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Up for sale in our next Important Irish Art auction on Wednesday May 29th are four works depicting the sea voyage from Derry to Iona, undertaken first by St Colmcille (Columba) in 563 AD, and recreated 1400 years later by Wallace Clark, an accomplished yachtsman and author of the classic maritime volume Sailing Round Ireland.
Three of these works (lot 13; lot 14; lot 15) are by James Dixon, a leading member of the Tory Island school of primitive art and a close friend of Clark’s. Another painting by Letitia Marion Hamilton (lot 12) also depicts the voyage. Our auction catalogue note reads as follows:
‘Wallace Clark circumnavigated Ireland and all her islands for the first time in 1951, and again in 1954. On these explorations he bonded with islanders and fisherfolk who shared his instinct for negotiating difficult waters. He met James Dixon on Tory Island in the early 1950s while sailing on his 36ft Bermudan yawl, ‘Wild Goose.’ Dixon and Clark both shared a passion for the sea. Dixon painted what he saw around him in his distinctive detailed, naturalistic style: boats, the wild seas, and the islands. Clark sought to capture the same in his writing. Clark wrote “The islands of Ireland lie round her shoreline like water drops fallen from the head of a swimmer and like water drops they glisten in many colours”. Clark’s many sailing expeditions included a re-creation of St Colmcille’s sea voyage in 563 AD from Derry to Iona, a small island off the coast of Mull in Scotland. After his precarious crossing in a curragh, St Colmcille founded an abbey on Iona, abase for Celtic Christianity in the Scottish pagan kingdoms.
Clark’s endeavour garnered considerable interest in 1961 and was widely reported. Both Dixon and Letitia Hamilton were inspired to paint the voyage to Iona. Hamilton, part of Clark’s artistic circle of friends, painted her tribute to the voyage in the year before her death, despite her failing eyesight, and gifted it to Clark. (lot 12) These paintings of the voyage pay homage not only to Clark and his crew, but to St Colmcille’s original journey and the legacy he left.’
Viewings for the sale are in our St Stephen’s Green showroom as follows:
Friday 24th May: 10am – 5pm
Saturday 25th May: 2pm – 5pm
Sunday 26th May: 2pm – 5pm
Monday 27th May: 10am – 5pm
Tuesday 28th May: 10am – 5pm
Wednesday 29th May: 10am – 4pm
Please see our ‘Upcoming Auctions’ page for more information on how to register, and to view the complete e-catalogue online.
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Buying at Auction and the Role of Antiques in a Modern Home
Important Irish Art Auction Highlights
Oliver Dowling Collection by Aidan Dunne
2024 is a year in which Adam’s wants to recognise the key role buying antique furniture and furnishings at auction contributes greatly to the sustainable initiative. In 2019 the Environmental Protection Agency reported stark figures that each year in Ireland 1.2 million reusable bulky items, primarily furniture goes into landfill. Similar to the problem of ‘fast fashion’, the constant production and consumption of new items is leading to rapidly growing waste problem. We want to acknowledge those who are already buying second hand or antique furniture at auction and to encourage new buyers by highlighting the benefits of acquiring affordable, well-made quality items that are built to last.
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Cork-born Irish actress, Sarah Greene, selects her favourite pieces from our upcoming Fine Jewellery & Watches auction
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"Beating the bounds is a tradition that can be traced back to the medieval period. At this time, land was divided into parishes and the clergy and church wardens held the responsibility for its upkeep and management. It was up to the Church to ensure that its parishioners knew the local boundary lines and, before maps became commonplace, this had to be kept as a mental record."
Adam’s in conjunction with Suzanne MacDougald are proud to host an online timed auction of artworks to aid the Irish Red Cross’s humanitarian work in delivering vital services to millions of people impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. With no buyers premium 100% of the hammer price will go directly to the Irish Red Cross.
Ros Drinkwater writes of Jack B Yeats' 'The Boat' in the Business Post:
With a consolidated result of €320,000,the At Home sale in Stephan’s Green, was a great success.
James Adam & Sons Ltd, Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers, 26 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2,
D02 X665, Ireland
