Louis le Brocquy
Louis le Brocquy was born in Dublin in 1916. Leaving Ireland in 1938 to study the major European art collections in London, Paris, Venice and Geneva, he returned in the 1940s where he participated in the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, departing for London in 1946 where he soon became prominent on the contemporary art scene. Later he began to exhibit internationally and - representing Ireland - won a major prize at the Venice Biennale in 1956. In 1958 he married fellow artist Anne Madden and left London to work in France.
He received an invitation, in December 1966, to collaborate with publisher Liam Miller on a new translation of Ireland's oldest saga, An Táin Bó Cúailnge. Accepting, le Brocquy spent much of the next three years visualising the project, before its publication in 1969. His lithographic brush drawings for The Táin were celebrated by critics, and would endure as one of the crowning achievements, and culturally significant artworks, of his career.
The artist would enjoy continuous acclaim throughout his long career, which spanned over six decades and can be broken up roughly into ten, sometimes overlapping, periods; the ‘Tinker’ (1945-1948), ‘Grey’ (1951-54) and ‘White’ (1956-66) periods, the ‘Ancestral’ (1964-75) and ‘Portrait’ (1975-2000) Heads, his series of Still Lifes (1981-1998), ‘Processions’ (1984-92) and ‘Irish Landscapes’ (1987-94), before his ‘Human Image’ (1996-05) and, finally, the ‘Homage’ (2005-06) series towards the end of his career and life.
Le Brocquy is recognised by many as one of the greatest Irish artists of the twentieth century, and one of the greatest of any era of Irish art. He was made Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1975 and received the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 2007. The realisation of over £1.7 million for his 1951 painting A Family at auction in 2000 was a record at the time for an Irish artist’s work, placing him among a very select group of British and Irish artists whose works have commanded in excess of £1 million in their lifetime, an acknowledgement of his illustrious profile in the art community internationally as well as at home. Le Brocquy died on 25 April 2012. Before his passing, he was the only artist to have received the distinctive honour of being included during his lifetime in the Permanent Irish Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. His works can be found in some of the world’s most important public collections including the Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
He received an invitation, in December 1966, to collaborate with publisher Liam Miller on a new translation of Ireland's oldest saga, An Táin Bó Cúailnge. Accepting, le Brocquy spent much of the next three years visualising the project, before its publication in 1969. His lithographic brush drawings for The Táin were celebrated by critics, and would endure as one of the crowning achievements, and culturally significant artworks, of his career.
The artist would enjoy continuous acclaim throughout his long career, which spanned over six decades and can be broken up roughly into ten, sometimes overlapping, periods; the ‘Tinker’ (1945-1948), ‘Grey’ (1951-54) and ‘White’ (1956-66) periods, the ‘Ancestral’ (1964-75) and ‘Portrait’ (1975-2000) Heads, his series of Still Lifes (1981-1998), ‘Processions’ (1984-92) and ‘Irish Landscapes’ (1987-94), before his ‘Human Image’ (1996-05) and, finally, the ‘Homage’ (2005-06) series towards the end of his career and life.
Le Brocquy is recognised by many as one of the greatest Irish artists of the twentieth century, and one of the greatest of any era of Irish art. He was made Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1975 and received the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 2007. The realisation of over £1.7 million for his 1951 painting A Family at auction in 2000 was a record at the time for an Irish artist’s work, placing him among a very select group of British and Irish artists whose works have commanded in excess of £1 million in their lifetime, an acknowledgement of his illustrious profile in the art community internationally as well as at home. Le Brocquy died on 25 April 2012. Before his passing, he was the only artist to have received the distinctive honour of being included during his lifetime in the Permanent Irish Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. His works can be found in some of the world’s most important public collections including the Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
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'HEAD OF A MAN, 1968'
- Price Realised: €40,000
- Sale: 26 November 2018
- oil on canvas
- 28¾ x 28¾in. (73.03 x 73.03cm)
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'RIVERRUN, PROCESSION WITH LILIES, 1992'
- Price Realised: €40,000
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- watercolour and pastel
- 48 by 64cm., 19 by 25in.
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'EMERGENT BEING, 1962'
- Price Realised: €39,000
- Sale: 18 May 2009
- oil on canvas
- 76 by 64cm., 30 by 25in.
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'STUDY FOR A FAMILY, 1951'
- Price Realised: €39,000
- Sale: 30 April 2007
- pencil, pen and ink and wash on paper
- 22 by 27cm., 8.5 by 10.5in.
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'WOUNDED PIGEON, 1984'
- Price Realised: €38,000
- Sale: 29 November 2021
- oil on canvas
- 15 x 18in. (38.10 x 45.72cm)
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'MILLES TÊTES (THOUSANDS OF HEADS) C'
- Price Realised: €38,000
- Sale: 27 May 2019
- Aubusson Tapestry, Atelier Tabard Frères et Soeurs, France
- 69½ x 69in. (176.53 x 175.26cm)
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'BEING, 1997'
- Price Realised: €38,000
- Sale: 19 September 2006
- watercolour on paper
- 51 by 36cm., 20 by 14in.
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'STUDY TOWARDS AN IMAGE OF JAMES JOYCE, 1982'
- Price Realised: €36,000
- Sale: 19 September 2006
- watercolour on Arches paper
- 61 by 46cm., 24 by 18in.
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'THE TAIN - BATTLE FIELD'
- Price Realised: €36,000
- Sale: 16 September 2003
- Aubusson wool tapestry; Atelier René Douche
- 182 by 128cm., 71.5 by 50.5 in.
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'THE TAIN - MAGIC CHARIOT, 1991'
- Price Realised: €35,000
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- Aubusson wool tapestry. (no. 2 from an edition of 9)
- 184 by 129cm., 72.5 by 50.7in.
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'ADAM, 1999'
- Price Realised: €34,000
- Sale: 07 March 2022
- Aubusson Tapestry, Atelier Tabard Frères et Soeurs, France; (no. 6 from an edition of 9)
- 79 x 54½in. (200.66 x 138.43cm)
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'LIFE STUDY [SELF], c.1970'
- Price Realised: €34,000
- Sale: 27 February 2017
- oil on canvas
- 35½ x 28in. (90.17 x 71.12cm)
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'TINKER MAN, 1947'
- Price Realised: €32,000
- Sale: 02 March 2009
- drawing in carbon ink
- 64 by 48cm., 25 by 19in.
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'IMAGE OF W. B. YEATS'
- Price Realised: €30,000
- Sale: 21 September 2004
- watercolour
- 39 by 29cm., 15.5 by 11.5in.
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'ADAM, 1999'
- Price Realised: €29,000
- Sale: 22 March 2021
- Aubusson Tapestry, Atelier Tabard Frères et Soeurs, France; (no. 6 from an edition of 9)
- 79 x 54½in. (200.66 x 138.43cm)
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'JAMES JOYCE STUDY 92, 1978'
- Price Realised: €29,000
- Sale: 29 September 2008
- watercolour
- 39 by 34cm., 15.5 by 13.5in.
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'CHILDREN IN THE WOOD, 1992'
- Price Realised: €29,000
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- watercolour and pastel
- 36 by 48cm., 14.2 5 by 19in.
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'HEAD'
- Price Realised: €29,000
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- watercolour and bodycolour on paper
- 53 by 38cm., 21 by 15in.
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'TINKER DIVINER, 1945'
- Price Realised: €28,000
- Sale: 25 November 2019
- oil on board
- 9 x 7in. (22.86 x 17.78cm)
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'HEAD OF JAMES JOYCE'
- Price Realised: €28,000
- Sale: 21 September 2004
- watercolour
- 38 by 34cm., 15 by 13.5in.
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'IMAGE OF SAMUEL BECKETT, 1994'
- Price Realised: €27,000
- Sale: 26 February 2018
- watercolour
- 24½ x 18½in. (62.23 x 46.99cm)
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'THE TÁIN. CÚCHULAINN IN WARP SPASM, 1969'
- Price Realised: €26,000
- Sale: 27 February 2017
- Aubusson tapestry; (no. 2 from an edition of 9)
- 72½ x 50½in. (184.15 x 128.27cm)
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'TINKER MAN, 1947'
- Price Realised: €25,000
- Sale: 28 September 2020
- drawing in carbon ink
- 25 x 19in. (63½ x 48.26cm)
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'ANCESTRAL HEAD, 1965'
- Price Realised: €25,000
- Sale: 30 November 2015
- oil on canvas
- 26 x 21½in. (66.04 x 54.61cm)
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'INTERIOR STUDY OF HEAD, 1972'
- Price Realised: €25,000
- Sale: 26 November 2012
- oil on canvas
- 16 by 19in., 40.64 by 48.26cm.
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'TWO STUDIES TOWARDS AN IMAGE OF JAMES JOYCE, 1982 (DIPTYCH)'
- Price Realised: €24,000
- Sale: 25 May 2020
- watercolour and crayon; (2); (framed together)
- 17¼ x 14¼in. (43.82 x 36.20cm)
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'IMAGE OF SAMUEL BECKETT, 1980'
- Price Realised: €23,500
- Sale: 07 December 2020
- watercolour
- 23½ x 17½in. (59.69 x 44.45cm)
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'ORANGE, 1972'
- Price Realised: €23,000
- Sale: 28 September 2020
- oil on canvas
- 15 x 18in. (38.10 x 45.72cm)