Last month, Japanese Switzerland, a painting by Sir John Lavery was the top lot at Sotheby's "Irish Sale" in London where it sold for £509,000 (approximately €693,000).
Now Christie's is offering another major painting by the artist in its "Modern British and Irish Art Evening Auction" at King Street in central London on Wednesday, November 25th.
The Maid was in the Garden Hanging out the Clothes is estimated at £300,000-£500,000.
The painting, measuring 29in by 15in, dates from 1883, and was last seen in public when it was sold at Christie's in 1997 for £133,500. The title is taken from the third verse of the popular children's nursery rhyme, Sing a Song of Sixpence which reads: "The maid was in the garden / Hanging out the clothes / When down came a blackbird /And pecked off her nose".
Lavery made the painting in Grez-sur-Loing, an artists’ colony 70km south of Paris where he worked for a time in the late 19th century, and the maid was apparently a hotel employee hanging out laundry.
Christie's is also offering The Boat Builder by Jack B Yeats also estimated at £300,000-£500,000.
Inspired
The 1913 painting, measuring approximately 14in by 9in, was once owned by Sir Peter Scott – the late renowned ornithologist and son of the Antarctic explorer, Captain Scott..
Following his death, it was sold at auction 20 years ago, also at Christie’s in London, to the unnamed present owner for £95,000.
The painting was inspired by the boat builders Yeats had observed at Carna, Co Galway, during his travels in Connemara.
On Thursday, Christie's will offer a further selection of Irish art in its "Modern British & Irish Day Auction" including He Sings Alone by Jack B Yeats (£50,000-£70,000); Flowerpiece by Roderic O'Conor (£40,000-£60,000); and A Snow Shower Over A Lake by Paul Henry (£25,000-£35,000).
