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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'SELF PORTRAIT'
- Price Realised: €18,000
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- charcoal with white chalk
- 55 by 55cm., 21.5 by 21.5in.
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'HEAD OF THE TURF GATHERER'
- Price Realised: €17,000
- Sale: 16 September 2003
- pastel on tinted paper
- 50 by 41cm., 19.5 by 16in.
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![SELF PORTRAIT [SKETCH FOR IRISH MURAL AT GENEVA, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE], c.1961 by Seán Keating sold for €15,000 at Whyte's Auctions](/images/auction/889/71673.jpg "SELF PORTRAIT [SKETCH FOR IRISH MURAL AT GENEVA, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE], c.1961 by Seán Keating sold for €15,000 at Whyte's Auctions")
'SELF PORTRAIT [SKETCH FOR IRISH MURAL AT GENEVA, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE], c.1961'
- Price Realised: €15,000
- Sale: 30 September 2024
- oil on panel
- 21½ x 17½in. (54.61 x 44.45cm)
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'THE DUST MAN - STUDY FOR THE KEY MEN'
- Price Realised: €15,000
- Sale: 19 September 2006
- pastel and charcoal on tinted paper
- 66 by 48cm., 26 by 19in.
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'BEAN MUINTEARA'
- Price Realised: €13,500
- Sale: 30 November 2004
- water and gouache over charcoal on paper
- 43 by 36cm., 17 by 14in.
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'SELF PORTRAIT IN B¦IN+N HAT'
- Price Realised: €13,500
- Sale: 27 April 2004
- pastel on tinted paper
- 48 by 38cm., 19 by 15in.
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'THREE IRISH WORKMEN, c.1971'
- Price Realised: €13,000
- Sale: 27 May 2024
- charcoal heightened with white chalk
- 21½ x 29½in. (54.61 x 74.93cm)
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'FOUR MEN, IN DISCUSSION'
- Price Realised: €12,000
- Sale: 26 November 2018
- charcoal and chalk
- 22 x 29¾in. (55.88 x 75.57cm)
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'AN ARAN COUPLE, circa 1971'
- Price Realised: €11,000
- Sale: 20 September 2005
- charcoal heightened with white chalk on paper
- 55 by 75cm., 21.5 by 29.5in.
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'PORTRAIT OF MARY, THE ARTIST'S SISTER'
- Price Realised: €11,000
- Sale: 26 April 2005
- pastel on buff coloured paper
- 51 by 38cm., 20 by 15in.
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'SELF PORTRAIT IN ARAB COSTUME'
- Price Realised: €10,500
- Sale: 20 September 2005
- pastel on tinted paper
- 47 by 37cm., 18.5 by 14.5in.
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'ARAN COUPLE, c.1971'
- Price Realised: €10,000
- Sale: 27 May 2024
- charcoal heightened with white chalk
- 21½ x 29½in. (54.61 x 74.93cm)
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'IRISH FREE STATE BACON, 1928'
- Price Realised: €10,000
- Sale: 31 May 2021
- gouache, pencil and coloured chalk
- 39 x 59in. (99.06 x 149.86cm)
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'THREE IRISH WORKMEN, circa 1971'
- Price Realised: €9,600
- Sale: 20 September 2005
- charcoal heightened with white chalk on paper
- 55 by 75cm., 21.5 by 29.5in.
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'LOADING AND UNLOADING TURF BOATS, CONNEMARA, c.1940s'
- Price Realised: €9,500
- Sale: 06 June 2022
- oil on board
- 19 x 20½in. (48.26 x 52.07cm)
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'AIDA MACGONIGAL and STUDY OF A WOMAN (A PAIR)'
- Price Realised: €9,500
- Sale: 19 February 2007
- charcoal and pastel on buff coloured paper
- 33 by 25cm., 13 by 10in.
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'STUDY OF AN ARAN FISHERMAN'
- Price Realised: €9,000
- Sale: 22 February 2005
- charcoal and pastel on grey-tinted paper
- 41 by 33cm., 16 by 13in.
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'SIOBHÁN McKENNA IN THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD'
- Price Realised: €9,000
- Sale: 17 February 2004
- charcoal and bodycolour on tinted paper
- 55 by 34cm., 21.5 by 13.5in.
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'TWO MEN WITH WINE GOBLETS'
- Price Realised: €8,700
- Sale: 26 November 2007
- charcoal
- 55 by 64cm., 21.5 by 25in.
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'ARAN ISLAND SCENE'
- Price Realised: €8,500
- Sale: 27 September 2021
- charcoal on paper
- 18 x 24in. (45.72 x 60.96cm)
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'A CONVERSATION PIECE'
- Price Realised: €8,000
- Sale: 27 April 2004
- black and sanguine Conté crayon heightened with white
- 51 by 71cm., 20 by 28in.
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'JOCOSE, BELLICOSE, LACHRYMOSE, 1973'
- Price Realised: €7,700
- Sale: 04 October 2010
- charcoal and pencil, highlighted with gouache
- 55 by 75cm., 21.7 5 by 29.5in.
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'FOUR MEN AND A CAT, c.1970s'
- Price Realised: €7,500
- Sale: 27 November 2017
- charcoal and white chalk
- 20½ x 28½in. (52.07 x 72.39cm)
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'LOADING AND UNLOADING TURF BOATS, CONNEMARA, c.1940s'
- Price Realised: €7,500
- Sale: 29 September 2014
- oil on board
- 19 by 20.25in., 47.5 by 50.625cm.
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'ARAN WOMAN (also known as THE MATRIARCH), c.1952-1955'
- Price Realised: €7,000
- Sale: 27 May 2013
- pastel and conté on tinted paper
- 17 by 14in., 42.5 by 35cm.
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'TIME GOES BY, c.1965'
- Price Realised: €6,500
- Sale: 30 November 2009
- oil on canvas
- 75 by 61cm., 29.5 by 24in.
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'PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG GIRL'
- Price Realised: €6,500
- Sale: 16 September 2003
- pastel on tinted paper
- 34 by 27cm., 13.5 by 10.5in.
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'STUDY FOR AN ROINNT OR THE SHARE OUT'
- Price Realised: €6,200
- Sale: 14 March 2011
- oil on board
- 43 by 57cm., 17 by 22.2 5in.