In addition to our annual Irish Art sale in London in November, Sotheby’s is delighted to announce a unique sale of Irish Art, Literature and Wine to be held in Paris in May 2022, coinciding with the centenary anniversary of the 1922 World Congress of the Irish Race, in which the newly founded Irish State participated in a week-long international conference in Paris. In attendance were Irish politicians, diaspora delegates, writers, artists and musicians. The aim was to promote an independent Ireland on a world stage and display the country’s artistic and cultural uniqueness. The Irish Bulletin, which produced a widely distributed pamphlet to accompany the Congress, declared Paris was chosen because, ‘the capital of France is at the same time the capital of the civilized world and the centre of Celtic civilization.’ For the occasion, a major, month long Irish art exhibition of three hundred works was also staged at Galeries Barbazanges – a bold statement in the art capital of the world.

To commemorate this significant event in modern Irish history, Sotheby’s is delighted to be staging a unique sale in Paris of Irish art, literature and wine. It will offer key works by Ireland’s leading artists and writers, many of whom had ties with France or were represented in the 1922 Congress exhibition. At the turn of the 19th century and into the 20th, Ireland’s most avant-garde painters left Dublin for France and installed themselves in ateliers and artistic communities to learn directly the latest modern developments. These included Roderic O’Conor, who became a member of the Pont-Aven School based around Gauguin and never returned to Ireland. In his footsteps followed such painters as John Lavery, Walter Osborne, Paul Henry, William Leech, Mainie Jellett and Louis le Brocquy. Jack B. Yeats, perhaps Ireland’s most famous painter of the 20th century, gave his only public lecture at the 1922 World Congress in Paris, while his brother W. B. Yeats, also lectured. W. B. Yeats is but one of several internationally renowned Irish writers who formed strong ties with France, including Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Samuel Beckett. 1922 sees the centenary anniversary of Joyce’s literary masterpiece, Ulysses, which was published in Paris in 1922. France’s vineyards have also long attracted Irish connoisseurs, and the sale will include a select group of lots with Irish links. Bringing together these themes, the auction will be a celebration of the cultural connections that have long united Ireland and France.

We are currently accepting consignments. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any works you would like to discuss.

Sotheby’s Dublin: 29 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2

10 January: Watches and Jewellery
24 January: Prints & Multiples
26 January: Modern British and Irish Art
9February – Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
9 March European Sculpture and Works of Art
23 March Impressionism and Modern Art

Northern Ireland

25 January: Prints & Multiples
27 January: Modern British and Irish Art
10 February: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
10 March European Sculpture and Works of Art
23 March Impressionism and Modern Art

Valuation days are free of charge and without obligation. For an appointment, please call us on 01 644 0200