Artists and sculptors often joke that their work will only become valuable when they are dead.
And although a morbid thought, it is often true because only then will the fullness of their life’s work be assessable.
Commenting on this phenomenon in the Financial Times earlier this year, New York-based art-dealer Emmanuel Di Donna said artists who have died have a distinct advantage over their living peers.
“Collectors can see a whole body of work, you can see the progression. A contemporary artist could do something cool, fun and expensive now, but you have no idea what they could do in 20 years time,” said Di Donna, who worked previously for Sotheby’s in London and New York.
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But also, the fickleness of human nature being what it is, means that we are often only willing to pay high prices for works when they have achieved sufficient critical acclaim, often following retrospective exhibitions. (Although this isn’t entirely the case because some works in the so-called “wet-paint market” sold for exorbitant prices at international auctions within three years of being made by younger artists.)
Some art market researchers now claim that geopolitical tensions are prompting buyers to source locally, so perhaps now is a good time to rediscover Irish artists whose work didn’t get the same focus as some of their contemporaries in the 20th century.
Auction rooms are always willing to create a market for works by artists who didn’t achieve the success they might have deserved during their lifetimes. These include many woman artists – sometimes overlooked because their male partners stole the limelight – but also other artists who didn’t move in the right circles or didn’t promote their work or have agents to do so.
Later this month, Adams will host viewings of paintings and drawings by Waterford-born artist Richard O’Neill (1923-2009) in advance of its auction on August 14th. In the catalogue essay, Adam Pearson writes that as an artist O’Neill was said to have been self-reliant, curious and somewhat quiet by nature.
“He was not one to pander to the politics or critics of the art scene and he was reluctant to speak about his work and the meaning within them,” writes Pearson.
O’Neill’s early works were mainly figurative and had a neo-romantic quality to them. They were shown at the Irish Exhibition of Living Art in the 1950s and 1960s.
His first solo exhibition of 21 oil paintings was held at the Dublin Painter’s Gallery at 7 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, in 1956. His second solo show was at the Dawson Gallery in 1964. His later works were more abstract and arguably more powerful.
Some of these most striking works by O’Neill for sale at Adam’s include The Outsider (€700-€1,000), Harbour Sun (€800-€1,200), Red Landscape (€800-€1,200), The Waiting Room (€1,000-€2,000), The Reader (€500-€700) and Samuel Beckett (€1,000-€1,500).
O’Neill’s painting, May 1916 (Thomas Clarke) a large work depicting Tom Clarke blindfolded before a stone wall awaiting his execution, was part of the 1966 commemorative exhibition of the 1916 Rising at the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art [now the Hugh Lane Gallery] on Parnell Square, Dublin 1.
This painting has the highest estimate in the current sale at €3,000-€5,000 and was deemed by Pearson as a turning point indicative of the more figurative, psychologically-charged style in his later years.
[ In pictures: Breaking barriers through artOpens in new window ]
Living for most of his adult life in Rathmines, Dublin 6, O’Neill lectured in graphic design, window display and interior design at the School of Retail Distribution on Marlborough Street in the capital. A scholarship student to the National College of Art in the 1940s, he was a member of the board of the National College of Art and Design in the 1970s and 1980s.
Adam’s online auction entitled Richard O’Neill: A Painter Rediscovered – which will close on Thursday, August 14th – will be on view at Adam’s showrooms, 26 St Stephen’s Green, on Friday, August 8th from 10am-5pm, Saturday and Sunday, August 9th and 10th from 2pm-5pm and Monday to Wednesday, August 11th to 13th from 10am-5pm.
Art and soul
Meanwhile, art collectors seeking summer glamour and pizazz will be interested to explore the paintings, prints and sculpture by Irish and international artists that Oliver Gormley of Gormleys amasses for his Art & Soul exhibitions.
The Culloden Estate in Hollywood, Co Down – just outside Belfast – is the outdoor and indoor venue for more than 350 works by artists including Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Banksy, Julian Opie and Salvador Dalí. Bob Quinn, Ian Pollock, Eamonn Ceannt and Sandra Bell are among the Irish sculptors whose work will be on display in the 12-acre gardens and throughout the hotel.
Art & Soul is free to attend and open to the public from 11am-7pm daily until August 31st. The exhibition will move to the Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare, Co Kerry, from September 14th-October 12th.
What did it sell for?
White marble inlaid chimney piece
Estimate €2,500-€3,000
Hammer price €2,500
Auction house Mullens Laurel Park
Vintage oak three-tier nine-drawer architect’s plan cabinet on moulded legs
Estimate €300-€500
Hammer price €620
Auction house Mullens Laurel Park
Vintage camphor wood brass bound trunk with brass carrying handles
Estimate €100-€200
Hammer price €350
Auction house Mullens Laurel Park
Rennie Mackintosh-style black lacquered side chair with Medusa pattern upholstered seat on moulded legs
Estimate €60-€80
Hammer price €70
Auction house Mullens Laurel Park
