LONDON.- The Private Collection of Mary and Alan Hobart – Pioneers of Modern British and Irish Art realised a total of £5,988,024, with sell-through rates of 95% by lot and 98% by value. 58% of works sold above high estimate, demonstrating the continued success of Private & Iconic Collections and Modern British and Irish Art at Christie’s.

The sale was led by O’Connell Bridge (1925) by Jack Butler Yeats, which achieved £882,000, followed by The Thinker on the Butte de Warlencourt (1918) by Sir William Orpen, which sold for £756,000. Other significant works by Orpen achieved strong results: The Poet (circa 1915) (estimate: £200,000–300,000) achieved £504,000 and Changing Billets, Picardy (1918) (estimate: £250,000–350,000) sold for £441,000.

Female artists, as championed by the Hobarts, received great interest from bidders: Eileen Agar’s All Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix (1947) realised £94,500 (estimate: £20,000-30,000), and her From the Broken Branch Came Forth Words and Blood (circa 1947) achieved £73,080 (estimate: £15,000–25,000). Model Resting (Eileen Mayo) (1924) by Dod Procter reached £138,600, 177% above the high estimate.

Augustus John’s An Afternoon in Dorset (1914) drew enthusiastic competition, realising £214,200 against an estimate of £80,000–120,000, a world auction record for the artist in this medium.

Three more world auction records were achieved: Grace Henry’s The Rosary (circa 1910) attracted spirited bidding during the sale, selling for £47,880, as well as Rita Duffy’s Crossroads Dancing (2015), which realised £14,490. Line Vautrin’s “Sequins” Mirror (designed circa 1960), sold for £138,600 setting a world auction record for the designer for this model.

Elizabeth Comba, Specialist and Head of Sale, Private & Iconic Collections at Christie’s London: “We are delighted with the outstanding success of this significant sale, marked by exceptional sell-through rates of 95% by lot and 98% by value. This achievement underscores the enduring legacy of Mary and Alan Hobart and their pioneering taste. We are especially proud to celebrate the remarkable results for Modern Irish Art and female artists, whose work the Hobarts passionately championed, with Grace Henry and Rita Duffy setting new world auction records”.