DUBLIN.- A William Scott (1913-1989) painting from the 1960s is the most valuable to appear in an Irish art auction. Entitled Blue Still Life it is a large work – six feet wide and four feet high – and will attract bids from Ireland, Britain and America. Scott was born in Scotland to an Irish father, spent most of his childhood in Enniskillen where he was encouraged to paint by his art teacher, Kathleen Bridle, studied at the College of Art, Belfast and the Royal Academy, London. Scott is regarded – along with Henry Moore and Francis Bacon - as one of the foremost British artists of the 20th Century, but was proud of his Irish heritage and carried an Irish passport. The painting [Lot 58], is expected to sell for €400,000 to €600,000. It comes from the estate of George and Maura McClelland, famous Irish collectors, and was on loan to The Irish Museum of Modern Art for the past eight years.

1950s TAPESTRY BY LOUIS LE BROCQUY
The auction features several other valuable works from the McClelland collection, including a Louis le Brocquy (1916-2012) tapestry, Adam and Eve, [Lot 38] created in 1951. A huge work at nine feet wide and five feet high, it would instantly and totally decorate a large room with a powerful yet beautiful picture. The estimated price is €80,000 to €100,000.

RARE WOOD CARVING FOR €90,000
A very rare sculpture in wood by the outstanding Irish artist, Frederick (“F.E.”) McWilliam (1909-1992), who has a public gallery in Banbridge named after him, is entitled Man and Wife, [Lot 55]and was one of the first he made in the 1930s under the influence of his friend and mentor, Henry Moore. Standing at only seventeen inches high it may seem expensive at €70,000 to €90,000 but these early wood carvings by McWilliam are keenly sought after by collectors in Britain and Ireland; a similar piece made €275,000 at auction three years ago.

PHOTOGRAPH OF TWIGGY VALUED AT UP TO €7,000
The iconic image of the famous 1960s supermodel Twiggy in front of a Bridget Riley painting [Lot 111] by American photographer, Bert Stern (1929-2013) is a superb example of photographic art and is valued at €5,000 to €7,000. Measuring six feet (approximately two metres) square it will be likely seen by interior decorators as a fabulous wall covering. This work is also from the McClelland collection and was on loan to IMMA for the past nine years.

ICONIC IRISH LANDSCAPE STILL SCORES WITH COLLECTORS
The enduring passion for works by Paul Henry (1876-1958) is likely to continue for centuries. His Modern approach to painting landscapes gives him an international collecting fanbase as well as demand from Ireland and America. Whyte’s offer a large oil containing all the elements that Paul Henry collectors desire – sky with dramatic clouds, blue mountains, thatched cottages, turf stacks and water reflections. The estimate is €100,000 to €150,000.

ART FOR LESS?
Not everything in this fantastic auction sale is priced in the tens of thousands. There are even works by Jack Yeats at €5,000, a drawing by William Orpen at only €1,000, and a William Conor drawing at €1,200 – mind you, two of his larger paintings are expected to fetch ten to twenty times more in the auction. There are Percy French, Frank McKelvey and James Humbert Craig landscapes from about €3,000, and, if you can’t afford to spend half a million on the William Scott or €100,000 on Louis le Brocquy’s tapestry, there are prints by both artist from around €800 up to €3,000 each.

Other famous artists represented in the auction are William Leech, Mícheál Mac Líammóir, Gerard Dillon, Colin Middleton, Norah McGuinness, Sir Terry Frost, Camille Souter, Basil Blackshaw, Tony O’Malley, Diana Copperwhite and Gwen O’Dowd, to mention but a few. All the artworks are on display with full descriptions and many interesting notes from art experts at www.whytes.ie

This fabulous auction – comprising over 180 super works of art – will be on show for only three days at the RDS Ballsbridge before being cast to the four winds on Monday evening, 29 May when the auction takes place. The exhibition is in RDS Hall 6, Anglesea Road entrance, Saturday 27 May to Monday 29 May, 10am to 6pm daily; admission and parking is free.