‘Better than a Monet’: Recently rediscovered painting by Roderic O’Conor

The exhibition, Between Paris and Pont-Aven: Roderic O’Conor and the Moderns, held at the National Gallery in 2018, set out the artist’s work against some of his most famous contemporaries, including Van Gogh and Gauguin. Jonathan Benington who curated the exhibition, reminded visitors at the time to “keep checking the dates”.

Many had presumed that O’Conor was influenced by his contemporaries when, in fact, he is today considered to be “a fully-fledged post-Impressionist before any of his British contemporaries would come to terms with his style”. Or in simpler terms, “he was the most avant-garde English-speaking artist of his generation,” says Benington.

In advance of de Vere’s Irish Art and Sculpture sale, which will take place on Tuesday, June 14th, Benington, who has written a biography and catalogued O’Conor’s work, will conduct a talk on three important works by the artist in the auction. The free talk – which will require places to be reserved – will take place on Saturday, June 11th, at de Vere’s saleroom at 35 Kildare Street, and can be booked through the office.

The sale includes three recently discovered works by O’Conor. All were painted in rural Brittany over a period of six or seven years, a time that corresponds to the artist meeting Paul Gauguin. This demonstrates his avant-garde credentials, which, according to catalogue notes, was “unprecedented at the time for an English-speaking artist”.

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Benington describes lot 14, Paysage aux Arbres as “better than a Monet” as it “stands on the threshold of an important new breakthrough… inspired by Van Gogh’s depictions of olive and cypress trees, and a range of almost fauve colours, revealing his alignment with the innovations of Gauguin”.

Listed at €150,000-€250,000 and from a private French collection, the work is attributed to belong to paintings executed in the early 1890s, close to the commencement of his time in Brittany. Even if the price tag is beyond your budget, it is well worth having a look at the sublime work.

Along with lot 18, Sea and Rocks, a painting from 1898 (€50,000-€70,000) and lot 15 and 16, both etchings listed at €1,000-€2,000 and €800-€1,200 respectively, is the piece de resistance in the sale. Described as a “Fauve before the Fauves” of the large canvas entitled The Breaking Wave, it has been in a private collection for more than 50 years and the first time it has been at auction since February 6th, 1956, in Paris.

It was on that day that the studio of O’Conor, who had died 16 years earlier, was sold by his wife Renee Honta. It swamped what was then a fragile market, with hundreds of canvases. It has remained in the same family since by descent (€200,000-€300,000).

Jack B Yeats

Quite a number of Jack B Yeats are currently changing hands, and lot 40, A Lament (The Funeral of Harry Boland) marks the centenary of the death of republican leader Harry Boland, a close ally of Michael Collins who was shot while trying to avoid arrest in Dublin in 1922.

It is originally from the collection of Helen Hooker O’Malley, the American sculptor who spent time in Ireland as she was married to revolutionary Ernie O’Malley. The O’Malley art collection grossed more than €5 million through Whyte’s in 2019, making it the highest result for an art auction in Ireland, and set records for many works.

In her notes, Hooker O’Malley recorded the work and wrote: “Proscribed funeral procession of Republican leader Harry Boland. Seventy five thousand citizens stood silent in the rain in defiance of proscription by the British Government” (€250,000-€350,000).

Besides an impressive array of paintings, the sale also has an equally arresting collection of sculpture (on view from June 9th in the gardens of the Merrion Hotel). Patrick O’Reilly, Anthony Scott, Rowan Gillespie and a number of works from the studio of Sonja Landweer, the ground-breaking Kilkenny-based Dutch artist who died in 2019, are represented.

Martello tower contents

Taking place this Tuesday, June 7, in a live online auction is Hegarty’s of Bandon Blue Room Summer sale. Included in the 250 lots are the contents of The Martello tower in Cobh from the private collection of the Haughton family. The early 19th century structure, originally built in 1813 to protect the coastline from a possible French invasion, was restored by renowned Cork engineer Peter Haughton.

Items of interest include a 19th century mahogany fold-over table with superb carved detail at the base (€800-€1,200). It was the property of Benjamin Haughton, who was a member of the first Seanad, and an Independent member of the Seanad from 1922-1928. From a Quaker family, Haughton though a successful entrepreneur at the time, spent much of the 1920s working towards peace on the island of Ireland.

He was a member of a small deputation of business people who went to meet then prime minister Lloyd George in 1920 in London. At the close of the meeting, Lloyd George released a public statement that mentioned he would be open to other delegations calling for resolution and peace. deveres.ie, hegartyantiques.com