A “WHYTE CHRISTMAS” ART AUCTION
includes Winter scenes in Dublin, Connemara and the
Bahamas!
Hot on the
heels of the Ernie O’Malley sale, Whyte’s auction of Irish & International
Art at 6pm, Monday 2 December 2019 at the RDS will offer collectors a further
opportunity to acquire key works from Ireland’s most soughtafter artists. This auction boasts many of the premier names
in Irish art including Jack Yeats, Louis le Brocquy, Daniel O’Neill, Sir
William Orpen, Paul Henry along with international artists such as Andy Warhol
and a selection of North American works from the collection of Anglo Irish Bank.
Whyte’s invites bidders to view the sale at www.whytes.ie and in person at the
RDS, Dublin, Saturday through to Monday (day of the sale) 30 November to 2
December, 10am-6pm daily.
MASTER OF
LIGHT
Purchased
from the Bank of Ireland Collection
almost a decade ago, the beautiful Bahamian canvas by Tony O’Malley – Air,
Water, Light, 1979 [lot 72, estimate €40,000-€60,000,
illustrated above]– radiates from the December catalogue cover. His marriage to Jane
Harris in 1973 led to winters in the Bahamas, where he began painting outdoors and
on canvas until 1987. This exhibition work, measuring 48 by 70ins, represents arguably the most
important period in his ouevre where movement and colour dominate. The
Caribbean light and colours had an enormous impact on O’Malley’s palette and this
radically different environment charged his canvases with a buoyancy and
lightness. The Bahamian works were also critical in terms of his career
development opening doors to commercial galleries in Ireland and abroad. The
present painting offers the astute collector an exceptional example by the
Kilkenny artist.
THE
’HIS AND HERS’ OF IRISH LANDSCAPE PAINTING
Paul
Henry’s paintings of the West of Ireland are perhaps the most recognisable
images of this country; however, rarer views of the east also appear at auction
from time to time and lot 14 [Glencree, Co. Wicklow, €60,000-€80,000,
illustrated left] is one such example. Displaying all the characteristics of
his trademark style in composition and tone, one could be forgiven for assuming
the unpopulated landscape was a western scene; however, Henry expert, Dr
Kennedy, dates this work to 1935-1939, when Paul Henry and his then partner,
later his wife, Mabel Young took up residence in Co. Wicklow. The painting was
purchased from the artist by a friend.
A
wonderful array of paintings by Letitia Marion Hamilton, as well as one by her
sister Eva, demonstrates their
reading of the west and its people and comes to auction from an important
single owner collection. The sisters lived in Hamwood House in Dunboyne, Co.
Meath, a home brimming with artistic connections. Letitia travelled widely
throughout her life and her scenes of Venice are particularly desirable. What
with the upsurge in interest in Irish female artists of this period at present,
this collection is likely to attract strong bidding. Lots 7 to 11 and 13, guides
from €5,000 to €15,000. Illustrated above right, lot 8 Achill Island, Co. Mayo
(Figures on a Bog) €5,000-€7,000 by Letitia.
Another
magnificent view of western life of old can be found in The Artist’s Wife and
Family with Dog at Errisbeg, Co. Galway by Maurice MacGonigal [lot 16 illustrated above, €20,000-€30,000]. Painted in 1952 in
the later stages of his career, this large oil (40 by 50in) explores the
dramatic mountainous coastline of the Connemara region. Its importance is
highlighted in the text A Free Spirit: Irish Art 1860-1960 which includes vivid
recollections on the work and its creation by the artist’s son, Ciarán, seated
with his mother Aida in the foreground of the composition.
THE POWER
OF PAPER & PORTRAITURE
“A handsome fellow has lost his
youth, his greatcoat weighs him down, and behind his eyes are the horrors he
has seen. Long, slow looking, patience, and an accurate eye provide for great
psychological penetration in Orpen's picture of this quiet Ulsterman in
uniform.”
Orpen
expert Professor Kenneth McConkey’s description of Captain Robert John Woods of
The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1919 [lot 25 €25,000-€30,000 left]. This
striking painting trancends its genre. Such is the power of Orpen, its appeal
reaches beyond simple historical interest or mere aesthetic appeal, both of
which are present in abundance.
History
buffs will no doubt be drawn to the commanding Portrait of Padraig Pearse by
George Collie [lot 28, €10,000-€15,000]. Showing Pearse in his barrister’s garb
before ruins of Dublin, a tricolour and the Proclamation, it was commissioned
for the Irish Club, Eaton Place, London
where it hung until 1992.
On The Cliff (Howth, Co. Dublin), 1913 [lot
13, €15,000-€20,000] by William Orpen is a delicately handled watercolour and
belongs to an important series describing idyllic summers between 1909-1913
when the artist and his family rented Bellingham’s House on Howth Head. The
series was so highly thought of that six were selected by Orpen for
reproduction in facsimile by Charles Chenil & Co in a set of ten published
in a special portfolio at the end of 1913. The present example [lot 13] was the
first of the set.
Another striking
work on paper from the early 1900s can be found in Yeats’ A Professional Man,
c.1905 [lot 24, €20,000-€30,000 illustrated] Yeats was fascinated by the
social fabric of rural Ireland and his awareness of social class was sharpened
by his travels with J.M. Synge in 1905. A splendidly coloured watercolour of a
professional man in his frock coat, it is one of several paintings of different
male occupations or types that Yeats produced at this time. For those with a
more modest budget there are sketches by Yeats’ father John B. as well as Orpen
and George Russell Æ.
ULSTER MEN
ALL : DILLON, O’NEILL & MIDDLETON
A mature and considered work by Gerard Dillon can be found Snow in Connemara, [lot
50 €20,000-€30,000, left) whose simple subject matter and naïve style belie the
sophistication of its composition. Similarly, his Cat in a Cane Chair [lot 53,
€18,000-€22,000] offers an interior
scene of muted tones and modest subject.
Sticking with the same palette, Colin Middleton’s Blue Landscape with
Trees: North Antrim [lot 62, €12,000-€18,000, below] dates to the 1960s and
demonstrates the skill with which he balanced urgent and energetic brushwork
with taut compositional organisation. In lighter tones, his Early Morning:
Dundrum [lot 65, €10,000-€15,000] dates to the same period. An unusual example
of Daniel O’Neill’s stoic heads is offered as lot 58 [Study of Girl,
€18,000-€22,000] while a landscape in typically soft tones can be found in lot
59 [A Battle Over Nothing €6,000-€8,000]. Smaller examples and works on paper
by each of these artists are also offered with average guides from €1,000.
OTHERS TO WATCH
OUT FOR…
A selection
by Louis le Brocquy works including a portrait of James Joyce [Lot 75,
€18,000-€22,000], watercolours by Percy French, a portrait of fellow artist
Charles Lamb by Seán Keating, a 1930s view of Stephen’s Green by Harry Kernoff and
contemporary works by Basil Blackshaw, Stephen McKenna, Margaret Corcoran and
John Shinnors. Temptingly priced, the Anglo Irish Bank Collection [Lots
222-240], from their New York office, is offered on behalf of the Special
Liquidator of the IBRC. The collection was acquired directly from the artists’
agents or gallerists and presents bidders with an interesting offering of mostly
contemporary North American art at very affordable guides. Wonderful works from
sculptors include John Behan, Conor Fallon, Niall O Neill, Melanie le Brocquy and
Rory Breslin as well as unique pieces in ceramic by Graham Knuttel and a Murano
glass vase after Picasso would make ideal gifts for Christmas. All the artworks
are on display with full descriptions and several with insightful notes from
art experts at www.whytes.ie. This
fabulous auction will be on view at the RDS, Anglesea Road entrance,
Ballsbridge, Saturday to Monday, 30 November to 2 December, 10am to 6pm daily;
admission and parking is free. The auction will be broadcast live on the
internet at bid.whytes.ie, invaluable.com, auctionzip.com, encheres.lefigaro.fr;
collectors around the world can bid live from their computers, smart TV’s,
mobile phones or android devices. Whyte’s are the only Irish auction house that
offer this service free of extra fees. ENDS
Enquiries
to Peter Whyte or Adelle Hughes at 01 676 2888 or info@whytes.ie.
High resolution images in TIFF or JPG formats available on request to Matthew
Slack ms@whytes.ie or +353 1 676 2888.
