Irish Art Auctioneer joins with USA Auctioneer

Whyte’s return to the US market with a joint auction with Bloomsbury Auctions and Dreweatt’s. The Irish Sale held by Bloomsbury Auctions in association with Whyte’s is in New York on 23 March with viewing from 17-22 March. Bloomsbury Auctions, with salerooms in New York, London and Rome are the leading antiquarian books auctioneers in the world, and have joined forces with Dreweatt’s - the UK’s fourth largest fine art auction house. Dreweatt’s have salerooms in Bristol, Newbury and other prime locations in the south of England. Whyte’s were active players in the US market but when demand at home outstripped supply, export sales dwindled. With the downturn in the economy here and the faster recovery in the US, Whyte’s return to their former largest customer base with further auctions with Bloomsbury/Dreweatt in New York, London and Dublin over the coming months. Catalogues at www.bloomsburyauctions.com or www.whytes.ie.
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Belfast Landscape Art Show

‘Contemporary Irish Landscapes’ is a 3 person show sponsored by IrishArt.com celebrating the uniqueness of the Irish landscape, particularly in the North West corner of Donegal and Ulster. Ian Gordon, Pat Irwin and Hugh McIlfatrick interpret the landscape in their own unique ways through vibrant colour and light. Ian Gordon studied at Wimbledon School of Art, before moving to an abandoned farm in Donegal where he worked on conceptual art burying embroidery in beautiful places. Eventually he returned to more traditional painting through which he felt he could achieve the same aims and exhibits widely in Ireland and Europe. McIlfatrick is self taught and left his teaching career to become a full time painter drawing inspiration from the Donegal area. He has been involved in many exhibitions and was runner up in the Bass Irish Arts Award. Pat Irwin is also self taught and works in Limavady, a short distance from the northwest coast and its local scenery is a principal subject for nearly all of his paintings. Irish Landscapes | Gordon | Irwin | McIlfatrick | Square Space Gallery - Belfast - Oct 30th - Nov 28th 2008 34 Shaftesbury Square, Belfast Tel ; +44 (0) 2890 200850 http://www.sqspace.com

Middleton Fetches $71 K

An original oil painting by the renowned Irish artist Colin Middleton (1910-1983), titled Teresa and executed in 1947, sold for $71,500 at a multi-estate sale by Richard D. Hatch & Associates. Middleton was probably the most eclectic Irish painter of the 20th century, moving easily between Cubist, Surrealist and Expressionistic styles. He was self-taught and prolific, producing hundreds of works in the 1930s alone. At a Hatch auction held last year, two of Middleton’s works sold for $70,000 each. Teresa was expected to fetch about $50,000, but bidding was lively and competitive. ‘Considering the current state of the economy, compounded by a local gas shortage, this sale was nothing short of amazing,’ said Richard D. Hatch. ‘The turnout was wonderful. A pencil drawing by Louis Le Brocquy (Irish, b. 1916), titled Tinker Man (1946), soared to $38,500; and an original oil painting by Irish artist Neville Johnson titled Family that seemed a good buy for $5,500. At a sale of Irish art held recently by Sotheby’s, three watercolors by Le Brocquy finished in the top ten. (For full source and full article click the Headline).
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In Praise of Hockney...

With his round face and owlish eyes, David Hockney is now almost as recognisable as his paintings, reports the Guardian. And that is saying something, since the best of his swimming-pool scenes and uneasy portraits are art images admired around the world. The artist, who turns 70 today, has a creative restlessness which has always led him to explore new forms. After art-school expressionism he pioneered British pop art, before turning his hand to set design, etched illustration and the photographic montages he dubs "joiners". His mastery of colour, though, is a constant, and is seen once again in his vibrant new set of oil landscapes, which follows the same patch of woodland over the seasons. There are abiding themes, too. One is a concern with how the human eye actually sees; another is art history: he remains a voracious student of the greats - his selection of Turners forms the heart of Tate Britain's current summer show. Through long years in California, he never forgot his Yorkshire roots, returning regularly, before finally coming back home; the biggest collection of his work remains in Saltaire, near Bradford, no distance from where he was born. An original on the canvas, his individualism also emerges in idiosyncratic theories about the reliance of the old masters on cameras. It shows itself, too, in his tirades against bossiness - which reached an almost demented pitch in resisting the smoking ban. Even as he enters his eighth decade, among British artists, it is still David Hockney who makes a bigger splash.
(For full source and article click the Headline).
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