Highlights from Adam's Important Irish Art Auction

Kicking off our featured lots this week is this unique Waterweeds painting from Norah McGuinness HRHA, dated 1968. Though this Norah McGuinness painting is clearly of water, weeds and three ducks, its brilliance belongs to its handling of colour and its structure and composition which includes abstract as well as representational qualities. Reminiscent of her 1930's painting The Thames and 1962's Garden Green, Waterweeds eclipsed its €30,000 estimate for a final hammer price of €44,000.

Up next is this signed, oil on canvas edition of Charles Lamb's In-shore Fishermen, previously exhibited at Hugh Lane Gallery's Charles Lamb Memorial Exhibition in 1969. In this example of two men finely balanced in their currach, row backwards to the shore line, Lamb has expertly captured the rhythmic movement, as one of the men controls the oars while the other holds out a net pulling in their catch along the way. He uses quick impastoed brush strokes to create a sense of the waves lapping against the boat as it moves through the water while the oars glide across and under its surface.

Third on our featured lots this week is this brilliant, signed, oil on canvas edition of Georgina Moutray Kyle's Boats. An active committee member of the Belfast Art Society, Kyle spent time travelling in the 1880's before returning to Ireland with a distinctly modern palette and post-impressionist style. This piece outperformed its €1,500 - €2,000 with a hammer price of €4,600.

Our third hand picked lot from the Adam's Online Picture sale on Tuesday 14th March 2023 is this dramatic and eye catching oil on canvas painting by Edwin Hayes (1819-1904). This coastal scene is signed by the artist and is 19.5 x 29cm. This lot went under the hammer at an impressive €800.00.

Next up, we're highlighting this sensational portrait of Irish playwright (and key figure in the Irish Literary Revival) by Harry Kernoff. Kernoff became the first night student to win the Taylor Art Scholarship in 1923, and became a full member of the RHA in 1935, before finding international attention by representing Ireland at the New York World's Fair in 1939. Known for his iconic, honest depictions of Dublin and her people, Kernoff continues to feature at auction often. This piece hit a final hammer price of €3,600.

Rounding up our featured lots this week is this outstanding study of a young woman by Romantic painter Daniel O'Neill. This signed, oil on board portrait perfectly captures O'Neill's dreamy melancholic mood that defined much of his work. Additionally, it highlights his exceptional skill at juggling contrasting paint textures in a single composition, marrying the vigorous impasto of brush and palette knife with soft, silky glazes. This portrait achieved an excellent hammer price of €26,000.