拍品 36
  • 36

PATRICK HENNESSY, R.H.A. | Self-Portrait

估價
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
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招標截止

描述

  • Self-Portrait
  • oil on canvas laid on board
  • 51 by 33cm., 20 by 13in.

來源

Christie's, Dublin, 29 June 1994, lot 267, where purchased by the present owners

Condition

The board appears sound. The surface is textured owing to the nature of the board but overall the work appears in good original condition. Ultraviolet light reveals an opaque varnish; there appear to be no signs of retouching. Held in a gilt plaster frame.
"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."

拍品資料及來源

Born in Cork in 1915, Patrick Hennessy was educated at Dundee College of Art and at the Paris studio of Fernand Léger. Forced to return to Ireland by the outbreak of the Second World War, both the present work and lot 37 date from circa 1939 and capture the sombre mood of the war years. The 30s and 40s saw a period of radical experimentation in visual art; however Hennessy rejected abstraction in favour of a style of academic realism infused with an eerie mood derived from the surrealist movement. The quality of his work was recognised by Mainie Jellett who opened his first solo exhibition in Dublin in 1939 and Self-Portrait may indeed date precisely from that time. Hennessy’s commitment to figuration alienated a number of art critics in Ireland but many acknowledged its strangeness calling it, ‘very un-Irish’, ‘standing alone’, ‘a strange and exotic presence in Irish art’. Following the penury of the 40s, Hennessy went on to become one of the most commercially successful artists in Ireland in the mid-20th century. He was instrumental in the founding of the Ritchie Hendriks Gallery in Dublin and he exhibited there regularly as well as in London and Chicago. In the late 50s he began to winter in Tangier, Morocco which was a focus for gay men like the Beat poets and the artists Francis Bacon and Cecil Beaton. Hennessy settled there permanently in the 1970s and it was here that he began to to make work with queer subject matter which was very radical for the time and holds a significant place within the canon of Irish art.

Seán Kissane (Curator of Exhibitions at IMMA)