John Luke
The Irish landscape artist and figurative painter John Luke was born in Belfast and worked in a shipyard and Flax Mill before taking night classes at the Belfast School of Art. After winning a competition to exhibit at the RDS, Luke was encouraged to go to Slade School in London to study fine arts. While studying in London, he exhibited at Redfern and Leger galleries, before returning to Belfast in the early 1930s.
After returning to Ireland, he had many exhibitions at galleries such as Royal Hibernia Academy, as well as an extensive exhibition of 85 artworks at Belfast Museum and Art Gallery in 1938. After a fallow period during which he moved to Armagh to escape the blitz in Belfast, Luke went on to paint notable murals at Masonic Hall, Belfast, and for the Festival of Britain, before lecturing at Belfast College of Art.
John Luke spent his final years - after the death of his mother - in relative poverty in a flat in Duncairn Gardens, Belfast, and died in the Mater Hospital in 1975. The following year, the Arts Councils of Ireland mounted an extensive exhibition of his work at the Ulster Museum and the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin. His artworks appear in several public and private collections, including: Ulster Museum, Belfast; County Museum, Armagh; Queen's University Belfast; and many more.
After returning to Ireland, he had many exhibitions at galleries such as Royal Hibernia Academy, as well as an extensive exhibition of 85 artworks at Belfast Museum and Art Gallery in 1938. After a fallow period during which he moved to Armagh to escape the blitz in Belfast, Luke went on to paint notable murals at Masonic Hall, Belfast, and for the Festival of Britain, before lecturing at Belfast College of Art.
John Luke spent his final years - after the death of his mother - in relative poverty in a flat in Duncairn Gardens, Belfast, and died in the Mater Hospital in 1975. The following year, the Arts Councils of Ireland mounted an extensive exhibition of his work at the Ulster Museum and the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin. His artworks appear in several public and private collections, including: Ulster Museum, Belfast; County Museum, Armagh; Queen's University Belfast; and many more.
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'THE DEAD TREE, 1934'
- Price Realised: 80,000
- Sale: 01 December 2025
- tempera on canvas
- 20Ό x 27in. (51.44 x 68.58cm)
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'SHAW'S BRIDGE, BELFAST, 1933'
- Price Realised: 48,000
- Sale: 01 December 2025
- oil on panel
- 12 x 15Ύin. (30.48 x 40.01cm)
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'YOUNG MAN, 1925-1926'
- Price Realised: 7,000
- Sale: 29 November 2010
- watercolour over pencil
- 55 by 34cm., 21.5 by 13.2 5in.
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'LOOKING THROUGH THE WINDOW, 1929'
- Price Realised: 6,200
- Sale: 28 May 2018
- watercolour and gouache on board
- 15Ό x 13Ύin. (38.74 x 34.93cm)
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'FARMHOUSE, BALLYAGHAGAN, 1940'
- Price Realised: 4,800
- Sale: 27 November 2017
- woodblock in colours and trial proofs; (9); (unframed)
- 5 x 7in. (12.70 x 17.78cm)
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'SHAW'S BRIDGE'
- Price Realised: 4,700
- Sale: 30 November 2004
- woodblock print on Japanese rice paper (mounted but unframed
- 27 by 37cm., 10.5 by 14.5in.
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'PARTHENON HORSE'
- Price Realised: 4,600
- Sale: 29 September 2008
- watercolour
- 51 by 69cm., 20 by 27in.
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'STILL LIFE WITH DRAPERY, 1926'
- Price Realised: 3,700
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
- 34 by 41cm., 13.5 by 16.2 5in.
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'PORTRAIT OF CHARLES HARVEY, ARTIST'
- Price Realised: 3,600
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- black crayon on paper
- 38 by 28cm., 15 by 11in.
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'FARMHOUSE, BALLYAGHAGAN, 1940'
- Price Realised: 3,400
- Sale: 30 April 2007
- woodblock in colours
- 13 by 18cm., 5 by 7in.
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'PARTHENON HORSE'
- Price Realised: 2,900
- Sale: 26 February 2018
- watercolour
- 20 x 27in. (50.80 x 68.58cm)
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'STILL LIFE WITH ORANGE-PATTERN CLOTH'
- Price Realised: 2,800
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- watercolour over pencil
- 30 by 25cm., 12 by 10in.
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'STILL LIFE WITH ORANGE-PATTERN CLOTH'
- Price Realised: 2,300
- Sale: 14 March 2011
- watercolour over pencil
- 30 by 25cm., 12 by 10in.
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'STUDY OF A YOUNG WOMAN'S HEAD'
- Price Realised: 2,158
- Sale: 09 October 2001
- pencil on paper
- 37 by 28cm., 14.5 by 11in.
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'SHAW'S BRIDGE'
- Price Realised: 2,000
- Sale: 12 June 2005
- woodblock print on paper mounted on board
- 27 by 37cm., 10.5 by 14.5in.
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'FARMHOUSE, BALLYAGHAGAN, 1940'
- Price Realised: 1,800
- Sale: 17 October 2022
- woodblock in colours
- 5 x 7in. (12.70 x 17.78cm)
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'THE DEAD TREE, circa 1933-34'
- Price Realised: 1,700
- Sale: 17 September 2007
- linocut
- 12 by 17cm., 4.75 by 6.5in.
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'FARMHOUSE, BALLYAGHAGAN, 1940'
- Price Realised: 1,600
- Sale: 25 July 2022
- woodblock in colours
- 5 x 7in. (12.70 x 17.78cm)
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'NUDE MALE'
- Price Realised: 1,500
- Sale: 01 July 2024
- oil on canvas laid on board
- 27 x 9in. (68.58 x 22.86cm)
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'SELF PORTRAIT, 1929'
- Price Realised: 1,500
- Sale: 15 March 2010
- pen and ink over pencil (squared for transfer)
- 23 by 18cm., 9 by 7in.
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'FARMHOUSE, BALLYAGHAGAN, 1940 (A PAIR)'
- Price Realised: 1,400
- Sale: 09 December 2018
- woodblock in colour ;(2) (unframed)
- 6½ x 8½in. (16.51 x 21.59cm)
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'PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST'S MOTHER, 1926'
- Price Realised: 1,300
- Sale: 06 December 2008
- watercolour and pencil
- 32 by 20cm., 12.5 by 8in.
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'FARMHOUSE, BALLYAGHAGAN, 1940'
- Price Realised: 1,250
- Sale: 09 July 2018
- woodcut in colours; (2); (unframed)
- 5 x 7in. (12.70 x 17.78cm)
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'SHAW'S BRIDGE'
- Price Realised: 1,250
- Sale: 06 December 2008
- woodblock print
- 27 by 37cm., 10.5 by 14.5in.
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'FARMHOUSE, BALLYAGHAGAN, 1940 (A PAIR)'
- Price Realised: 1,150
- Sale: 27 May 2019
- woodblock in colours; (2)
- 5 x 7in. (12.70 x 17.78cm)
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'FARMHOUSE, BALLYAGHAGAN, 1940'
- Price Realised: 1,150
- Sale: 23 October 2017
- woodblock in colours; (2); (one trial proof)
- 5 x 7in. (12.70 x 17.78cm)
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'FARMHOUSE, BALLYAGHAGAN, 1940'
- Price Realised: 1,150
- Sale: 23 October 2017
- woodblock in colours; (2); (one trial proof)
- 5 x 7in. (12.70 x 17.78cm)
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'SEATED FEMALE IN PROFILE (0.5 HOUR), STUDY OF BEECH, 1927 and HEAD OF A GIRL (SET OF 3)'
- Price Realised: 1,150
- Sale: 24 November 2014
- pencil; (3)
- 12 x 10in. (30.48 x 25.40cm)