AFTER last week's preview of the Sotheby's Irish sale, earlier this week Christie's unveiled a selection of the pictures it will he auctioning in the company's London sales rooms on May 21st. One hundred of the 160 lots was shown in the Conrad Hotel in Dublin, with two items receiving particular attention. One of these was a set of nine stained glass panels commissioned in 1917 from Harry Clarke by Dublin collector Laurence Waldron.
The "Queens" panels, based on a poem of the same name by John Millington Synge and displayed in two wrought-iron stands also designed by Clarke (and made by James Hicks), have not been seen in public since 1928.
A collection of technical marvels in glowing jewel colours, the entire set is in perfect condition, while the figures make reference to earlier artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Titian and Mantegna. The estimate for this lot is £150,000-£200,000 but given its rarity, a higher price may well be possible. A portrait of Harry Clarke by Sean Keating is also included in the sale; it is expected to make £12,000-£18,000.
The other item of special interest is the day's last and, like the Clarke panels, is notable for its vibrant hues. John Luke's Landscape with Figures, dating from 1948, is one of this artist's most immediately attractive works, with the three figures suspended in fantastical and dazzling-hued surroundings. It carries a pre-sale estimate of £80,000-£120,000.
Landscape is almost a leitmotif( in this auction, with plenty of 19th century examples by artists such as Andrew Nicholl, whose work includes a distant view of Derry (£7,000-£10,000), and James Arthur O'Connor (£15,000-£20,000), as well as a prospect of Glencree, Co Wicklow, by Paul Henry (£10,000-£15,000).
There is also a fascinating view of Rathfarnham Castle in the 18th century by Thomas Roberts (£45,000-£65,000), an album of 20 watercolours of Co Dublin and Co Wicklow by John Henry Campbell from the first decade of the last century and a sketch book of 18 drawings and watercolours of Irish scenes by Henry Brocas Sr from circa 1820.
Naturally, none of the usual names are neglected in this sale. Jack B Yeats, for example, has nine pictures here, including a bright mid-period view of Galway (£20,000-£30,000), a very late picture called Out of the Mountain's Side (£50,000-£70,000) and an early pen, ink and watercolour showing a circus wagon (£3,000-£5,000).
An early Le Brocquy watercolour called Tinker Women (£2,500-£3,500)is among five pictures by this artist, while a canvas of a maid hanging washing (£60,000-£100,000) is the best of Lavery's work here. Also worthy of note are a Dinan street scene by Walter Osborne (£45,000-£65,000), Sir William Orpen's Lottie of Paradise Walk (£8,000-£12,000), Roderic O'Conor's Girl in a Green Sweater (£15,000-£25,000) and a stained glass panel by Evie Hone (£1,000-£1,500).
