Basil Ivan Rákóczi
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Basil Ivan Rákóczi was born in Chelsea, London in 1908 to a Hungarian father and Irish mother. He studied at the Brighton School of Art before enrolling in the Académie de la Grande Chaumičre, Paris. Rákóczi was proud of his Celtic and gypsy heritage which influenced his bohemian lifestyle and more particularly his practice. In 1933, he established the Society of Creative Psychology in London. There, Rákóczi would meet his life-long friend, artist Kenneth Hall, during one of the society’s meetings in 1935. That same year they set up The White Stag Group whose philosophy, which they called Subjectivist Art, was not associated with any particular style or set belief but rather encouraged an exploration of psychology and of modernist ideas. Advocating for peace at the dawn of WW2, the White Stag Group relocated to Ireland in 1939 to avoid Hall’s conscription. The group’s first exhibition was held in Rákóczi’s flat in 1940. Among the artists associated with the group were Patrick Scott, Gerard Dillon, Evie Hone, Mainie Jellett and Louis le Brocquy among others. Rákóczi and Hall organised their soon-to-be most successful exhibition, the ‘Exhibition of Subjective Art’ in 1944. The exhibition was praised by the Irish Times for its freshness and opened a new door for modern art in Dublin. Leaving Dublin for Paris in 1946, Rákóczi continued exhibiting with the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Irish Exhibition of Living Art. A retrospective of Rákóczi’s work with the White Stag Group was held in the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin in 2005. (whytes.ie)
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'TOM THUMB - BOY ON A COCK'
- Price Realised: €16,000
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- oil on canvas
- 74 by 91cm., 29 by 36in.
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'LES DEUX CHAISES, 1956'
- Price Realised: €11,500
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- oil on canvas
- 53 by 72cm., 21 by 28.5in.
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'TWO FIGURES HOLDING CANDLES'
- Price Realised: €8,700
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- oil on canvas
- 91 by 122cm., 36 by 48in.
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'TWO FIGURES HOLDING CANDLES'
- Price Realised: €7,000
- Sale: 04 December 2023
- oil on canvas
- 30˝ x 50in. (77.47 x 127cm)
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'LE REPAS LA MARSEILLES, 1954'
- Price Realised: €6,200
- Sale: 25 May 2015
- oil on canvas
- 39˝ x 28˝in. (100.33 x 72.39cm)
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'KEEL, ACHILL, COUNTY MAYO'
- Price Realised: €6,000
- Sale: 31 May 2021
- oil on board
- 19˝ x 25˝in. (49.53 x 64.77cm)
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'LE REPAS ¦ LA MARSEILLAISE'
- Price Realised: €6,000
- Sale: 30 November 2004
- oil on canvas
- 100 by 72cm., 39.5 by 28.5in.
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'COMPOSITION PASTORALE I'
- Price Realised: €5,200
- Sale: 03 March 2025
- oil on board
- 25˝ x 31˝in. (64.77 x 80.01cm)
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'NATUR MORTE AUX CHAMPIGNONS, 1956'
- Price Realised: €5,200
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- oil on canvas
- 50 by 65cm., 19.7 5 by 25.5in.
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'THE RED HORSE, 1956'
- Price Realised: €5,000
- Sale: 20 September 2005
- gouache on card
- 43 by 62cm., 17 by 24.5in.
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'STILL LIFE WITH MANDOLIN'
- Price Realised: €4,600
- Sale: 28 November 2006
- gouache on cardboard
- 50 by 42cm., 19.5 by 16.5in.
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'FIGURE IN A FOREST'
- Price Realised: €4,600
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- oil on canvas
- 46 by 55cm., 18 by 21.5in.
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'P-CHEUR AUX FILETS, FISHERMEN WITH NETS'
- Price Realised: €4,400
- Sale: 26 April 2005
- oil on canvas
- 71 by 53cm., 28 by 21in.
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'FEEDING A BIRD'
- Price Realised: €4,200
- Sale: 22 February 2005
- oil on canvas
- 66 by 51cm., 26 by 20in.
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'NOCTURNAL SCENE WITH GOATS AND BIRDS'
- Price Realised: €4,000
- Sale: 30 May 2016
- oil on board
- 24˝ x 31in. (62.23 x 78.74cm)
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'LES ÉCHECS, 1952'
- Price Realised: €3,600
- Sale: 26 November 2012
- oil on canvas
- 18 by 24in., 45.72 by 60.96cm.
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'CHILDREN WITH BALLOONS'
- Price Realised: €3,400
- Sale: 22 February 2005
- oil on canvas
- 81 by 53cm., 32 by 21in.
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'THE FAITHFUL DOG, 1953'
- Price Realised: €3,200
- Sale: 04 March 2013
- oil on canvas
- 10.5 by 18in., 26.25 by 45cm.
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'STILL LIFE WITH BLUE JUG and STILL LIFE WITH BLUE OIL CAN (A PAIR)'
- Price Realised: €3,200
- Sale: 18 May 2009
- oil on canvas
- 57 by 48cm., 22.5 by 19in.
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'UNTITLED (TWO-HEADED BIRD AND NEST) signed lower left'
- Price Realised: €3,200
- Sale: 25 February 2008
- gouache on board
- 38 by 52cm., 15 by 20.5in.
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'BETES, 1952'
- Price Realised: €3,200
- Sale: 19 September 2006
- oil on board
- 46 by 38cm., 18 by 15in.
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'The Caged and the Free Friends of the White Stag, printed at the expense of the author’s friends, Paris, 1955'
- Price Realised: €3,200
- Sale: 16 September 2003
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'THE ARTIST, 1967-68'
- Price Realised: €3,100
- Sale: 31 May 2010
- pen and ink with gouache on paper
- 56 by 76cm., 22 by 30in.
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'INITIATION, 1949'
- Price Realised: €3,000
- Sale: 29 May 2017
- oil on canvas
- 25 x 20˝in. (63˝ x 52.07cm)
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'HARVEST SCENE'
- Price Realised: €3,000
- Sale: 24 November 2008
- gouache on board
- 50 by 65cm., 19.5 by 25.5in.
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'WOOK FIGURE AND BIRD'
- Price Realised: €3,000
- Sale: 25 February 2008
- monoprint
- 48 by 39cm., 19 by 15.5in.
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'BOY WITH FISH'
- Price Realised: €3,000
- Sale: 26 April 2005
- gouache on paper
- 44 by 57cm., 17.5 by 22.5in.
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'EYE'
- Price Realised: €3,000
- Sale: 30 November 2004
- oil on canvas
- 36 by 56cm., 14 by 22in.