Irish and international art in the frame at Whyte's
'Le Loing at Sundown' by Roderic O'Conor at Whyte's.
FROM Roderic O'Conor to David Hockney and Paul Henry to Ciaran Clear, the Irish and International art sale at Whyte's on March 9 offers many exciting opportunities for collectors.
The museum-quality by O'Conor leads an auction of 129 lots with a combined estimate of in excess of a million euro. Painted around 1902, it is the catalogue cover lot and carries an estimate of €150,000-€200,000.
O'Conor revisited Montigny, a small town on the edge of the Forest of Fontainebleau, in the autumn of 1902, where he captured the mysterious half-light with the sun setting low on the horizon. The art historian Jonathan Benington recounts how the works executed at this time were "characterised by a highly painterly handling of the oil medium, from translucent stains to textured scumblings and thick calligraphic strokes". This approach, radical at that time, can be traced back to O'Conor's friendship with Gauguin and allegiances with Van Gogh in the early 1890s.
David Hockney's was similarly radical when it was made in 1980. It reflects his long-standing fascination with pools, light and the California lifestyle, transforming an everyday subject into a vivid study of colour, surface and perception. The artist uses simplified lines and fluid forms to evoke the movement and shimmer of water. This signed lithograph from an edition of 1,000 is a highly sought-after example from his inspirational swimming pools paintings and is estimated at €25,000-€35,000.
A holiday in Kerry brought inspiration back to Paul Henry. By the early 1930s, after a fraught and financially troubled time in his life during which he had separated from his wife, the celebrated artist had settled into a new life in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, with his partner Mabel Young, RHA, later his second wife. By September 1934, he was legally separated, and his thirst for inspiration had returned following a holiday in Co Kerry. This renewed passion for his surroundings is evident in the lightened palette of his Landscape, Connemara (1932-35), which comes up as lot 17 with an estimate of €120,000-€150,000.
A completely different take on a similar subject is evident in Ciaran Clear's Moonrise, Connemara Shore (€4,000-€6,000) with its silvery sea, figures on a beach looking out to sea, dark sails and shadowy rocks.
A coade stone bust of the Cork-born artist James Barry (1741-1806) by Joseph Panzetta dates to 1818 and is probably based on an engraving by Picart in Fryer's two-volume catalogue of Barry's work in 1809. It is one of four busts, the others being held by the Crawford in Cork and by St. Paul's Cathedral, London. The estimate is €5,000-€7,000. Three Roses by Patrick Hennessy, complete with a Guildhall Galleries, Chicago label, is similarly estimated.
The artist LS Lowry was proud of his Irish roots, and from 1959, is a possible memory of a jaunting car during one of his visits to Ireland. Other international artists in the sale are Mr Brainwash, Sir Frank Bowling, Maurice Poirson and Josef Herman.
A rare 1921 artist's proof set of two lithographs by Sir John Lavery of Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, each signed by both artist and sitter, is estimated at €8,000-€10,000. They were gifted to the previous owner by Arthur Griffith.
William Conor's (€18,000-€22,000) was exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1951. Dan O'Neill's (€12,000-€18,000) was acquired from the George Waddington Galleries in Montreal. This gallery held solo exhibitions of O'Neill in 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1965. The sale features a selection of watercolours by Percy French and art by Walter Osborne, Evie Hone, Maurice MacGonigal, Tony O'Malley, Mainie Jellett, Jack Yeats, Rowan Gillespie, Siobhan Bulfin, Kenneth Webb, Arthur Maderson and Elizabeth Cope. Viewing gets underway at Whyte's on Monday, and the catalogue is online.
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