Late artist's paintings of charm to be sold

Dublin auctioneer John de Vere White seems to be making something of a speciality of deceased artists' studio sales over the past two years. The latest to come his way is Alicia Boyle, who died last year. Her family originally came from Co Derry and while she spent much of her life out of this country, according to a biographical essay by Hilary Pyle, in 1971 Boyle settled in west Cork; later she moved to Monkstown, Co Dublin. The de Vere's sale next Tuesday in the National Concert Hall contains some 450 pictures and is divided into two sections. Lots in the first of these, precisely half the total, have been given estimates and are indisputably the better pieces. Prices for the second half of the day will be determined by the earlier pictures, few of which are priced in the catalogue at more than £1,000. However, previous such sales have shown how very deceptive these estimates can be; bidders should therefore be prepared to pay more than the figures printed. Although the catalogue is generously scattered with colour reproductions, many of these fail to do the works justice. Boyle was by no means an outstanding artist but her work has charm and will certainly find admirers.

The paintings show affinity with English artists she knew or appreciated in the 1930s, such as Paul Nash and Graham Sutherland; there is the same dependence on figures given a thick dark outline and the same dashing sense of colour. Her palette exhibits a consistent fondness for pink; even when not to the fore, it may be seen lurking in undertones, mixed with blue to create mauve and lilac. The pictures for sale are both oils and watercolours, with the latter recalling the work of Pauline Bewick thanks to a sinuous line and, again, a preference for fresh colouring. Subject matter varies enormously. There are, for example, scenes from Greece, Spain and North Africa, as well as the Irish countryside. All tend to possess the same slightly indiscriminate cheery, bright quality. An interest in the Sweeney legend resulted in rather less successful pieces, as did attempts at political statement, such as a 1963 canvas entitled Paisley, Bible Truth not Roman Error; the sombre really seems to have had no place in Boyle's oeuvre and she was at her best when depicting children or sun-strewn landscapes. Her still lives are also rather winning; one oil from 1974, called Three Yellows, Four Shadows and showing a trio of grapefruit is especially attractive and therefore carries a particularly high estimate of £4,000-£6,000.