HAPPY CHRISTMAS

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our clients, far and near a very Happy Christmas and healthy 2017.
We will have stunning new works in the New Year, including amazing paintings by American artists!

Fine Art Christmas Sale The Kingsley Hotel, Cork 11th December

JOHN HAYES - Special Branch Carvings - What a talented man!

Special Branch Carvings are based in Fenor, County Waterford and specialise in hand carved wooden sculptures.

John Hayes will be demonstrating his handcrafted wooden sculptures at the Ploughing Championships again this year.  John uses a range of chainsaws to complete his work and it is intriguing to watch him create his magnificent pieces. John transformed a tree, which had fallen victim to storm damage in Fenor, Waterford, in the blessed virgin surrounded by 3 angels. It created so much attention that Nationwide wanted to tell the amazing story of his vision to come up with this idea for the tree.

SOTHEBY'S IRISH ART AUCTION 13.9.2016

Gottfried Helnwein's painting 'The Disaster of War 47' was estimated between £30,000 - 50,000 in Sotheby's Irish art auction yesterday 13.9.2016. 

The actual hammer price including buyers premium for the painting was £115,000 !!!!

In the same auction an oil on linen painting by Irish artist Martin Finnin was estimated between £5,000 - 7,000 and reached £ 6,250 including buyers premium.

AFTERNOON TEA at THE SHELBOURNE

Afternoon Tea at the Shelbourne

Inspired by the artist Michael Flatley

The impeccable tradition of afternoon tea continues in the Lord Mayor’s Lounge at The Shelbourne, where this most pleasurable of rituals at Dublin’s favourite five-star hotel takes an artistic turn, with the dynamic new Afternoon Tea inspired by the artist Michael Flatley.

Beloved and renowned for his talents on stage as a dancer, Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley is also an accomplished artist.  Using the dexterity and precision of his footwork in a very different way he creates large-scale abstract paintings by combining his dancing with paint, moving across the canvas to create extraordinary artworks with the controlled steps and expressive gestures of his feet.   

The Lord Mayor’s Lounge is delighted to host an exhibition showcasing a selection of Michael Flatley’s artistic creations, the largest public display of his work and first in Ireland to date. It is this selection of paintings which have formed the inspiration for the pastry team’s talented responses to them, as part of this exciting afternoon tea menu inspired by the artist Michael Flatley.

Captivated by Michael Flatley’s unique art collection – the pastry team’s own artistic impulses have been triggered by the colours, textures and themes of his paintings to create desserts inspired by Elvis, Playful, The Grand National and Nella Fantasia.

Elvis has inspired a salted caramel mousse, raspberry compote and dark chocolate mousse encased in a dark chocolate glaze, the vivid colours of Playful have led to a strawberry macaroon filled with strawberry vanilla cheesecake, rhubarb compote and strawberry pâte de fruit, the image of The Grand National has influenced a caramelised éclair filled with mango passion mousse with coconut ganache, and the energy of Nella Fantasia has sparked the creation of an almond frangipane tartlet and pistachio pot crème with mixed berries.

With the inspiration for the perfectly made pâtisserie surrounding you in The Lord Mayor’s Lounge, there are two entirely different forms of creativity to be enjoyed – the talents of the pastry team and those of the exceptional artist, coming together in a unique combination of imagination, skill, and culinary expertise.

Launching on September 6th in The Shelbourne in the presence of the artist, Afternoon Tea inspired by the artist Michael Flatley is available daily at The Shelbourne for €49 per person for Classic Afternoon Tea and €64 for Champagne Afternoon Tea, and runs from September 6th to November 22nd, returning in 2017 from January 2nd to April 3rd.

For bookings and enquires call +353 1 6634500 or for more information see www.TheShelbourne.ie

The Shelbourne,

27 St Stephen's Green,

Dublin 2

Tel: 01 6634500

www.TheShelbourne.ie

The Vintage Bewick Collection

A selection of works by internationally renowned artist Pauline Bewick, spanning 5 decades of her life.
For a catalogue please contact claire@soloarte.ie

The Art Market: Recovery in Ireland while International Boom Continues

The art market: recovery in Ireland while international boom continues

Auctioneers confidence restored as demand returns

Michael Parsons

Irish Times

Saturday January 2^nd 2016

The past 12 months saw a recovery in the Irish market and a continuing boom in international art and antique sales. Auctioneers face 2016 with confidence for the first time since the economic crash in 2008. But the year ahead will likely be as unpredictable as the one just past.

The Irish art market 
All the main auction houses reported a recovery in demand for Irish art during 2015 – in line with the economic recovery. The big end-of-year auctions had sold rates averaging 80 per cent although prices remain much lower than during the boom years.

Auctioneers complained of a shortage in the supply of top-quality art and a frequently-cited reason was that owners were reluctant to sell – perhaps for the same reason that purchasers want to buy – with deposit rates so low, many collectors seem to regard art as a good ‘alternative’ investment.

The highest price paid for a painting at auction in Ireland in 2015 was for Man in a Train Thinking by Jack B Yeats which sold for €220,000 at a de Veres auction in December.

The runner-up was Morgan O’Driscoll Auctioneers whereBusiness – also by Jack B Yeats – made €210,000 in December. At Whyte’s, the top lot was Portrait of Gladys Cooper by Sir William Orpen which sold for €175,000 in May. At Adam’s, the highest price achieved was for Roundstone, Connemara by Jack B Yeats which sold for €58,000 in May. Almost overnight, Michael Flatley became one of the most expensive living Irish artists. One of his paintings, featured onThe Late Late Show and titled The Power sold for €177,500 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s art auction in the RDS in May and Flatley later held his debut selling exhibition in London.

Irish antiques, collectibles and jewellery auctions 
Not for the first time, the highest price paid at auction was achieved for a Chinese lot. At Sheppard’s auction of the contents of Capard House, Rosenallis, Co Laois, in September, a couple who had travelled from Beijing especially for the auction, successfully bid €560,000 for Chinese porcelain. In February, a ‘Native American’ outfit, brought home to an aristocratic ‘Big House’ in Co Kilkenny more than 100 years ago, sold for €320,000 at Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers, trouncing the top pre-sale estimate of €6,000.

The outfit (a hide Poncho War Shirt, “with original hand painted native designs”; hide leggings; an original-hand painted and beaded Head Dress with feathers; and a “sheep hide, “bead-decorated purse”) was bought on the telephone by an unnamed bidder in the US.