (1927-83). Solid prices were achieved for works by William Leech (1881-1968), Sean Keating (1889-1977), Colin Middleton (1910-83), John Vallely (b.1941), and John Doherty (b.1949), among others. Unsold lots included works by William Conor (1881-1968), Gerard Dillon (1916-71) and Harry Kernoff (1900-74).

At Adam's, the rate of sales was 6 percent up on last year at 76 percent, for total sales of €900,000. Average hammer prices were marginally below pre-sale estimates. Highlights included six paintings by Colin Middleton (1910-83) that sold for over €250,000; a portrait of Seamus Heaney by Barry Cooke (b.1931) which went for €28,000 - an auction record for Cooke; Portrait of a Boy with a Cane by Richard T Moynan (1856-1906) which sold for €19,500; a still-life by Patrick Hennessy (1915-80) which sold for €18,500. Unsold lots at Adam's featured works by Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy, and John Shinnors (b.1950), among others.

Three Studies for a Self Portrait.
(Detail) Francis Bacon.
Sold for $34.4 million at Christie's
London, 30 June 2008.

Bacon Tops Contemporary Art Sales - 30 June, 2008

The top lot of Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Auction was Three Studies for a Self Portrait by Francis Bacon (1909-1992), a rare self-portrait triptych painted while the artist was in Paris in 1975. It was hammered down at $34.4 million.

William Scott Still-Life Sells for £1 million - June 6, 2008

The still life painting "Bowl, Eggs and Lemons", by County Fermanagh painter William Scott (1913-89), was bought for for £1,071,650 at Christie's in London. Scott thus joins the select band of Irish artists whose works have breached the £1 million barrier.

World Record Price For Irish Painting - May 14, 2008

May 14, 2008: At the Sotheby's auction in New York, a mystery art collector spent $86.3 million on "Triptych", a three-panel painting by Francis Bacon, making it the most expensive piece of Irish art in history. Sources claim that the unidentified buyer was none other than Roman Abramovich, the Russian owner of London's Chelsea football club. Not previously noted for his love of fine art, Abramovich is worth over £11 billion, according to the Sunday Times "Rich List," and allegedly bought the work for his wife's new art gallery in Moscow.

Triptych 1976. (Detail) Francis Bacon.
Sold for $86.3 million at Sotheby's
New York, May 14, 2008.

Auction of Irish Art - May 7, 2008

The annual London sale of Irish art at Sotheby's (May 7, 2008) and Christie's (May 8, 2008) was down by 40 percent on the previous year. Salesroom revenue (excl fees) totalled £6.7 million, although active post-auction selling is estimated to add a further £600,000.

Despite good attendance figures at both auctions, a sign that the Irish art market remains popular at least among collectors from Ireland, buyers were cautious and much more selective in their bidding, with approximately 40 percent of lots being unsold at Sotheby's, and 34 percent at Christie's; a significant increase on 2007.

The top hammer price was £500,000 paid by an American buyer for a portrait by Walter Osborne (1859-1903) entitled 'Dorothy and Irene Falkiner', while auction records were set for Nathaniel Hone The Elder (1718-84) and Daniel O'Neill (1920-74), in respect of a 1782 double-portrait (£295,000) and 'Reclining Figure' (£216,000) respectively. Other highlights from Sotheby's and Christie's included two works by John Lavery (1856-1941) - 'A Windy Day' (£400,000) and 'Miss Auras, The Red Book' (£170,000) - 'Connemara Cottage Dwellers' (£240,500) by Louis le Brocquy, 'Pasage, Pont-Aven' (£200,000) by the Irish Impressionist Roderic O'Conor (1860-1940), a Galway landscape (£168,500) by Paul Henry (1876-1958), two paintings by Jack B Yeats (1871-1957), 'Death' (£80,000) by Harry Aaaron Kernoff (1900-74), 'The Harvesters' (£65,000) by Nora McGuinness (1901-80), an 18-inch sculpture 'The Pianist I' (£38,000) by FE McWilliam (1909-92), and a bronze (£23,000) by the contemporary Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie.

The Blue Hat, by William Orpen.

However, several paintings by major Irish artists were withdrawn from sale, including: 'Image of Samuel Beckett' by Louis le Brocquy (later sold at the low estimate of £180,000), 'The Table in the Blue Room' by Gerard Dillon (later sold for £100,000), and 'The Shrimper' by Paul Henry (later sold for £110,000). Other works withdrawn pending further negotiations included 'The Bridge at Paris' by William Leech (1881-1968) and 'We Are Leaving You Now' by Jack B Yeats.

At Sotheby's, 116 lots grossed £4.15 million, compared with £6.12 million from 164 lots in 2007. At Christie's, 162 lots grossed £2.6 million compared with £4.38 million from 138 lots in 2007, although Christie's afternoon sale of lesser works (which contributed £1 million to the 2007 total) was dropped from the 2008 event.

Overall, given the economic slowdown over the last 18 months, the results were not unexpected, and although Irish auctioneers and dealers described the atmosphere as much quieter than previous years, sentiment in the Irish art market remains relatively buoyant with no shortage of money for rare or realistically priced items.

Market News - 2007

Although sellers registered numerous record prices and recorded healthy profits during the year, signs of caution emerged, not least because of the general slowdown in economic activity. One should also note the relative scale of market pricing: according to An Investor's Guide to the Art Market (Dr Clare McAndrew), more than 80 per cent of work sold here went under the hammer for less than 5,000 euros, and almost 50 percent for 1,000 euros or less. Add to this, the fact that the reputation of many Irish artists is confined largely to their native country. In short, excluding worldwide 'names' like Francis Bacon, Louis le Brocquy and Jack B. Yeats, the Irish art market lacks a global dimension. True, this is offset to a degree by the enthusiasm of Irish buyers for local artworks (witness the huge price of €400,000 paid for Ulysses Off Connemara (1952) by Sean Keating), but it serves to demonstrate that the Irish market is, to a degree, 'detached' from the global market.

Thus, after spectacular results in early 2007, (for example, Whyte's February sale generated several new Irish painting records for artists like George (AE) Russell and Markey Robinson; while de Veres June sale generated double the revenues of the previous year), the second half of 2007 was lack lustre by comparison with unsold lots (including famous named artists) at several auctions rising to 30-50 percent. A particularly surprising example was a rare, previously unseen, painting by William Gerard Barry which attracted no buyer. Even the relatively successful Kearney autumn auction at Adams - which generated over €5 million - was down on a comparable event in 2006. Not even major names like William Leech, Louis le Brocquy, Tony O'Malley, Colin Middleton, William Orpen and Gerard Dillon have proved immune to this slippage in demand.

Even so, total Irish sales in 2007 were, broadly speaking, some 10 percent up on the previous year - which itself was very significantly up on 2005 - although the number of works shown dropped to 3,500, compared to 4,500 in 2006 and 3,900 in 2005. Given the number of new Irish art galleries, the latter trend is somewhat disappointing.

Among the most successful artists were Louis le Brocquy (A Family [1951] sold for €680,000); Jack B Yeats (A Man Doing Accounts, sold for €250,000); William Orpen (The Blue Hat, went for €500,000); while other artists achieved top prices as follows: Leo Whelan (€265,000), William Conor (€192,000), Gerard Dillon (€192,000), Basil Blackshaw (€160,000), Daniel O'Neill (€156,000), to name but a few.

Irish Fine Art Valuers & Auctioneers

When it comes to identifying trends in Irish art, or assessing the current and potential value of Irish artists, there is no substitute for professional advice from art experts. Fortunately, Ireland has a number of eminent auctioneers and valuers who deal in painting, sculpture and prints, including: James Adam and Sons (Dublin), de Veres Art Auctions (Dublin), Whyte & Sons (Dublin), Loughlin Bowe (Kilkenny), and John Ross & Company (Belfast).

Other companies include: Dolan's (Galway), Morgan O'Driscoll (Cork) and Dublin auctioneer Garret O'Connor. All these companies offer expert advice to both private and corporate art collectors. See also: Irish Art Exhibitions.

In addition, the Ashville Media Group, in association with Whytes, produces an excellent annual survey of auction sales (A Buyers Guide to Irish Art) with comprehensive results from UK and Irish sales rooms, which is available in bookshops, while the Irish Arts Review journal produces an annual list of Irish artworks sold at auction, which is available free with its year-end issue. For anyone interested in the state of visual art in Ireland, including Irish Sculpture, these publications are essential references.

• For more about scenic artworks, see: Irish landscape artists.
• For more about genre-painting, see Irish genre painters.
• For details of portraiture in Ireland, see Irish portrait artists.
• For facts about painters and sculptors in Ireland, see: Irish Art: Guide to Visual Arts.