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Selling at €12,000 (well above its estimate of €800 - 1,200) in our most recent Important Irish Art sale is Norah O’Kelly’s Hermes, a piece showcasing her proficiency working with a range of materials including enamel and metal early on in her artistic career. Not much is known of Norah’s life or career outside of what can be gained from inscriptions on her various works – the back of the panel tells us that she was a student of class 6019 in the Dublin School of Art under Percy Oswald Reeves, an enameller and metalworker from England who had moved to Dublin in 1902. A leather-bound journal belonging to O’Kelly (lot 142) also contains reference to Reeves, with verses handwritten by him, Letitia and Eva Hamilton, and Michael J. Ryan, as well as drawings by Sir William Orpen and Harry Clarke.
The note on O’Kelly in our Auction Catalogue is as follows:
‘The Dublin Metropolitan School of Art was very well known for its enamel and stained-glass departments, which were both hugely popular art forms in Ireland. As a result, the Irish Arts and Crafts movement flourished in the early part of the 20thcentury.
Mythology and symbolism are key elements of the enamel and metalwork art of the period. As a medium it as often championed by women who excelled in this artform, elevating the individual and handmade objects. The central panel of this work depicts the Greek god Hermes, standing with his caduceus in one hand and with a satchel slung across his body. His head and feet are adorned with wings as he seems to float above the landscape behind him. The sky is filled with deep blue and turquoise tones, teeming with swimming fish and a majestic lion, while stars light up the background. It is mounted on a wooden shield shaped plaque, with scrolling vacant reserves that were possibly meant to be engraved with a title and the artist’s name or dedication if it was a private commission, but these are details that we can only speculate at.
This enamel panel is a wonderful example of O’Kelly’s early practice, and it is a rare opportunity to see it offered on the auction market.’
Niamh Corcoran, September 2023
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.
Irish author, recipe creator and lifestyle influencer, Indy Parsons, selects her favourite pieces from our upcoming Fine Jewellery & Watches auction
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Cork-born Irish actress, Sarah Greene, selects her favourite pieces from our upcoming Fine Jewellery & Watches auction
Yvonne Aupicq had met Orpen, we understand, while working as a nurse during the war. He had been admitted to hospital with a suspected case of scabies which ended up being a far more serious case of blood poisoning as he recounts in his wartime memoir ‘An Onlooker in France’. Their relationship continued after 1918 when Orpen was appointed as the official artist to The Paris Peace Conference. They relocated to capital and over the following decade he painted her numerous times, often nude as in Amiens 1914, or The Rape and Nude Girl Reading (1921). Working with her as his model during these early years after the war allowed Orpen an opportunity to re-fuel his creativity.
Editor-in-Chief of IMAGE Publications, Lizzie Gore-Grimes, selects her favourite pieces from our upcoming Fine Jewellery & Watches auction
Our upcoming Fine Jewellery & Watches auction on September 13th features a prime example of Van Cleef & Arpel's renowned 'Mystery Setting'
Our June auction offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire one of the great masterpieces of Irish art and icons of Dublin’s history.
Georgia Chiesa selects some of her favourite lots in the upcoming Vintage Wine & Spirits Auction
"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
