View full screen - View 1 of Lot 42. Carnival.
42

John Luke

Carnival

41

42

43

John Luke

John Luke

Carnival

Carnival

Authenticity guarantee

What is guaranteed?

John Luke

1906 - 1975

Carnival


signed JOHN LUKE and dated 31 (lower right)

oil on panel

unframed: 41 by 52cm.; 16 by 20½in.

framed: 56 by 67cm.; 22 by 26½in.

Executed in 1930-31. 

Panel appears sound. It bows slightly and some faint traces of the panel's grain, inherent to the material. Some occasional minor surface abrasions to the edges. A minor spot of paint loss near the centre of the composition to the right of the tree. Some traces of surface dust. UV light reveals an opaque varnish. Small spots of retouching in the upper right corner and another to the hat of the lady on the left. Held in a gilt plaster frame.


Please email charlie.minter@sothebys.com if you have any questions regarding the present work.


"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.

NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."



Bell Gallery, Belfast
Tony Thompson, London, 1976
Mervyn Solomon
Sale, Phillips, London, 13 June 1989, lot 79
Sale, Christie's, London, 17 May 2001, lot 125
Daily Mail, 3 October 1930
Theo Snoddy (ed.), Dictionary of Irish Artists Twentieth Century, Dublin, 1996, p.268
Joseph McBrinn (ed.), Northern Rhythm - The Art of John Luke, Ulster, Ulster Museum, 2012, no. 11, p. 96
London, Leger Galleries, Exhibition of Contemporary Art, October 1930
Belfast, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Ulster Museum, John Luke, January - March 1978, no. 16, illustrated
Ulster, Ulster Museum, Northern Rhythm - The Art of John Luke, 2 November 2012 - 10 February 2013, no. 11
Carnival is an early work by John Luke, painted the same year he completed his three years of study at the Slade School of Art in London. When exhibited at the Leger Galleries in 1930, it was picked out by the art critic P. G. Konody as ‘one of the most attractive features of the exhibition.’ It possesses a lively movement and freedom distinct from the more formal portraits of his Slade School works and the later, finely and painstakingly executed landscapes in tempera. The flood of light and his deft hint of rides and fairs in the background is superbly realized, while the charged atmosphere he creates embodies the carnival spirit.