Donald Teskey
Donald Teskey was born in Co. Limerick and graduated from Limerick College of Art and Design with a Diploma in Fine Art in 1978. He came to prominence as an artist through his skill as a draughtsman during the 1980s with several significant solo exhibitions and for nearly thirty years has produced an important and extensive body of works chiefly inspired by the Irish landscape. He is a member of the RHA and an elected member of its Council. He is also a member of Aosdαna. The Arts Council established Aosdαna in 1981 to honour artists whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the arts in Ireland, and to encourage and assist members in devoting their energies fully to their art. Membership, which is by invitation from current members, is limited to 250 individuals. Teskey has been the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships and residencies both nationally and internationally and his work has been exhibited in the UK, USA, Canada, China, Germany, France, Finland and South Africa. Collections include the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Arts Council of Ireland, corporate and private collections worldwide. He is represented by Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Dolan/Maxwell Gallery, Pennsylvania, USA and Art First Contemporary Art, London.
Donald Teskey is one of Irelands leading contemporary painters, even though he began painting belatedly, having been long established as a graphic artist. His earliest works are virtuoso drawings of desolate city streets, and the fabric of the city, mostly Dublin, remained his central subject matter when he began to apply himself to painting. He is a hard-working perfectionist and the technical flair characteristic of his drawings is also fully evident in his handling of oil paint, which is exceptional and innovative. Never content to settle into a predictable pattern, he has consistently embraced fresh artistic challenges.
Just when it seemed that he could safely be classified as an urban artist he ventured out into the wide open spaces, visiting Cape Clear Island off the coast of West Cork and Ballycastle in North Mayo, where he stayed during a fellowship at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation. His urban landscapes had relished the drama of architectonic spaces, the intricate sculptural patterns created by jumbles of buildings, roads, bridges, canals and railways, all defined by the play of light and shadow. As it happened, he found that this pictorial language worked exceptionally well in a completely different, natural environment.
(excerpt from catalogue essay)
Aidan Dunne
April 2008
Donald Teskey is one of Irelands leading contemporary painters, even though he began painting belatedly, having been long established as a graphic artist. His earliest works are virtuoso drawings of desolate city streets, and the fabric of the city, mostly Dublin, remained his central subject matter when he began to apply himself to painting. He is a hard-working perfectionist and the technical flair characteristic of his drawings is also fully evident in his handling of oil paint, which is exceptional and innovative. Never content to settle into a predictable pattern, he has consistently embraced fresh artistic challenges.
Just when it seemed that he could safely be classified as an urban artist he ventured out into the wide open spaces, visiting Cape Clear Island off the coast of West Cork and Ballycastle in North Mayo, where he stayed during a fellowship at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation. His urban landscapes had relished the drama of architectonic spaces, the intricate sculptural patterns created by jumbles of buildings, roads, bridges, canals and railways, all defined by the play of light and shadow. As it happened, he found that this pictorial language worked exceptionally well in a completely different, natural environment.
(excerpt from catalogue essay)
Aidan Dunne
April 2008
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'DOWNPATRICK HEAD II, 1997'
- Price Realised: 14,000
- Sale: 06 March 2023
- oil on paper
- 23 x 30in. (58.42 x 76.20cm)
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'LIGHTHOUSE, GALLEY HEAD, WEST CORK, 2005'
- Price Realised: 12,000
- Sale: 12 March 2012
- oil on canvas
- 56.515 by 78.105cm., 22.25 by 30.75in.
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'STREET CORNER AT PALMERSTON ROAD'
- Price Realised: 10,500
- Sale: 17 September 2007
- oil on paper
- 36 by 46cm., 14 by 18in.
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'WILD WOODLANDS, 1999'
- Price Realised: 9,000
- Sale: 27 September 2021
- oil on paper
- 23 x 31in. (58.42 x 78.74cm)
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'BISHOP STREET, 2000'
- Price Realised: 9,000
- Sale: 26 November 2012
- oil on canvas
- 30 by 39.5in., 76.2 by 100.33cm.
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'STREET SHADOWS, SHIP STREET'
- Price Realised: 9,000
- Sale: 17 February 2004
- oil on canvas
- 60 by 76cm., 23.5 by 30in.
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'WATER'S EDGE XI, 2006'
- Price Realised: 8,000
- Sale: 02 October 2023
- oil on canvas
- 12 x 15Ύin. (30.48 x 40.01cm)
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'TRAIN STATION AT DUN LAOGHAIRE, 2002'
- Price Realised: 8,000
- Sale: 28 November 2011
- oil on canvas
- 81 by 102cm., 32 by 40in.
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'BRIDGE AT PEARL STREET'
- Price Realised: 8,000
- Sale: 21 September 2004
- oil on board
- 46 by 57cm., 18 by 22.5in.
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'FROM THE RED MILL, 2003'
- Price Realised: 7,500
- Sale: 27 September 2021
- oil on paper
- 18 x 22½in. (45.72 x 57.15cm)
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'FARM BUILDINGS NORTH MAYO, 1997'
- Price Realised: 7,500
- Sale: 27 May 2019
- oil on paper
- 22Ύ x 30Ύin. (57.79 x 78.11cm)
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'GRAND CANAL PLACE II, 1998'
- Price Realised: 7,200
- Sale: 07 December 2020
- oil on canvas
- 12 x 15in. (30.48 x 38.10cm)
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'LITTLE HOUSE, 1996'
- Price Realised: 6,800
- Sale: 10 October 2011
- oil on paper
- 50 by 38cm., 19.7 5 by 15in.
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'BELDERG, NORTH MAYO, 2001'
- Price Realised: 6,700
- Sale: 19 February 2007
- oil on canvas
- 25 by 30cm., 10 by 12in.
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'GRAND CANAL PLACE II'
- Price Realised: 6,200
- Sale: 17 February 2004
- oil on canvas
- 30 by 38cm., 12 by 15in.
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'BROKEN GATE'
- Price Realised: 5,500
- Sale: 27 April 2004
- oil on canvas laid on board
- 29 by 39cm., 11.5 by 15.5in.
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'UNTITLED (COUNTRY ROAD WITH OUTHOUSE)'
- Price Realised: 5,400
- Sale: 26 November 2007
- acrylic on paper
- 23 by 30cm., 9 by 11.7 5in.
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'WILD WOODLANDS'
- Price Realised: 5,000
- Sale: 17 September 2002
- oil on paper
- 58 by 79cm., 23 by 31in.
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'WEEKDAY, 1995'
- Price Realised: 4,800
- Sale: 28 November 2022
- oil on paper
- 15Ό x 19½in. (38.74 x 49.53cm)
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'BROKEN GATE, NEAR MILLTOWN, DUBLIN'
- Price Realised: 4,800
- Sale: 07 December 2020
- oil on canvas laid on board
- 11½ x 15½in. (29.21 x 39.37cm)
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'HOME STRETCH'
- Price Realised: 4,800
- Sale: 30 May 2016
- oil on paper
- 12 x 16in. (30.48 x 40.64cm)
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'ISLAND PERIMETER, 2005'
- Price Realised: 4,600
- Sale: 30 September 2024
- charcoal on Fabriano paper
- 27½ x 39Όin. (69.85 x 99.70cm)
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'CLIFF, JUNE 2001'
- Price Realised: 4,600
- Sale: 26 April 2005
- acrylic on paper mounted on board
- 25 by 27cm., 10 by 10.7in.
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'WET SUMMER, 1993'
- Price Realised: 4,400
- Sale: 29 September 2014
- oil on paper
- 11.5 by 15.5in., 28.75 by 38.75cm.
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'UNIONHALL IV, 2012'
- Price Realised: 4,400
- Sale: 24 February 2014
- acrylic on paper
- 8 by 10in., 20 by 25cm.
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'NEAR DURRUS, WEST CORK, 2019'
- Price Realised: 4,200
- Sale: 04 December 2023
- oil on board
- 9Ό x 11½in. (23½ x 29.21cm)
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'SEPTEMBER COAST, 2006'
- Price Realised: 4,200
- Sale: 27 September 2021
- oil on canvas; (unframed)
- 12 x 12in. (30.48 x 30.48cm)
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'PORTMAGEE, COUNTY KERRY'
- Price Realised: 4,200
- Sale: 28 November 2011
- oil on paper
- 34 by 40cm., 13.5 by 15.7 5in.