Laois village to become centre of art world for auction

Durrow will become the centre of the art world on Tuesday, September 16 when a number of seminal sculptures and paintings go under gavel at Sheppard's Irish Auction House in Laois. 

With a pre-auction estimate of between €80,000 and €100,000, 14 bronze masks being sold are a visual feast and worth seeing.

The sculptures by Rory Breslin (b.1963) are variations of the keystones on top of the iconic Custom House (c.1791) on Dublin’s quays.

Each head is laden with maritime emblems, flora, fauna, and produce; evoking the geography and folklore of each of the 14 river basins they represent: The Bann, Barrow, Blackwater, Boyne, Erne, Foyle, Lagan, Lee, Liffey, Nore, Shannon, Slaney, Suir and the Atlantic.

Lot 56 by Limerick-born artist, Donald Teskey (b.1956) depicts waves crashing against a rocky coastline,'Ballycastle Bay', capturing the essence of the Mayo coastline after a storm. Laying on paint using brush, palette knife and other implements, Teskey's skill and sensitivity to colour result in an artwork full of drama and energy. Estimate: €20,000 to €30,000.

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Already generating interest is Lot 11, 'Cannstatter Wasen, Stuttgart' (2005) by Hector McDonnell (b.1947). The oil-on-canvas captures the bustling atmosphere of the Cannstatter Wasen festival in Stuttgart, Germany (2005), immersing the viewer in the heart of a traditional beer hall, with its richly adorned interior, jubilant crowd and rhythmic repetition of glasses and figures. It has an estimate of €6,000 to €9,000.

The subject of a 'Girl at a Window' study by William Orpen (1900), pencil, watercolour, charcoal & sepia wash is his wife Grace captured in a quiet moment of intimacy. It was the preparatory work for 'A Window In A London Street' now in the National Gallery. It is Lot 79 and has an estimate of €6,000 to €9,000.

Previews for the auction start on Friday, September 12 and finish at 5pm on Monday, September 15 at Sheppard's Irish Auction House galleries in the centre of Durrow.