Irish auction house deVeres has an impressive art auction this closing 23 November. Featuring over eighty paintings of a National Gallery standard, this sale is not one to be missed. Artists in the sale include Roderic O’Conor, Ireland’s first impressionist painter, as well as Sir William Orpen, Jack Yeats and Paul Henry. From landscapes to still lives, the sale includes a great diversity of Irish master works sure to please any collector. Read on to discover some of the highlights.
In the summer of 1951, Middleton lived in Ballymote House with his family. He completed a number of paintings of the surrounding natural beauty while living there, including some notable works now in the National Musuems Northern Ireland. The present has a touching narrative, depicting a family walk through the luscious landscape. Middleton continued to remember the landscape of Ballymote with pleasure for many years, and collectors can experience his affection for the land in this outstanding work.
Another highlight of the sale is Nature Morte by Roderic O’Conor. O’Conor was Ireland’s first impressionist painter. A friend of Paul Gauguin, he was instrumental in the rediscovery of van Gogh’s art in the 1890s. This piece was previously showcased at the Salon d’Automne, 1921, and has been well-accepted by the art community from the very start.
Another piece of the upmost quality is After the Ball by Sir William Orpen. This work features four figures attending a masked ball, and is of significant size – nearly 145 cm tall! The theme relates to the Venetian Carnivale, a series of glamorous balls held during a six week period after Christmas Day.
Four oil paintings by Paul Henry are available in the sale. The artist was famously commissioned by the newly-formed Irish state to foster a sense of communal identity and cultural history. Many of his works were distributed internationally on posters advertising the state in the 1920s and '30s, ensuring his artistic legacy far beyond the Irish borders. This work, with its sharp greens and soft, lush blues, celebrates the natural beauty of Ireland.
Another lot attracting significant interest is Jack B Yeats’ The Waterfall. This painting depicts the Glencar Waterfall, a natural landmark close to the artist’s family home in Silgo. The artist often painted the waterfall, and it serves as the backdrop of some of his most famous works. The very same waterfall also appears in his brother W.B. Yeats’ poem, ‘The Stolen Child.’ The painting features an elegant couple walking through thick, verdant vegetation. It’s rich and dynamic textures makes it one of the most exceptional works in Yeats’ oeuvre.
As a boy, Gerard Dillon joined his family among the many devout Catholics attending daily devotional exercises and prayers in Ireland. Confession was common practice in his young life, until one day Dillon told the priest he preferred boys to girls in the confessional box. Years later, as an adult marooned in Ireland after the outbreak of the Second World War, he launched his painting career. His paintings were a near-immediate success, and this particular piece was included in his first solo exhibition. The highly emotional and evocative artwork is bound to attract much attention, and is a wonderful example of Irish art.
![Bridget Riley, ‘Early Light (Schubert 33)’, 1987, limited edition, colour screenprint, 18/75,
signed, titled and dated, 71.8 x 73 cm [detail]. Image © Gildings](https://images.prismic.io/barnebys/0ad04b93-ed8f-493b-b1d3-0a2ef1facd3a_49019-3-2.jpg?auto=format,compress)
