Separating the ducks from the geese

THE TITLE of a painting to be auctioned in Dublin this month has been changed after closer analysis revealed a flock of geese to be, in fact, ducks. Driving out the Flock is among the highlights at de Veres Irish and International Art auction on May 22nd with an estimate of €15,000-20,000. The painting had initially been assigned the title The Little Goose Girl.

The artist is English painter Stanley Royle, whose best-known painting, The Goose Girl, is one of the most popular works in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland.

Previously unknown, Driving out the Flock, which dates from 1923, was found in a private collection in the south Dublin suburb of Churchtown, and is being sold following the death of its owner. The painting goes on view at the Berkeley Court Hotel in Ballsbridge next Saturday, where it will be auctioned the following Tuesday.

Other lots in the sale include a small oil by Jack B Yeats titled The Hobby Horses, dating from 1927, with an estimate of €60,000-80,000; and “a magical Paul Henry titled Spring in Wicklow with a realistic estimate” of €40,000-60,000.

Roderic O’Conor’s still life of flowers, Fleurs dans un Vase, comes from a private collection in the US with an estimate of €30,000-50,000.

Among the more affordable lots are two pictures by the late Peter Collis, the landscape painter who died last month: Road to Achill Head (€2,000-4,000) and The Sugar Loaf (€700-1,000).

Muriel Brandt’s nostalgic watercolours depict traditional rural scenes including Bare Knuckle Fighting (€600-900); and, The Road Bowler (€600-900). The catalogue also features works by English artists Graham Sutherland, Peter Lanyon and Fred Yates.

John de Vere White, managing director of de Veres, believed the overall selection of works offered represented “one of the finest sales, in terms of quality, that the firm has held in recent years”.