In the SALEROOMS

DE VERE’S

“It pissed the whole time, so he must think Connemara is hell,” wrote the artist Gerard Dillon to his friend Bernard Smith. Their mutual acquaintance, Arthur Rose, had endured a soggy visit to the west.

That was around 1950. It was a time when Dillon was in Connemara, painting locals, livestock and landscape in the gaps between the showers. Dillon’s A Wet Day (inset, est. €20,000 to €30,000), is one of the paintings for sale at De Vere’s Irish Art Auction, this September 20. It shows a mother walking her barefoot children down a bog road in the lashing rain, her wool cloak spread to shelter them. All you can see of the kids is their little bare legs. It’s sympathetic, funny, and closely observed.

There are two Connemara ponies to the side of the road. Dillon had noticed the type at a pony show in Clifden and described them in his letter to Dillon: “such unusual colours — smoky grey as you get out of a chimney — the oaken meal colour, it was wonderful”. The auction also includes a painting by Richard Thomas Moynan, best known for the famous Military Manoeuvers at the National Gallery (it shows children playing). The painting at de Vere’s A Muted Appeal — The Little Match Girl (est. €6,000 to €9,000) shows a street vendor who’s had a hard day. The model for the portrait was a flower seller who worked on Chatham Street, and the doorway may well be that of Neary’s Pub. Other paintings of interest in the sale include Gathering

Beans, by Arthur David McCormick (est. €4,000 to €6,000). De Vere’s Irish Art Auction takes place at the Royal College of Physicians, 6 Kildare Street, Dublin 2, on September 20 at 6pm, with viewing at Veres Gallery, 35 Kildare Street, Dublin 2, from September 16. See deveres.ie.

ANTIQUES & VINTAGE FAIRS

The Wells House and Gardens Antiques Fair will take place at Wells House, County Wexford, on September 16, 17. The fair runs from 1pm to 5 pm both days. Alongside the fair, expect a series of demonstrations by experts who restore paintings and furniture

This part of the event is curated by Chantal Fortune, antique dealer, who has just become the first Irish member of Antiques Young Guns (AYG).

This is an international organisation, formed to support young (aged 39 and under) professionals within the wider antiques industry.

Entry to the fair is €3 per person and there is an €8 entry fee per car to the grounds of Wells House, which is on the R741 between Gorey and Wexford. See wellshouse.ie. Dates for the diary include Hibernian Antique Fairs’ Cork National Antiques Fair, which takes place at the International Hotel, Cork Airport, September 30 to October 1.