A SCULPTURE of Gen Charles de Gaulle that was used as “a doorman” in Dublin’s best-known hairdressing salon during the Celtic Tiger era is to be sold at auction this evening.
The General, by artist Graham Knuttel, was bought by hairdresser David Marshall for his Dawson Street premises in the early 1980s.
The salon has closed after almost 30 years due to the recession.
The sculpture, measuring 165x41cm (65x16in), depicts the former French president on a plinth and was made using papier-mâché gold paint and wood.
It will go under the hammer in Whyte’s Irish art auction at the RDS in Ballsbridge with a pre-sale estimate of €3,000-€4,000.
Mr Marshall bought the piece directly from the artist and does not recall how much he paid.
He said he had “always aspired to having a doorman in uniform – like at Claridge’s Hotel – to greet customers and The General was a little bit cheaper”. The sculpture was “positioned just inside the door” of the salon and was “popular with clients”.
He had decided to sell it because “sadly, The General was part of Dawson Street, and we move on”.
A second piece of sculpture from the salon, titled Flying Fish, also by Knuttel, is being auctioned and is estimated at €1,000-€1,500. Mr Marshall blamed the “tough decision” to close the salon earlier this month on the high cost of “rent, rates and overheads in Dawson Street”.
He continues to cut hair at his David Marshall Academy and School of Hairdressing on South Great George’s Street, and has dropped his price from €135 to €120.
A native of Co Leitrim, he opened his first salon on Fade Street in 1974.
Dublin-born artist Knuttel, while best known for his paintings, is also a sculptor and has designed tapestries for the Aubusson weavers in France and porcelain for Tipperary Crystal.
