Frank McKelvey Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Frank McKelvey Art Value Price Guide

Oct. 08, 2024
FRANK MCKELVEY, RHA RUA, IRISH 1895-1974, BLACK ROCKS AT BREAGHY HEAD, COUNTY DONEGAL, Oil on board, 11 1/2 x 17 in. (29.2 x 43.2 cm.), Frame: 17 x 23 in. (43.2 x 58.4 cm.)
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
FRANK MCKELVEY, RHA RUA IRISH, 1895-1974 BLACK ROCKS AT BREAGHY HEAD, COUNTY DONEGAL Oil on board Lower left signed: Frank McKelvey; verso handwritten label: 'Black Rocks at / Breaghy Head'/ Co. Donegal / Frank McKelvey - RHA
Potomack Company
Sep. 30, 2024
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) GLENLOUGH, COUNTY DONEGAL
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) GLENLOUGH, COUNTY DONEGAL oil on panel signed lower left; inscribed with artist and title on label on reverse h:12 w:17.25 in.
Whyte's
Sep. 25, 2024
Frank McKelvey RUA RHA (1895 -1974) A Donegal Farmyard Oil on canvas, 40 x 50cm (15_ x 19_) Signed, also inscribed with title on stretcher verso Frank McKelvey studied at the Belfast School of Art in his hometown, winning the prize fo
Est: €20,000 - €30,000
Frank McKelvey RUA RHA (1895 -1974) A Donegal Farmyard Oil on canvas, 40 x 50cm (15_ x 19_) Signed, also inscribed with title on stretcher verso Frank McKelvey studied at the Belfast School of Art in his hometown, winning the prize for figure drawing in 1912. He exhibited at the RHA for the first time in 1918 and continued to do so annually for the following fifty years, being elected a full member of the academy in 1930. Between 1923 and 1935 McKelvey exhibited regularly at the Glasgow Institute of Fine Art and his first solo show was held at Locksley Hall, Belfast, in 1934 and again in 1936. His first solo show in Dublin was held at the Victor Waddington Galleries in 1937. Along with James Humbert Craig, Frank McKelvey was the leading landscapist of his time in Northern Ireland. He was a master of landscape employing just the right range of compositional elements, provoking a sense of quietude and harmony. The setting for McKelveyÕs paintings on the present subject is generally one of two locations : the Maze, County Down where McKelvey settled with his wife in 1924 or it could be the home of his wifeÕs parents in Bessbrook, County Armagh. Regardless of setting it is clear that the artist, as a city-dweller by birth and upbringing, has great affection for the country and sees this rural context as an idyllic subject for his painting. The farmyard featured regularly in McKelveyÕs work for over forty years and during the twenties, the artist composed a number of scenes, within which a woman, often accompanied by a child, would scatter feed to waiting chickens. In the present work, there is a slight variation on this theme, two barefoot children are feeding the hens outside a simple thatched cottage. The elder girl is scattering the feed while the younger child watches on with her hands joined behind her back. The chickens are carefully detailed and there is a range of white, brown and black poultry. Some stand waiting, some stoop and some eat. McKelvey shows himself to be a master of his medium and subject. The paintingÕs definitive triumph is the play of light over the composition in its entirety. It is impressionistic in style, with the artist's characteristic level of detail. He has a measured, yet apt approach to representing a scene, clearly evident here. The palette is warm, bright, and summery. The sun highlights essential elements of the composition and pools strategically on the ground and bathes the children in golden light. We acknowledge with thanks the writings of Marianne OÕKane Boal, upon which this piece is based.
Adam's
May. 29, 2024
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895 - 1974) Picnic by the Lagan Oil on canvas, 40 x 50cm (15¾ x 19¾) Signed Provenance: With Victor Waddington, label verso
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895 - 1974) Picnic by the Lagan Oil on canvas, 40 x 50cm (15¾ x 19¾) Signed Provenance: With Victor Waddington, label verso
Adam's
May. 29, 2024
FRANK MCKELVEY OIL, AN ULSTER LANDSCAPE.
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Frank McKelvey (Irish, 1895-1974) oil on canvas, river through mountainous landscape, signed lower left, Frank McKelvey. In a gilt frame with plaque that reads, '1893-1974 Frank McKelvey RHA', with Eaton Gallery label on reverse. Canvas 20” 26.75”, Overall in frame 27.75 x 34.75.
William Smith Auctions
May. 27, 2024
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) MARKET SCENE, c.1935-36
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) MARKET SCENE, c.1935-36 oil on board signed lower left; with William Rodman framing label on reverse h:9 w:12 in.
Whyte's
Apr. 21, 2024
Frank McKelvey (1895 - 1974) Watercolor
Est: $500 - $700
An Irish seascape, signed at the lower left. With William Mol, Belfast label verso. Dimensions: sight is 14 1/2" x 20 1/2", the frame 23" x 29". Provenance: From a local collection.
Locati LLC
Apr. 16, 2024
FRANK MCKELVEY RHA (1895-1974) Ards Bay, Co. Donegal Oil on canvas, 50.5 x 66cm (20 x 26) Signed; Inscribed on stretcher verso Frank McKelvey studied at the Belfast School of Art in his hometown, winning the prize for figure drawing in 1
Est: €7,000 - €10,000
FRANK MCKELVEY RHA (1895-1974) Ards Bay, Co. Donegal Oil on canvas, 50.5 x 66cm (20 x 26) Signed; Inscribed on stretcher verso Frank McKelvey studied at the Belfast School of Art in his hometown, winning the prize for figure drawing in 1912. He exhibited at the RHA for the first time in 1918 and continued to do so annually for the following fifty years, being elected a full member of the academy in 1930. Between 1923 and 1935 McKelvey exhibited regularly at the Glasgow Institute of Fine Art and his first solo show was held at Locksley Hall, Belfast, in 1934 and again in 1936. His first solo show in Dublin was held at the Victor Waddington Galleries in 1937. During the 1920s McKelvey received many portrait commissions and his work was included in exhibitions of Irish portraits at the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery in 1927 and 1931. He was also included in a major exhibition of Ulster artists at the same gallery in Festival Exhibition 1951 and another at Ulster House in London in 1947. McKelveys work can be found in the collections of Queens University Belfast, the Royal Ulster Academy, the Masonic Hall in Dublin, Crawford Gallery in Cork, and the Royal Palace of Soestdijk in the Netherlands. Frank McKelveys work was included in Adams loan exhibitions: Ulster Artists (2010).
Adam's
Mar. 27, 2024
Frank McKelvey RUA RHA (1895 - 1974) Figure and Cattle on a Country Road Oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm (15¾ x 19¾) Signed
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Frank McKelvey RUA RHA (1895 - 1974) Figure and Cattle on a Country Road Oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm (15¾ x 19¾) Signed
Adam's
Mar. 27, 2024
Frank McKelvey
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Irish, 1895-1974 Boats at Low Tide Signed Frank McKelvey (ll) Oil on canvasboard 14 x 18 inches (35.6 x 45.7 cm) Provenance: Vincent Price Collection (Frame dimensions: 16 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches) Not examined out of the frame. Scattered small abrasions. Very minor spot of loss in the upper right edge. Otherwise in overall good condition.
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Mar. 11, 2024
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) FAIR DAY
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) FAIR DAY oil on board signed lower left h:12 w:17 in.
Whyte's
Mar. 11, 2024
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) FEEDING DUCKS, ST. STEPHEN'S GREEN, DUBLIN
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) FEEDING DUCKS, ST. STEPHEN'S GREEN, DUBLIN oil on board signed lower right; with Pyms Gallery label on reverse h:12.50 w:17.50 in.
Whyte's
Mar. 11, 2024
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) GATHERING WILD FLOWERS
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) GATHERING WILD FLOWERS oil on canvas signed lower right; titled on reverse; also with Oriel Gallery label on reverse h:13.50 w:18.50 in. Provenance: Oriel Gallery, Dublin; Private collection
Whyte's
Mar. 11, 2024
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) FAIR DAY, ROUNDSTONE, COUNTY GALWAY c.1959
Est: €15,000 - €20,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) FAIR DAY, ROUNDSTONE, COUNTY GALWAY c.1959 oil on canvas signed lower left; titled on label on reverse h:20 w:24 in. Exhibited: RHA, Dublin, 1959, catalogue no. 9 Landscape and portrait painter Frank McKelvey attended the Belfast School of Art where he won the Sir Charles Brett prize for figure drawing in 1912. He won immediate recognition in Dublin for his landscapes and his work was hung at the RHA. From 1918 until 1973 he acquired the remarkable record of never missing a year at the RHA, showing from three to eight works annually. He was made a full member of the RHA in 1930 and was one of the first Academicians of the Royal Ulster Academy. McKelvey painted a series of market or fair day scenes in the latter part of his career. During the 1930s he had painted the subject on rare occasions (for an example of such see plate 19, Market Scene circa 1935-36, in S. B. Kennedy, Frank McKelvey, RHA, RUA: A Painter in His Time, Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 1993), but in the last fifteen years of his life he exhibited seven market scenes at the RHA including the present work and Fair Day, Creeslough, Co. Donegal (1965), Cattle Fair (1971) and Fair Day (1973).
Whyte's
Dec. 06, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA (1895-1974) Ards Bay, Co. Donegal Oil on canvas, 50.5 x 66cm (20 x 26) Signed; Inscribed on stretcher verso
Est: €7,000 - €10,000
Frank McKelvey RHA (1895-1974) Ards Bay, Co. Donegal Oil on canvas, 50.5 x 66cm (20 x 26) Signed; Inscribed on stretcher verso
Adam's
Dec. 06, 2023
Frank McKelvey RUA RHA (1895-1974) Ballyhoorisky Point, Co. Donegal Oil on canvas, 43.5 x 59cm (17 x 23¼) Signed Provenance: Eaton Gallery, London; label verso.
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
Frank McKelvey RUA RHA (1895-1974) Ballyhoorisky Point, Co. Donegal Oil on canvas, 43.5 x 59cm (17 x 23¼) Signed Provenance: Eaton Gallery, London; label verso.
Adam's
Dec. 06, 2023
Frank McKelvey RUA RHA (1895 - 1974) A Pastoral River Landscape with Cattle Watering Oil on canvas, 60 x 70cm (23½ x 27½) Signed
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
Frank McKelvey RUA RHA (1895 - 1974) A Pastoral River Landscape with Cattle Watering Oil on canvas, 60 x 70cm (23½ x 27½) Signed
Adam's
Oct. 02, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) BEACH SCENE, WEST OF IRELAND
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) BEACH SCENE, WEST OF IRELAND oil on canvas signed lower left h:20 w:26 in.
Whyte's
Sep. 27, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA (1895-1974) River Landscape with Children Playing Oil on Canvas, 49.5 x 37cm (19½ x 14½) Signed His characteristic approach to landscape was to capture the essential visual effect of the scene ... he succeeded brillia
Est: €5,000 - €8,000
Frank McKelvey RHA (1895-1974) River Landscape with Children Playing Oil on Canvas, 49.5 x 37cm (19½ x 14½) Signed His characteristic approach to landscape was to capture the essential visual effect of the scene ... he succeeded brilliantly in capturing the character of the Irish landscape. (S.B. Kennedy Frank McKelvey - A Painter in his Time, p.9). Along with James Humbert Craig, Frank McKelvey was the leading landscapist of his time in Northern Ireland. The artist is a master of landscape employing just the right range of compositional elements, provoking a sense of quietude, harmony and complimenting the entire with an accurately rendered sky. He often showed an ease in capturing children at rest or play in his compositions. The overall painting is harmonious, charming and nostalgic. ...The overall feeling of lightness, fresh air and the spontaneity of the moment are features which remain characteristic of McKelveys work throughout his career ... the even film of paint and naturalistic use of light combine with the treatment of the figures to express the apparent ease of the artists technical ability. (S.B. Kennedy Frank McKelvey-A Painter in his Time, p.9).
Adam's
Sep. 27, 2023
Frank McKelvey, RUA, RHA (1895-1974) Cattle on a Beach Watercolour, 25 x 37cm (9¾ x 14½) Signed lower left Provenance: Drummin House, Carbury, Co. Kildare
Est: €500 - €700
Frank McKelvey, RUA, RHA (1895-1974) Cattle on a Beach Watercolour, 25 x 37cm (9¾ x 14½) Signed lower left Provenance: Drummin House, Carbury, Co. Kildare
Adam's
Sep. 27, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA (1895-1974) Evening, Atlantic Drive Oil on canvas, 60 x 90cm (23½ x 35½) Signed
Est: €6,000 - €10,000
Frank McKelvey RHA (1895-1974) Evening, Atlantic Drive Oil on canvas, 60 x 90cm (23½ x 35½) Signed
Adam's
Sep. 27, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA (1895-1974) Muckish from Lackagh, Co. Donegal Oil on canvas, 50 x 65cm (19¾ x 25½) Signed
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
Frank McKelvey RHA (1895-1974) Muckish from Lackagh, Co. Donegal Oil on canvas, 50 x 65cm (19¾ x 25½) Signed
Adam's
May. 31, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Beach at Magheragallon, Co. Donegal Watercolour, 25 x 37cm (9¾ x 14½) Signed
Est: €800 - €1,200
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Beach at Magheragallon, Co. Donegal Watercolour, 25 x 37cm (9¾ x 14½) Signed
Adam's
May. 31, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA (1895-1974) Coming from Mass, Donegal Oil on canvas, 38 x 50cm (15 x 19¾) Signed Frank McKelvey studied at the Belfast School of Art in his hometown, winning the prize for figure drawing in 1912. He exhibited at the RH
Est: €8,000 - €12,000
Frank McKelvey RHA (1895-1974) Coming from Mass, Donegal Oil on canvas, 38 x 50cm (15 x 19¾) Signed Frank McKelvey studied at the Belfast School of Art in his hometown, winning the prize for figure drawing in 1912. He exhibited at the RHA for the first time in 1918 and continued to do so annually for the following fifty years, being elected a full member of the academy in 1930. Between 1923 and 1935 McKelvey exhibited regularly at the Glasgow Institute of Fine Art and his first solo show was held at Locksley Hall, Belfast, in 1934 and again in 1936. His first solo show in Dublin was held at the Victor Waddington Galleries in 1937. During the 1920s McKelvey received many portrait commissions and his work was included in exhibitions of Irish portraits at the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery in 1927 and 1931. He was also included in a major exhibition of Ulster artists at the same gallery in Festival Exhibition 1951 and another at Ulster House in London in 1947. McKelveys work can be found in the collections of Queens University Belfast, the Royal Ulster Academy, the Masonic Hall in Dublin, Crawford Gallery in Cork, and the Royal Palace of Soestdijk in the Netherlands.
Adam's
May. 10, 2023
River Landscape
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
Frank McKelvey 1895 - 1974 River Landscape signed Frank McKelvey (lower left) oil on canvas unframed: 38 by 53.5cm.; 15 by 21in. framed: 51 by 63.5cm.; 20 by 25in. ---------------------------------------------- Frank McKelvey 1895 - 1974 River Landscape signé Frank McKelvey (en bas à gauche) huile sur toile sans cadre: 38 by 53.5cm.; 15 by 21in. avec cadre: 51 by 63.5cm.; 20 by 25in.
Sotheby's
Apr. 18, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) The Back of the House
Est: €12,000 - €16,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) The Back of the House oil on canvas board signed 'FRANK McKELVEY' lower right h:35.60 w:45.80 cm. Provenance: William Rodman & Co, Belfast (label verso); Private Collection On a sunlit driveway, flanked by leafy trees, a woman and child are feeding a flock of chickens. Leading to an old wrought-iron gate and farmhouse, the driveway is rutted with wheel tracks. Part of a longer building, the whitewashed farmhouse, its walls dappled with sunlight and shadow, provides a backdrop to this everyday farming scene. Above the thatched roof and squat chimney stack, the blue sky is highlighted with white clouds. McKelvey has captured a scene of springtime or early summer, with trees coming in to leaf. He uses alternating bands of light and shade to good effect, and his skilled handling of oil paint makes this Impressionist scene a quintessential image of farming life in Ireland in the mid-twentieth century. Although an idyllic scene, as in many of McKelvey's paintings there is a sense of the preciousness of human existence. Youth and age stand side by side, enjoying a peaceful moment in an all-too-fleeting lifetime. Born in Belfast in 1895, McKelvey attended evening classes at the Belfast College of Art, while training as a poster designer for David Allen and Sons. In 1911 he became a full-time student at the College, winning many prizes, and seven years later won the Taylor art competition with his painting The Grandmother. Over the following years he painted views of farm workers near Bessborough, Co. Armagh, where his in-laws had a farm. While the Realism of his early work gradually gave way to a more Impressionist palette and approach, McKelvey never swayed from providing an authentic, if idealised, depiction of life of the Irish countryside and coastline. In addition to the rural areas around Belfast Lough and the Lagan river, he depicted coastal scenery in counties Donegal and Mayo. A conservative and accomplished painter, his work evokes cloud-filled skies, silver light reflected on water and people getting on with their everyday lives. Early in his career, he was commissioned by Thomas McGowan to paint a series of views depicting the older parts of Belfast city. These are now in the collection of the Ulster Museum. In 1920 he established a studio in Royal Avenue and over the following years became a member of the Belfast Art Society, the Ulster Society of Painters and, in 1930, the Royal Hibernian Academy. In 1924, he married and settled in Co. Down, but two years later moved back to Belfast. Although he was a leading member of the Northern landscape painters, there are ten portraits by him in Queen's University, and thirteen portraits of US presidents of Ulster extraction, in the Ulster Museum. In New York McKelvey was one of a number of Irish artists shown at the Hackett Gallery, while in Dublin, in 1937, he had his first exhibition at the Victor Waddington Gallery. A founder member of the Royal Ulster Academy in 1930, he last exhibited with the RUA in 1969. His favourite locations for painting landscape were Co. Armagh, the Antrim Coast and, in later years, Co. Donegal. Together with James Humbert Craig, Paul Henry and Charles Lamb, McKelvey is credited with creating a 'national' school of Irish landscape painting in the twentieth century. Peter Murray, March 2023
Morgan O'Driscoll
Apr. 18, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Picnic on the Lagan
Est: €5,000 - €7,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Picnic on the Lagan oil on canvas signed 'FRANK McKELVEY' lower right h:46 w:61 cm. Provenance: Oriel Gallery, Dublin (label verso) where purchased by the present owner In this idyllic scene depicting a summer's day on the Lagan, a boy and a girl sit on the riverbank enjoying a picnic. Around them, the leaves of trees shimmer in the sunlight, while sky and woods are reflected in the still waters of the river. The blue sky is suffused with a faint yellow summer haze. The figures of boy and girl are suggested, rather than depicted in detail, with quick dabs of paint. Like many of McKelvey's most evocative paintings, this work represents a pastoral ideal, but one that has perhaps a quiet subtext. The couple appear to be in conversation, he is leaning forward slightly, while she listens; a serious moment perhaps, in this idyllic setting. In the foreground, a bush casts a dark shadow over the riverside path, framing and adding depth to the composition. Born in Belfast, McKelvey attended evening classes at the Belfast College of Art, while training as a poster designer for David Allen and Sons. In 1911 he became a full-time student at the College, winning many prizes and seven years later won a prize at the Taylor art competition with his painting The Grandmother, and in the years following he painted views of farm workers in the vicinity of Bessborough, Co. Armagh, where his in-laws had a farm. While the Realism of his early work gradually gave way to a more Impressionist palette and approach, he never swayed from providing an authentic depiction of life of the Irish countryside. In addition to his many paintings depicting the Lagan river near Belfast, McKelvey also depicted the coastal scenery of Donegal and Mayo. A reliable and conservative landscape painter, his work often contains delightful evocations of cloud-filled skies, silver light reflected on water and people quietly tending livestock. Together with James Humbert Craig, Paul Henry and Charles Lamb, McKelvey is credited with creating a 'national' school of Irish landscape painting in the twentieth century. Peter Murray, January 2023
Morgan O'Driscoll
Apr. 18, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Unloading the Catch
Est: €6,000 - €9,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Unloading the Catch oil on canvas signed 'FRANK McKELVEY' lower left h:51.50 w:68.60 cm. Provenance: Private Collection
Morgan O'Driscoll
Mar. 06, 2023
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) FARMSTEAD, WEST OF IRELAND
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) FARMSTEAD, WEST OF IRELAND oil on canvas board signed lower right h:12 w:17 in. Provenance: Adam's, 26 September 2012, lot 152; Private collection; de Veres, 25 March 2014, lot 12; Private collection; Whyte's, 25 May 2015, lot 22; Private collection
Whyte's
Dec. 07, 2022
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Loading the Cattle Boats Watercolour, 27 x 36cm (10½ x 14¼) Signed
Est: €800 - €1,200
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Loading the Cattle Boats Watercolour, 27 x 36cm (10½ x 14¼) Signed
Adam's
Nov. 28, 2022
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) RAIN, GLEN BAY, COUNTY DONEGAL
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) RAIN, GLEN BAY, COUNTY DONEGAL oil on canvas signed lower left; inscribed with title on reverse h:15 w:20 in.
Whyte's
Nov. 16, 2022
Frank McKelvey, RHA, RUA (1895-1974) "Grey Day, Coast of Donegal," O.O.C., extensive coastal
Est: €1,200 - €1,800
Frank McKelvey, RHA, RUA (1895-1974) "Grey Day, Coast of Donegal," O.O.C., extensive coastal scene, with sandy road to the foreground leading to cottages, with sea in distance, approx. 38cms x 51cms (15" x 20"), signed lower left, cloth mount, painted frame. (1) Provenance: Important Private Collection, West of Ireland.
Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers
Nov. 16, 2022
Frank McKelvey, RHA, RUA (1895-1974) "Heading to Mass, Connemara," O.O.C., extensive landscape
Est: €3,000 - €4,000
Frank McKelvey, RHA, RUA (1895-1974) "Heading to Mass, Connemara," O.O.C., extensive landscape with figures walking country road, with cottages and mountains to the right and beach in the distance, approx. 30cms x 42cms, signed lower right, blue cloth mount, silvered frame. (1) Provenance: Important Private Collection, West of Ireland.
Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers
Sep. 28, 2022
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Misty Coastal Scene with Figures and Moored Boats Watercolour, 37 x 52.5cm (14½ x 20¾'') Signed
Est: €1,500 - €2,500
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Misty Coastal Scene with Figures and Moored Boats Watercolour, 37 x 52.5cm (14½ x 20¾'') Signed
Adam's
Sep. 26, 2022
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) PORTRAIT OF JOHN F. KENNEDY
Est: €1,500 - €2,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) PORTRAIT OF JOHN F. KENNEDY pencil signed lower right h:23 w:18.50 in.
Whyte's
Jul. 15, 2022
FRANK MCKELVEY, R.H.A., R.U.A. (IRISH, 1895-1974) St Stephen's Green, Dubl
Est: £15,000 - £25,000
FRANK MCKELVEY, R.H.A., R.U.A. (IRISH, 1895-1974) St Stephen's Green, Dublin oil on canvas 20 x 27 in. (50.8 x 68.6 cm.)
Christie's
Jul. 13, 2022
Frank McKelvey R.H.A., R.U.A. (Irish, 1895-1974) Sunday Morning, Ards, Co. Donegal
Est: £6,000 - £8,000
Frank McKelvey R.H.A., R.U.A. (Irish, 1895-1974) Sunday Morning, Ards, Co. Donegal signed 'FRANK McKELVEY' (lower left) oil on canvas 51 x 66.5cm (20 1/16 x 26 3/16in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
Jun. 01, 2022
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895 - 1974) Donegal Landscape Oil on board, 30 x 42cm (11¾ x 16½) Signed
Est: €2,500 - €3,500
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895 - 1974) Donegal Landscape Oil on board, 30 x 42cm (11¾ x 16½) Signed
Adam's
Apr. 29, 2022
† Frank McKelvey (1895-1974) RHA RUA Irish, 'Cushenden', coastal landscape, oil on panel, signed to lower left corner, 24.5 cm x 34 cm in a wooden frame.
Est: £2,000 - £3,000
† Frank McKelvey (1895-1974) RHA RUA Irish, 'Cushenden', coastal landscape, oil on panel, signed to lower left corner, 24.5 cm x 34 cm in a wooden frame. Private collection, inherited by the vendor by descent. John Magee Limited label verso
Dawsons Auctioneers
Apr. 26, 2022
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Picnic on the Lagan
Est: €6,000 - €9,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Picnic on the Lagan oil on canvas signed lower right h:46 w:61 cm. Provenance: Oriel Gallery, Dublin (label verso) where purchased by the present owner In this idyllic scene depicting a summer's day on the Lagan, a boy and a girl sit on the riverbank enjoying a picnic. Around them, the leaves of trees shimmer in the sunlight, while sky and woods are reflected in the still waters of the river. The blue sky is suffused with a faint yellow summer haze. The figures of boy and girl are suggested, rather than depicted in detail, with quick dabs of paint. Like many of McKelvey's most evocative paintings, this work represents a pastoral ideal, but one that has perhaps a quiet subtext. The couple appear to be in conversation, he is leaning forward slightly, while she listens; a serious moment perhaps, in this idyllic setting. In the foreground, a bush casts a dark shadow over the riverside path, framing and adding depth to the composition. Born in Belfast, McKelvey attended evening classes at the Belfast College of Art, while training as a poster designer for David Allen and Sons. In 1911 he became a full-time student at the College, winning many prizes and seven years later won a prize at the Taylor art competition with his painting The Grandmother, and in the years following he painted views of farm workers in the vicinity of Bessborough, Co. Armagh, where his in-laws had a farm. While the Realism of his early work gradually gave way to a more Impressionist palette and approach, he never swayed from providing an authentic depiction of life of the Irish countryside. In addition to his many paintings depicting the Lagan river near Belfast, McKelvey also depicted the coastal scenery of Donegal and Mayo. A reliable and conservative landscape painter, his work often contains delightful evocations of cloud-filled skies, silver light reflected on water and people quietly tending livestock. Together with James Humbert Craig, Paul Henry and Charles Lamb, McKelvey is credited with creating a 'national' school of Irish landscape painting in the twentieth century. Peter Murray, March 2022
Morgan O'Driscoll
Mar. 30, 2022
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Children Playing by a River Oil on canvas, 50 x 68cm (19¾ x 26¾'') Signed Provenance: Sale, these rooms, April 1st 2015, lot no.35; private collection. Born in Belfast, son of a painter and decorator
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Children Playing by a River Oil on canvas, 50 x 68cm (19¾ x 26¾'') Signed Provenance: Sale, these rooms, April 1st 2015, lot no.35; private collection. Born in Belfast, son of a painter and decorator McKelvey was a most prolific painter, producing numerous river and coastal views from Donegal, Connemara and Antrim, along with many farmyard scenes. Significantly, the Exhibition of Irish Art in Brussels, held in 1930, included no fewer than three of his paintings, a measure of his stature. In 1937, he had his first one-man show in Dublin at the Victor Waddington Galleries and his work was also shown in New York prior to World War II. Compared with those of Craig and other contemporaries, McKelvey's landscapes are less romantic, less concerned with mood and feeling than with describing the essential visual effect of a scene, although, after the mid-1950s, his work becomes more atmospheric. John Hewitt suggests that 'in landscape his work his harked back to an older tradition than Craig, to quieter colour, to a kind of Constable-impression. It is most effective in its rendering of evening light over level estuary plains, out of a lowering sky, or coming in from the sea with water flooding across the sands.' From a younger generation than Craig, by 1925, McKelvey had reached the same level of recognition and became, with the latter and William Conor, one of Ulster's most prominent painters. Furthermore, his West of Ireland views, together with those of Lamb and Craig, dominated the field of landscape painting between the wars and, perhaps more than any other, approximated to a genuine Irish School.
Adam's
Dec. 08, 2021
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Misty Coastal Scene with Figures and Boats Watercolour, 37 x 52.5cm (14½ x 20¾'') Signed
Est: €2,000 - €4,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Misty Coastal Scene with Figures and Boats Watercolour, 37 x 52.5cm (14½ x 20¾'') Signed
Adam's
Dec. 08, 2021
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Cushendon Harbour, Co. Antrim Oil on canvas, 35 x 45cm (13¾ x 17¾'') Signed
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Cushendon Harbour, Co. Antrim Oil on canvas, 35 x 45cm (13¾ x 17¾'') Signed
Adam's
Nov. 10, 2021
Frank McKelvey R.H.A., R.U.A. (Irish, 1895-1974) Cattle watering on a summer's day
Est: £2,000 - £3,000
Frank McKelvey R.H.A., R.U.A. (Irish, 1895-1974) Cattle watering on a summer's day signed 'FRANKM cKELVEY' (lower left) oil on canvas 61.3 x 76.5cm (24 1/8 x 30 1/8in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
Oct. 26, 2021
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) The Kinnegar, Holywood, Co. Down (1970)
Est: €15,000 - €20,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) The Kinnegar, Holywood, Co. Down (1970) oil on canvas signed lower right and dated 1970 verso h:46 w:61 cm. Provenance: Collection of George and Maura McClelland; Whytes, Dublin, 28th November 2016 lot 10; Private Collection Exhibited: "The Hunter Gatherer - The Collection of George and Maura McClelland", The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, 2004 Seated on a quay wall, a group of children are enjoying watching the annual regatta at Holywood in Co. Down, a coastal town not far from the port of Belfast. The event takes place on a typical Irish summer's day, a mixture of sun and rain. Over grey and blue waters, the sky is filled with sunlight, with perhaps a light shower on the way. The sailboats drawn up below the Kinnegar sea wall, and out on the water, provide dashes of colour, enlivening the scene. People also gather on the sea wall, and on the pier beside the yacht club, to enjoy the event. Having moved from Belfast to Holywood in the mid 1960's, McKelvey was drawn to this annual event run in June by the local yacht club, and painted several views of sailing boats darting about on the waters of Belfast Lough. Regatta Day is a late work, painted just a few years before McKelvey's death in 1974, yet is nonetheless one of his most delicate and evocative scenes of life and landscape in Ulster. Born in Belfast in 1895, McKelvey attended evening classes at the Belfast College of Art, while training as a poster designer for David Allen and Sons. In 1911 he became a full-time student at the College, winning many prizes, and seven years later won the Taylor art competition with his painting The Grandmother. Over the following years he painted views of farm workers in the vicinity of Bessborough, Co. Armagh, where his in-laws had a farm. While the Realism of his early work gradually gave way to a more Impressionist palette and approach, McKelvey never swayed from providing an authentic depiction of life of the Irish countryside. In addition to the area around Belfast Lough and the Lagan river, he depicted coastal scenery in counties Donegal and Mayo. A conservative and accomplished painter, his work contains evocations of cloud-filled skies, silver light reflected on water and people tending livestock. Together with James Humbert Craig, Paul Henry and Charles Lamb, McKelvey is credited with creating a 'national' school of Irish landscape painting in the twentieth century. Peter Murray, September 2021
Morgan O'Driscoll
Oct. 26, 2021
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Children on the banks of the Lagan
Est: €8,000 - €12,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Children on the banks of the Lagan oil on canvas signed lower left h:46 w:61.50 cm. Provenance: Christies, London; Emer Gallery, Belfast; Private Collection
Morgan O'Driscoll
Sep. 29, 2021
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Reflections on a Summer's Day Oil on canvas, 51 x 69cm (20 x 27'') Signed
Est: €5,000 - €8,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Reflections on a Summer's Day Oil on canvas, 51 x 69cm (20 x 27'') Signed
Adam's
Sep. 29, 2021
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Beach Scene with Figures Oil on canvas board, 30 x 43cm (11¾ x 17'') Signed
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) Beach Scene with Figures Oil on canvas board, 30 x 43cm (11¾ x 17'') Signed
Adam's