Seán Keating
Born in Limerick in 1889, Keating’s mother decided to send him to the Technical School in Limerick to study drawing. He then won a scholarship in 1911 to attend the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art where he studied under William Orpen. In 1914 he won the Taylor scholarship and went to visit the Aran Islands with his friend Harry Clarke. It was a turning point in his career as the islands and their inhabitants were to become the subjects of many of his paintings. In 1915 he succeeded in showing three of his paintings at the RHA and was elected an associate in 1919 and a full member in 1923. In 1919 he also began to teach at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. He was represented at the Royal Academy in 1924 and continued to exhibit there for the next thirty years. He represented Ireland at the New York World’s Fair in 1939 with a huge mural while winning first prize at the same fair in an IBM competition from seventy-nine countries. He resigned from the presidency of the RHA in 1962 and the following year a retrospective exhibition was held at the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, opened by President De Valera. As an artist and a teacher he always took a firm stand on the side of traditional painting and was outspoken in his rejection against the modern movement. Keating died in 1977 in Dublin. His work can be seen in institutions throughout Ireland, including the National Gallery of Ireland and the Ulster Museum.
For further reading see Dr. Eimear O’Connor Sean Keating: Art, Politics and Building the Irish Nation, Irish Academic Press, 2013.
For further reading see Dr. Eimear O’Connor Sean Keating: Art, Politics and Building the Irish Nation, Irish Academic Press, 2013.
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'MENDING A CURRACH ON A WEST OF IRELAND BEACH'
- Price Realised: €165,000
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- oil on board
- 71 by 86cm., 28 by 34in.
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'ILLUSTRATIONS FOR THE 'PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD', 1922-27 (SET OF FIVE)'
- Price Realised: €155,000
- Sale: 30 April 2007
- oil on canvas (2) and oil on panel (3)
- 91 by 75cm., 36 by 29.5in.
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'FISHERMEN WITH CURRACHS, INIS OíRR'
- Price Realised: €82,000
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- oil on canvas
- 52 by 65cm., 20.5 by 25.5in.
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'THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY, 1941'
- Price Realised: €78,000
- Sale: 25 April 2006
- 61 by 86cm., 24 by 34in.
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'UNLOADING THE TURF BOAT, ARAN'
- Price Realised: €75,000
- Sale: 28 November 2022
- oil on board
- 36 x 48in. (91.44 x 121.92cm)
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'ILLUSTRATION FOR THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD - FRONTISPIECE, 1923'
- Price Realised: €65,000
- Sale: 28 September 2015
- oil on canvas
- 30 x 25in. (76.20 x 63½cm)
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'THE GOOSE GIRL, 1917'
- Price Realised: €62,000
- Sale: 04 December 2023
- oil on canvas
- 42 x 36in. (106.68 x 91.44cm)
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'AN ARAN MAN AND HIS WIFE'
- Price Realised: €61,000
- Sale: 21 September 2004
- gouache and pastel over pencil on buff-coloured paper
- 90 by 46cm., 35.5 by 18in.
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'STILL WATERS, 1947'
- Price Realised: €58,000
- Sale: 02 October 2023
- oil on canvas
- 21 x 26in. (53.34 x 66.04cm)
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![THINKING OUT GOBNET [PORTRAIT OF HARRY CLARKE] 1917 by Seán Keating sold for €58,000 at Whyte's Auctions](/images/auction/858/63507.jpg "THINKING OUT GOBNET [PORTRAIT OF HARRY CLARKE] 1917 by Seán Keating sold for €58,000 at Whyte's Auctions")
'THINKING OUT GOBNET [PORTRAIT OF HARRY CLARKE] 1917'
- Price Realised: €58,000
- Sale: 31 May 2021
- oil on canvas
- 30 x 30in. (76.20 x 76.20cm)
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'PATRICK LYNCH'S BOAT'
- Price Realised: €58,000
- Sale: 16 September 2003
- oil on canvas
- 53 by 66cm., 21 by 26in.
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![THINKING OUT GOBNET [PORTRAIT OF HARRY CLARKE] 1917 by Seán Keating sold for €56,000 at Whyte's Auctions](/images/auction/837/57292.jpg "THINKING OUT GOBNET [PORTRAIT OF HARRY CLARKE] 1917 by Seán Keating sold for €56,000 at Whyte's Auctions")
'THINKING OUT GOBNET [PORTRAIT OF HARRY CLARKE] 1917'
- Price Realised: €56,000
- Sale: 01 October 2018
- oil on canvas
- 30 x 30in. (76.20 x 76.20cm)
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'THE TURF MEN OF ARAN'
- Price Realised: €52,057
- Sale: 08 March 2000
- oil on board
- 76 by 91cm., 30 by 36in.
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'SALUD, 1924'
- Price Realised: €52,000
- Sale: 30 May 2016
- oil on board; with a second, incomplete self portrait on reverse
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'GOOD OLD STUFF, c.1928'
- Price Realised: €48,000
- Sale: 26 September 2022
- oil on board
- 28¼ x 36in. (71.76 x 91.44cm)
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'AN ARAN MAN AND HIS WIFE, 1921'
- Price Realised: €48,000
- Sale: 02 March 2009
- gouache and pastel over pencil on buff coloured paper
- 90 by 46cm., 35.5 by 18in.
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'PAST DEFINITE, FUTURE PERFECT, 1928'
- Price Realised: €42,000
- Sale: 21 May 2012
- oil on canvas
- 25 by 30in., 63.5 by 76.2cm.
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'ILLUSTRATION FOR THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD - FRONTISPIECE'
- Price Realised: €41,000
- Sale: 30 May 2011
- oil on canvas
- 76 by 64cm., 30 by 25in.
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'THE ARAN ISLAND TURF BOAT'
- Price Realised: €38,000
- Sale: 26 February 2018
- oil on canvas
- 25 x 30in. (63½ x 76.20cm)
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'SELF PORTRAIT WEARING A HAT, c. 1940s'
- Price Realised: €30,000
- Sale: 31 May 2021
- oil on canvas
- 19½ x 20in. (49.53 x 50.80cm)
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'THE IRISH HAZEL, c.1950'
- Price Realised: €30,000
- Sale: 29 September 2008
- oil on canvas
- 50 by 70cm., 19.5 by 27.7 5in.
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'IRISH FREE STATE BACON, 1928'
- Price Realised: €28,000
- Sale: 24 November 2008
- gouache, pencil and coloured chalk
- 99 by 150cm., 39 by 59in.
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'IRISH FREE STATE CHICKEN, 1928'
- Price Realised: €28,000
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- gouache, pencil and coloured chalk
- 99 by 150cm., 39 by 59in.
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'ELIJAH WITH THE RAVENS (VERSION II), 1930'
- Price Realised: €26,000
- Sale: 30 September 2024
- oil on canvas
- 28½ x 36in. (72.39 x 91.44cm)
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'REST AFTER TOIL, 1924'
- Price Realised: €26,000
- Sale: 27 February 2017
- oil on canvas
- 22 x 27in. (55.88 x 68.58cm)
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'BUNKHOUSE AT SHANNON, ARDNACRUSHA WORKS'
- Price Realised: €23,000
- Sale: 25 April 2006
- signed lower right
- 46 by 60cm., 18 by 23.5in.
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'THE AIRMAN'
- Price Realised: €22,000
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- charcoal drawing
- 39 by 46cm., 15.5 by 18in.
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'MAN LEANING ON A CAPITAL'
- Price Realised: €19,000
- Sale: 22 February 2005
- oil on canvas
- 56 by 69cm., 22 by 27in.