William John Leech
On the invitation of his friend and fellow art student Sydney Thompson, Leech first visited the small Breton fishing village of Concarneau in 1903 and painted there periodically until 1917. Concarneau at this time was already a well established artist's colony, attracting among others Aloysius O'Kelly and John Lavery, both of whom were to befriend Leech and influence his work. In the 1907-1910 period Leech was making long sojourns from his base in Dublin to Concarneau where he lodged at the Hτtel des Voyageurs. The hotel provided artist studios on the top floor from which Leech had a view directly over the top of the market place. He painted a number of these 'birds-eye-view' market scenes, as well as others which were painted en plein air amidst the hustle and bustle of the daily market. These latter works were often on small 7 by 9 inch wooden panels which slotted into a pochade box, a useful article designed to accommodate wet oil sketches and which had been used by Whistler and after him Lavery. Characteristic of these small market scenes were the use of strong verticals balanced against the long, horizontal shadows, and as Denise Ferran has written, a fluidity of brush work in which "the laden brush is drawn with assurance to depict the subject with great vividness" and "splashes of alizarin crimson contrast with the greys and earth colours of the surround", signalling the direction Leech would follow in his later, Impressionist works. (Denise Ferran, William John Leech: An Irish Painter Abroad, NGI, Dublin, 1996, p.38).
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'MARGUERITES'
- Price Realised: 70,000
- Sale: 19 November 2002
- oil on canvas
- 46 by 38cm., 18 by 15in.
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'FLOWERS IN A VASE, STILL LIFE'
- Price Realised: 60,000
- Sale: 27 May 2019
- oil on canvas
- 24Ό x 28Ύin. (61.60 x 73.03cm)
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'PAINTING IN A GARDEN'
- Price Realised: 50,000
- Sale: 16 September 2003
- oil on canvas
- 69 by 53cm., 27 by 21in.
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'CHLOE ABBOTT, 1965'
- Price Realised: 42,000
- Sale: 30 April 2007
- oil on canvas
- 61 by 51cm., 24 by 20in.
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'GARDENERS JOY'
- Price Realised: 28,000
- Sale: 26 May 2025
- oil on canvas
- 24 x 18in. (60.96 x 45.72cm)
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'PAINTING IN A GARDEN, c.1940s'
- Price Realised: 26,000
- Sale: 03 March 2025
- oil on canvas
- 27 x 21in. (68.58 x 53.34cm)
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'GREY BRIDGE, REGENT'S PARK, LONDON'
- Price Realised: 25,000
- Sale: 29 May 2017
- oil on panel
- 13Ό x 17Όin. (33.66 x 43.82cm)
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'THE LAKE, REGENT'S PARK, LONDON'
- Price Realised: 24,000
- Sale: 04 March 2013
- oil on canvas
- 20 by 24in., 50 by 60cm.
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'BOWL OF FRUIT c.1944'
- Price Realised: 22,000
- Sale: 26 September 2016
- oil on canvas
- 20 x 22in. (50.80 x 55.88cm)
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'PORTRAIT OF ELIZABETH, circa 1910-1912'
- Price Realised: 22,000
- Sale: 20 September 2005
- watercolour over pencil
- 53 by 37cm., 21 by 14.5in.
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'HAYSTACK'
- Price Realised: 21,000
- Sale: 29 September 2008
- oil on panel
- 38 by 46cm., 15 by 18in.
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'THE PLACE, CONCARNEAU, MORNING'
- Price Realised: 20,000
- Sale: 27 May 2024
- oil on board
- 8 x 6Όin. (20.32 x 15.88cm)
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'THE TEA TRAY'
- Price Realised: 20,000
- Sale: 25 April 2006
- exhibition label on reverse
- 84 by 84cm., 33 by 33in.
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'CHILDREN ON THE BEACH WITH BREAKERS, 1912'
- Price Realised: 18,500
- Sale: 01 October 2018
- oil on canvas
- 10 x 12Όin. (25.40 x 31.12cm)
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'PAINTING IN A GARDEN, c.1940s'
- Price Realised: 18,000
- Sale: 30 November 2015
- oil on canvas
- 27 x 21in. (68.58 x 53.34cm)
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'A STUNNING POSE!'
- Price Realised: 18,000
- Sale: 19 September 2006
- oil on panel
- 86 by 71cm., 34 by 28in.
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'RAINY DAY - FINISTΘRE MARKET, CONCARNEAU, c.1904'
- Price Realised: 17,000
- Sale: 28 September 2020
- oil on canvas
- 15 x 18½in. (38.10 x 46.99cm)
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'ST GILES, HOLBURN, FROM CHARING CROSS ROAD'
- Price Realised: 16,000
- Sale: 26 April 2005
- oil on board
- 46 by 36cm., 18 by 14in.
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'THE CHINA HORSE'
- Price Realised: 15,000
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- oil on canvas
- 46 by 38cm., 18 by 15in.
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'FIGURES ON A BEACH, COUNTY DUBLIN, circa 1906-10'
- Price Realised: 15,000
- Sale: 17 September 2007
- oil on canvas board
- 16 by 22cm., 6.25 by 8.5in.
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'THREE CHILDREN IN A SUMMER LANDSCAPE'
- Price Realised: 14,500
- Sale: 20 September 2005
- oil on canvas
- 52 by 47cm., 20.5 by 18.5in.
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'LUXEMBOURG GARDENS AND SENAT'
- Price Realised: 13,000
- Sale: 27 May 2019
- oil on board
- 14 x 18in. (35.56 x 45.72cm)
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'A LAWN'
- Price Realised: 13,000
- Sale: 01 October 2018
- oil on board
- 14Ύ x 18in. (37.47 x 45.72cm)
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'THE GARDENS, MAIDA VALE, LONDON'
- Price Realised: 13,000
- Sale: 02 October 2017
- oil on canvas
- 10Ό x 13½in. (26.04 x 34.29cm)
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'ON THE HILL OF HOWTH'
- Price Realised: 12,000
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- oil on canvas
- 27 by 51cm., 10.7 5 by 20in.
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'PORTRAIT OF JAMES BOTTERELL, 1926'
- Price Realised: 12,000
- Sale: 30 April 2007
- oil on canvas
- 69 by 51cm., 27 by 20in.
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'THE TERRACE, c.1940'
- Price Realised: 11,000
- Sale: 02 October 2023
- oil on panel
- 15 x 18in. (38.10 x 45.72cm)
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'PLAYING BY THE SHORE'
- Price Realised: 10,000
- Sale: 06 March 2023
- oil on canvas board
- 8 x 12½in. (20.32 x 31Ύcm)